Inside Politics: 99 problems

Sunak to deliver speech on foreign policy as problems on domestic front mount, writes Matt Mathers

(REUTERS)

Hello there, I’m Matt Mathers and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

To the surprise of absolutely everybody, Matt Hancock reached the final of I’m a Celeb…but was pipped to the top prize by the eventual winner, Lioness Jill Scott. It’s straight out of one jungle and into another for Hancock as he heads back home to his constituency and parliament to face the music.

Inside the bubble

Commons action gets underway at 2.30pm with education questions, followed by any statements and urgent questions. After that the main business will be the second reading of the (Autumn Statement-related) Finance bill.

Daily briefing

99 problems

Rishi Sunak will address City figures later today at the annual Lord Mayor’s Banquet, as he continues to come under pressure from rebels within his own party ahead of another crunch week in parliament.

The PM will pledge to stand up to competitors with “robust pragmatism” rather than “grand rhetoric” as he distances himself from Boris Johnson’s foreign policy approach. He will also rule out “short-termism” and “wishful thinking” when dealing with adversaries including Russia and China as he vows to stand up for British values.

While today’s address is all about foreign policy, Sunak’s mind will likely remain firmly on domestic and party management issues, with a series of showdowns on energy, housing, migration and transport all in the pipeline.

Reports say that Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, is the latest Tory big beast to have joined rebels opposing the government on onshore wind, with Downing Street now said to be considering a climbdown on the issue to avoid an embarrassing Commons.

Jake Berry, the former Tory Party chairman who is also opposing the government, warned yesterday that the cabinet minister’s involvement could spell real trouble for Sunak, who will attempt to counter Labour’s narrative that he is weak by announcing a crackdown on Just Stop Oil protesters.

Does Sunak have the muscle to turn things around? Right now it appears his problems are only growing. Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, was less than robust in her defence of the government’s policy on housebuilding, telling BBC Politics South yesterday: “Targets can help but the wrong targets don’t. Quite often those forums will ask for more homes than is in the local plan and local housing targets but they’re done in, I think, a smarter way.”

Meanwhile, there were further concerning reports over the weekend about the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent. Elsewhere, there are no signs yet of breakthroughs in talks with public sector workers striking over pay and conditions.

(REUTERS)

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Brexit latest

Sunak should “revisit” the Brexit trade deal already agreed with the EU as part of an effort to forge closer economic ties with the bloc, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has said.

The think tank said it was time to consider ways to improve on the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) signed by Boris Johnson, which is due for review at the end of 2025.

It comes as new analysis revealed that UK export growth has fallen well behind that of other major economies, including Germany and France, despite claims by the Conservative government that Brexit would boost British business abroad.

A report by the former Labour prime minister’s institute said there was a growing public appetite for closer links with Brussels to ease Britain’s “economic pain”, setting out a three-point plan to “fix” the current Brexit arrangements.

Over the weekend Labour leader Keir Starmer said his party would not pursue a Swiss-style deal with the EU, following reports that “senior figures” within government had been seeking to do so.

On the record

Jake Berry, former Tory chairman, says Gove joining rebellion on onshore wind spells trouble for PM.

“I was in the Liz Truss government. We sort of knew it was over when we lost cabinet collective responsibility. This is the first crack in the wall from Michael Gove.”

From the Twitterati

Jim Pickard, Financial Times Whitehall correspondent, on a comment piece advising the government to stop doing ‘stupid stuff’.

“In an ideal world this would be unnecessary advice.”

Essential reading

• Adam Forrest, The Independent: What does the exodus of MPs mean for Sunak?
• Ryan Coogan, The Independent: Matt Hancock didn’t win I’m A Celebrity – but he got exactly what he wanted
• Hamish McRae, The Independent: A bad weekend for Apple – and a worse one for China
• Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Atlantic: The future of American warfare Is unfolding in Ukraine

Inside Politics first appeared in our daily morning email. You can sign up via this link.