Inside Politics: Boris Johnson faces Tory backlash over new curbs

There is rising Tory discontent over the prime minister ‘authoritarian’ governance and the possibility new rules will destroy more jobs, writes Adam Forrest

Boris Johnson in Whitehall (Getty)

Has Boris Johnson just wrecked your team’s transfer plans? Among the raft of coronavirus rule changes announced by the PM, football clubs won’t be allowed to bring fans back inside stadiums in October as planned – robbing them of hundreds of millions of pounds. Tory MPs certainly aren’t pleased with their superstar manager at the moment. There’s a backlash brewing over Johnson’s restrictive tactics, as a growing number of backbenchers fear the economy has been given far too much of a kicking.  

Inside the bubble

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

Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer will cross swords at the despatch box for the second day running, with the new coronavirus rules and testing problems likely to dominate PMQs. As informal talks on a UK-EU trade deal continue in London, Michael Gove will make a Commons statement on preparations for the end of the transitional period, and will no doubt be keen to show Brussels the UK could cope in a no-deal scenario.

Daily briefing

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST: Boris Johnson told the British he was “spiritually reluctant” to bring yet more restrictions – but warned of “tougher” lockdown if people didn’t follow the rules. The PM said we had reached a “perilous turning point” as he set out the 10pm pub curfew and other measures for the next six months. Shop staff will have to wear face masks, weddings will be limited to 15 people and office workers are being told to work from home if possible. Nicola Sturgeon went further – banning indoor visits between households in Scotland – and chief medical officer Chris Whitty believes it’s “inevitable” England will have to follow suit, according to The Times. Asked why the UK was struggling so much more than Germany or Italy, Johnson told the Commons it was because we were “freedom-loving country” whose citizens hated to obey instructions – suggesting he was rather proud of their defiance. Labour called it an “absurd” thing to say.

BLOW AFTER BLOW: Tory MPs aren’t happy. Many don’t like the 10pm curfew and the revised message to work from home wherever possible. Mel Stride, chair of the Treasury committee, said more curbs on movement would “destroy jobs”, while former minister Stephen Crabb asked the PM to think about people in “cramped, overcrowded” housing who don’t have the luxury of a home office. Pub owners are understandably livid about the curfew. One chain boss warned it could be “nail in the coffin” time, while UK Hospitality body said it was “a huge, huge blow … potentially fatal for many businesses”. The Premier League, meanwhile, said it was “disappointed” by the decision to halt the gradual return of live audiences from 1 October. Lack of fans will cost clubs £700m this season, and league bosses said it could make the football economy “unsustainable”.

ALL IN GOOD TIME: We have an intriguing Brexit development this morning. The government has decided to delay the final stages of its controversial, international law-defying legislation until after discussion with EU leaders in October. The Telegraph says Downing Street hopes to “avoid inflaming tensions” with Brussels during trade negotiations. Is there hope of a deal yet? Michael Roth, Germany’s Europe minister, said it was still possible – if only No 10 stopped trying to play four-dimensional chess. “Please dear friends in London stop the games. Time is running out.” Meanwhile Michael Gove has written to the UK’s logistics groups to confirm the details of the government’s latest “worst-case scenario” forecast: exporters face queues 7,000 trucks long in Kent and two-day delays to at the end of the transition period. He is expected to set out more details in the Commons later.

IMAGINE ME: It looks like Keir Starmer will get to make a “right of reply” speech about the coronavirus rules on the BBC this evening. Before then, PMQs promises to have an extra edge after Starmer hit Boris Johnson harder than many expected in his conference speech. The Labour leader said he was better qualified than Johnson and asked us to imagine him at No 10. “While he was being sacked by a newspaper for making up quotes, I was fighting for justice and the rule of law.” Starmer added: “He’s just not serious. He’s just not up to the job.” The leader of the opposition may choose to focus on testing chaos at the despatch box, but schools offers another line of attack. The latest figures show the number of primaries and secondaries in England forced to send home pupils or year group bubbles has quadrupled in only a week.

NOT IN OUR PLANS: The government has ruled out changes making easier for transgender people to have their gender legally recognised. Ministers rejected calls for people to be able to change their birth certificates without a medical diagnosis – claiming reform was not the “top priority” for trans people. The equalities minister Liz Truss said she believed the law as it stood provided sufficient “checks and balances”. Equality campaigners said it showed a “shocking failure of leadership”. Another highly contentious subject is in the headlines this morning: herd immunity. The BBC has obtained emails showing real alarm after chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance talked about the concept in March. In one email, Sir Patrick asked for help to “calm down” all the academics outraged over the idea. In another email, he insisted herd immunity “is NOT the plan”.

ALL MY ENEMIES: Donald Trump took on one on his favourite foes during the annual UN General Assembly in New York – blaming China for the spread of Covid. “We must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague on to the world – China.” The president also found time to get out to Pennsylvania, where he mocked Joe Biden for wearing a mask and alleged the 77-year-old Democrat had plastic surgery on his face. “What the hell did he spend all that money on the plastic surgery if he’s going to cover it up?”. He also repeated his racist attack on left-wing congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who came to the US at the age of 12. “She’s telling us how to run our country … How’s your country doing? She’s going to tell us – she’s telling us how to run our country.”

On the record

“While Boris Johnson was writing flippant columns about bendy bananas, I was defending victims and prosecuting terrorists.”

Keir Starmer says the Tory leader is not up to the job of being PM.

From the Twitterati

“People have had enough of Michael Gove.”

Marina Hyde reminds Gove of his infamous remark about experts…

“I know how they feel.”

…and Michael Gove admits he gets tired of himself.

Essential reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: Keir Starmer’s big speech: what he said – and what he really meant

Amy Aves Challenger, The Independent: White suburban housewives are finally leaving Trump

Stephen Bush, New Statesman: Why the first black prime minister is likely to be a Tory

Katy Hayward, Prospect: Is the Good Friday Agreement really in peril?

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