Inside Politics: Rishi Sunak creates 'kickstart' jobs fund

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Wednesday 08 July 2020 07:57 BST

Mark Francois tells army general 'Cummings is going to sort you out'

We live in a time of signs and wonders. Scientists have found pink snow in the Alps, which might sound kind of fun and psychedelic – but it’s there because of a nasty kind of algae growing in the heat brought on by climate change. There is no shortage of bad signs in Britain right now – well-known businesses going to the wall and gloomy predictions of rising unemployment. Can Rishi Sunak work any economic wonders? As the chancellor unveils a jobs fund for young people ahead of today’s mini-Budget, the hard-pressed will be hoping he still has a few miracles left up his sleeve.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

Rishi Sunak delivers his “summer economic update” in a lunchtime Commons statement on his plans to kickstart the economy. All eyes will be on whether the chancellor produces a rabbit out of his summer hat, with lower stamp duty a likely candidate. At PMQs, Keir Starmer will get the chance to ask Boris Johnson to apologise for saying care homes did not follow proper procedures. On the committee corridor, the star witness is Mark Sedwill, the outgoing cabinet secretary, who will be questioned about his work as national security adviser.

Daily briefing

DOING IT FOR THE KICKS: The big overnight announcement sees chancellor Rishi Sunak launching a £2bn “kickstart scheme” to create more jobs for young people. It means subsidised, six-month work placements for those on Universal Credit aged between 16 and 24, with the government covering 25 hours’ work a week at the National Minimum Wage. What other goodies does the country’s most popular politician have for us today? According to The Telegraph, Sunak will announce a stamp duty holiday – a temporary increase in the threshold to £500,000. The chancellor may also bring in a temporary VAT cut, according to Newsnight. Labour welcomed the news about the jobs fund, but said ministers were still failing to “rise to the scale of the unemployment crisis”.

FISHY BUSINESS: Fish was on the menu for David Frost and Michel Barnier’s one-on-one dinner at Downing Street last night (fillet of halibut, we are told). The UK and EU negotiators are also thought to have discussed fishing rights. A newly-published transcript of Barnier’s appearance at the House of Lords select committee last month suggests Brussels could be ready to compromise on the issue, if the UK compromises on trade. Elsewhere, campaigners warned that EU nationals are in danger of slipping through the cracks in a Windrush-style scandal. Community groups told MPs on the Brexit committee there was no way to tell whether how many people have been left out of the “settled status” scheme because there were still no accurate figures on how many were eligible.

BROTHERS IN ARMS: The government has been accused of “rank hypocrisy” after announcing the UK will resume selling arms to Saudi Arabia – despite assessing that it was “possible” the country could be using them to commit war crimes. Labour said the government was sending “mixed messages” – considering the recently-announced sanctions against Saudi officials. Elsewhere, Tory MP Mark Francois showed his love for our military. Francois loves the military so damn much he gave Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff, an earful about problems in the procurement process at a select committee hearing. “Please nip back to the department and ask them to sort their bloody selves out. Because if not, [Dominic] Cummings is going to come down there and sort you out his own way.”

NEVER APOLOGISE, NEVER EXPLAIN: Keir Starmer seems almost certain to bring up Boris Johnson’s remark that care home “didn’t really follow the procedures” at PMQs today. The Labour leader denounced the PM’s apparent attempt to blame the care sector for coronavirus deaths as “shameful”. Is it too late for Johnson to say sorry? Asked eight times at a media briefing whether the PM regretted his comment and would either retract it or apologise, his official spokesman declined to do so. Starmer may consider mentioning the fact Republic of Ireland has just successfully launched its contact-tracing app (while no sign of progress here). Meanwhile, the public accounts committee said ministers must have a plan in place by the end of the summer to deliver enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for a potential second wave.

NIECE RELEASE: We now have some juicy details from the tell-all memoir by Donald Trump’s niece. Mary Trump has alleged the president paid a friend to take his SAT college entrance exams, and claims Trump went to see a movie while his own brother was dying in hospital. She also recalled a meeting with Trump when she was 29, wearing a bathing suit top. “Holy s***, Mary,” the now-president is supposed to have said. “You’re stacked.” Ms Trump, a clinical psychologist, believes her uncle displays all nine of the criteria displayed by narcissists. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed the book is full of “ridiculous, absurd allegations”. She must have read it quickly.

ON THE MEND: Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for coronavirus, announcing the big news on TV. Bolsonaro said he was feeling “very well” and claimed to be confident of a quick recovery because he takes hydroxychloroquine (the anti-malaria drug that hasn’t actually been proven effective against the virus). It’s fair to say there was a bit of schadenfreude swirling around on social media at the news (Bolsonaro had dismissively called Covid-19 a “little flu”). But Dr Mike Ryan of the World Health Organisation remained respectful – wishing Bolsonaro “a speedy and full recovery from this disease”. Dr Ryan added: “I think the message to us all is, we are vulnerable to this virus.”

On the record

“His ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be.”

Mary Trump on her uncle, the narcissist-in-chief.

From the Twitterati

“How dare Tory MP Mark Francois threaten our most senior Army general … Cummings an unelected advisor deciding what’s best for our army? Absolutely incredible stuff!”

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner is amazed by Francois’ outburst…

“Says the four-year TA (Territorial Army) Lieutenant to one of Britain’s top Generals.”

…and rugby legend Brian Moore is amazed at Francois’ effrontery.