Inside Politics: Patel accused of ‘stoking the fire’ on racism and MPs to vote on foreign aid cuts

England’s Tyrone Mings hits out at home secretary, and PM could be facing tightest vote yet, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

The south and parts of London were hit with flash flooding yesterday, with sections of the iconic Portobello Road in the capital submerged in up to a foot of water. Back in SW1, Boris Johnson’s government is facing a torrent of criticism over its handling of race relations. And Priti Patel has been slammed by an England footballer. Elsewhere, MPs will today vote on foreign aid cuts and “freedom day” is going ahead on 19 July despite dire warnings from experts.

PS – ‘The View from Westminster’ newsletter from John Rentoul offers his unique end-of-play analysis at 6pm each weekday. Sign up here.

Inside the bubble

Chief political commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:

The cabinet meets this morning; the Commons sits from 11.30, starting with questions to Sajid Javid, health and social care secretary. Busy day for select committees: trade union leaders will give evidence to the Education Committee about the effect of coronavirus on schools; the Defence Committee is looking at the UK’s vulnerabilities in space; charities are giving evidence to the International Development Committee about racism in aid; and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is looking at tree planting.

Coming up shortly:

-Chief secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay on BBC Today at 8.30am

-Labour MP and shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy on LBC at 8.50am

Daily Briefing

RACE ROW: What a difference a few days makes. Last week I wrote in this email about how England winning the Euros could be a unifying moment for the country. Today, the fallout continues after players were abused following the final whistle, leading to some serious questions about how far the country has actually come in tackling racism. Johnson and Patel flew out of the traps yesterday to condemn the criminal behaviour, drawing criticism from Labour, who branded them both “hypocrites”. These England players are smart and they remember very clearly how, initially, their own PM and his home secretary made a conscious decision not to condemn fans who booed when they took the knee — not in support of a political organisation or ideology — but simply to show opposition to racism and inequality.

GESTURE POLITICS: The players can see this for what it is. And last night Aston Villa’sTyrone Mings had enough. He told Patel: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.” Former Man Utd and England footballer Gary Neville also waded into the row, accusing the PM of having “promoted” racism, in his notorious newspaper article about Muslim women looking “like letterboxes”. He dodged questions at yesterday’s Covid press briefing on taking the knee. The racist abuse is picked up on the front pages of several of this morning’s papers. The Sun tells the England players, “We’ve got your back” while for the Mirror it’s: “The ugly face of football returns.” Tottenham’s Harry Kane and England captain has told the racists: “We don’t you as fans.” The England players were racially abused on social media and today’sTimesreports ministers will tell tech giants to hand over the details of perpetrators so they can make examples of them.

AID CUTS VOTE: Following a backlash from campaigners and members on all sides of the House, MPs will today vote on the government’s overseas aid cuts. In a major U-turn, Tory MP and Commons leader JacobRees-Mogg announced the vote, saying MPs would be able to give “a yes or no answer” on reversing the cuts from next January. The PM has faced a number of rebellions since entering Downing Street in 2019, most of which have fallen flat due to his hefty majority. But this one is going to be tight, with several Tory big beasts opposing the PM. Definitely one worth keeping an eye on.

UNLOCKING: As widely expected, the government has confirmed that the lifting of most Covid restrictions will go ahead on 19 July, the date dubbed freedom day. Amid surging infections and warnings from experts, Johnson confirmed that new guidance will say people are “expected” to continue wearing face masks in private and enclosed spaces. But some leading scientists are saying the final unlocking risks 200 deaths per day. Our top health correspondent Shaun Lintern says ministers are shifting responsibility for fighting coronavirus to the public. Read his full analysis here. This morning’s financial Times has a different take on lockdown lifting, suggesting responsibility has been shunted onto companies.

On the record

“I can take critique of my performance all day long...but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from.”

Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford responds to online abuse.

From the Twitterati

“Spot on. What I love about these guys is they have principles. Patel and Johnson are the gesture politicians.”

Former Labour spinner Alastair Campbell on comments by Tyrone Mings.

“The vote on 0.7% tomorrow is a hugely important one. Little time to analyse the detail, but it seems in the last 20 yrs we would only have met the HMT’s conditions ONCE. So a vote for the motion means no 0.7% for the foreseeable future. A vote against means a return next year.”

Tory peer Baroness Sugg on today’s vote on overseas aid cuts.

Essential reading

• Chine McDonald, The Independent: Football has shown me the depths of Britain’s racism
• Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Patel and Johnson gave the nod to racists during the Euros
• Sunder Katwala, New Statesman: We saw a new England during 2020 — now we must stand up for it
• James Forsyth, The Spectator: The foreign aid budget might shatter Boris’s fragile majority