Inside Politics: Rishi Sunak promises £1.5bn package to save the arts

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Will Kanye West run for president? The performing artist says he’s ready to take on Donald Trump and Joe Biden this year. But hasn’t actually filed any paperwork yet – and has a habit of saying one thing and doing another. Boris Johnson also has a habit of saying one thing and doing another. Speculation suggests the PM could be set for another big U-turn this week, reversing Huawei’s role in Britain’s 5G network. Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, has become British performing artists’ favourite politician. The chancellor has promised a £1.5bn support package for theatres, music venues and galleries. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing.

Inside the bubble

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin on what to look out for on Monday:

Face-to-face talks between British and EU officials on the future relationship will take place in London today, two weeks before trade talks resume. There could be some interesting evidence at the Lord’s EU goods sub-committee, where the discussion revolves around what will happen to the UK’s manufacturing sector at the end of the Brexit transition period. And the Domestic Abuse Bill is set to go through all remaining stages in the Commons.

Daily briefing

SHOW MUST GO ON: Rishi Sunak received a big round of applause from culture vultures after announcing a £1.5bn support package of emergency grants and loans to help the nation’s struggling theatres, galleries, cinemas and music venues last night. “At long last the government have woken up to our warnings,” said Bectu, the entertainment industry union. The chancellor – making a big speech on the economy on Wednesday – is also pledging to create 30,000 new traineeships and put £800m into job centres so they can recruit 13,500 extra staff. Will it be enough? Pressure will build on Sunak over the next 48 hours to extend the furlough scheme. Some economists are also urging the chancellor to consider giving every adult £500 to spend in hard-hit sectors like retail. Experts at the Resolution Foundation think tank have reportedly held talks with the Treasury about the intriguing cash giveaway.

GREEN LIGHT TURNING RED? Boris Johnson – having boldly granted Huawei a green light for a role in Britain’s 5G build earlier this year – looks set to boldly change his mind. According to The Telegraph, the PM could soon order the “phasing out” of the Chinese tech firm from the nation’s telecoms networks by 2029 after GCHQ revised its assessment that the risks could be managed. But an end-the-decade pledge won’t be good enough for the group of 60 Tory backbenchers. “The government can forget about its legislative agenda until it’s sorted out the China question,” a source told the newspaper. Elsewhere, Dominic Raab is set to announce Britain’s first set of post-Brexit sanctions on those accused of human rights abuses later today. With the UK no longer part of the EU’s sanctions list, how closely will the foreign secretary stick to Brussels’ list of baddies?

MATTER OF FACTORIES: How will Leicester cope with its first week operating under different rules from the rest of the country? Health secretary Matt Hancock said there were “significant concerns” about the city’s clothing factories following claims of a link between working practices and the local coronavirus outbreak. Tory peer Baroness Verma said she wrote to Leicester’s Labour mayor Sir Peter Soulsby in mid-April to tell him about the “open secret” factories were flouting rules. Home secretary Priti Patel has ordered the National Crime Agency to investigate claims of modern slavery at clothing factories. Meanwhile, former chief scientific adviser Sir David King warned the UK risks another 27,000 Covid-19 deaths before next April if the government doesn’t focus on getting the infection rate to zero. And the chief executive of the NHS, Sir Simon Stevens, said ministers must come up with plan to properly fund the social care by next summer.

SHAME GAME: Following all the photos of Soho and other crowded drinking districts, Hancock claimed people had done their Saturday boozing responsibly and were “doing the right thing”. Not so, said the chair of the Police Federation John Apter. He insisted was “crystal clear” drunk people cannot socially distance. Apter had to deal with “naked men, happy drunks, angry drunks, fights and more angry drunks” on his own shift in Southampton. Acting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey tried to shame Nigel Farage for going to the pub on not-so-Super Saturday, publicly reporting him to Kent Police for an alleged breach of quarantine rules (since the Brexit Party boss had been seen in America on 20 June). Farage said he had “been back from the USA for two weeks” and had tested negative for the virus. Ex-Brexit Party MEP Alexandra Phillips called Davey a “sad little man” and “pathetic, attention-seeking twerp”.

INTO HARM’S WAY: Donald Trump managed yet another wild claim at the weekend, saying 99 per cent of US coronavirus cases are “totally harmless”. The Food and Drug Commissioner Stephen Hahn declined to back the president’s remarks. Covid-19 cases “are surging in the country” and remained a “serious problem,” said Hahn, who also cast doubt on Trump’s claim a Covid-19 vaccine would be ready in 2020. Elsewhere, protesters in Baltimore pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus and rolled it into the city’s Inner Harbour, despite threats of jail time from the president. Maryland state governor Larry Hogan said it was “antithesis of democracy and should be condemned by everyone”.

LOCK AROUND THE CLOCK: Spain’s Galicia region has imposed tough new lockdown restrictions on about 70,000 people following an outbreak of 258 coronavirus cases. People living in the area will not be able to leave the area until Friday, capacity in bars and restaurants will be reduced to 50 per cent and people will have to wear a face mask even if outdoors. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez called for calm and said “early detection of these outbreaks” was a good thing. Meanwhile, in Australia, authorities in Melbourne have imposed a “hard lockdown” on 3,000 people in nine suburban tower blocks after a local outbreak – banning residents from leaving their homes at all for the next five days.

On the record

“There are some quite significant concerns about some of the employment practices in some of the clothing factories in Leicester.”

Matt Hancock points the finger at textile businesses in the city under lockdown.

From the Twitterati

“Looks like hugely welcome support. Not seen detail, BUT – Let’s make sure funds find their way to the smallest as well as the largest venues. And *please* Rishi Sunak – do something now for the self-employed!”

Caroline Lucas praises Sunak’s package for the arts, but wants to see more details…

“This bailout for the arts by Rishi Sunak may look good on the surface, but in the small print it says 4 new series of Mrs Browns Boys.”

…while satirist Dave MacLadd jokes about a terrifying hidden detail.

Essential reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: Rishi Sunak cannot deliver Boris Johnson’s ‘build back greener’ promises

Esme O’Keeffe, The Independent: The UK should take heart from France’s green revolution

Andrew Rawnsley: The civil service is right to be paranoid about Boris Johnson’s gang of three

The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum: Trump is turning America into the ‘s***hole country’ he fears

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