Inside Politics: Rishi Sunak set to extend furlough across UK

The chancellor is expected to make clear that payments will extend to future lockdowns in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, writes Adam Forrest

Chancellor Rishi Sunak (PA)

Intense and mysterious blasts of radio energy are emanating from within our own galaxy, astronomers have said – leaving open the possibility that aliens are sending us a series of unusual messages. On planet Earth, intense blasts of bile are emanating from Washington DC, where Donald Trump is screaming conspiracy and his team is desperately trying to thwart the counting of votes. Boris Johnson has made it clear he’s not interested in sending any messages to Trump about the dangers of subverting democracy. The PM has his own intense blasts of bile to worry about, as England’s month-long lockdown begins today in acrimony.

Inside the bubble

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

The US election result may be box-office news again today, but we’ve got plenty of our own politics to be getting on with at Westminster. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to address the Commons on the government’s support for businesses and households across different parts of the UK. Worth keeping an eye out too for an announcement from the Bank of England – set to reveal its own monetary stimulus this morning.

Daily briefing

STRANGE DAYS: It looks pretty good for Joe Biden. With most of the US networks projecting wins for the Democrat in Michigan and Wisconsin, he just has to hold onto his leads in Arizona and Nevada for the 270 electoral college votes he needs. Notwithstanding, of course, the wild legal action Donald Trump has now launched. The president ordered lawsuits to stop and contest ballot counting in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia – and has also demanded a recount in Wisconsin. The president said the Democrats were trying to steal it from him – claiming his own leads “started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted. VERY STRANGE”. Both Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab refused to condemn Trump’s actions, with our foreign secretary dismissing allegations of voter fraud as “campaign commentary”. Keir Starmer did attack Trump during PMQs, stating: “It’s not for a candidate to decide which votes do and don’t count.”

LOCK AROUND THE CLOCK: Hope you’ve had that haircut. England’s four-week lockdown starts today after MPs backed Boris Johnson’s measures – despite a larger-than-expected rebellion of 34 Tory backbenchers voting against them. Philip Davies was among those lashing out at the policy, saying the “so-called Conservatives” in government were “destroying jobs and livelihoods”. Theresa May complained about No 10 using selective Covid figures – but Johnson walked out of the chamber after she started speaking, leaving the former PM discombobulated. Starmer, meanwhile, shared his worries about what happens on 2 December. The Labour leader said it would be “madness” to exit the lockdown if virus rates are still rising. It comes as a further 492 deaths were announced – the highest number since mid-May. The NHS in England has been placed on its highest alert level, meaning patients can be sent to other regions if Covid threatens to overwhelm local services.

EXTRA, EXTRA: Rishi Sunak is set to announce that extra furlough payments for shuttered businesses – 80 per cent of wages covered – will extend to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland if they’re in lockdown after 2 December. There’s another significant change on the way. Local authorities will be given more control over testing – given an extra £465m for contact tracing. It comes as Johnson finally acknowledged the limitations of the test and trace. “I’m perfectly willing to accept the failures,” he told MPs. In other Covid-related news, the government said pupils and teachers must now wear masks in all communal areas of schools (giving them little very time to prepare). Visits to care homes will be allowed during lockdown – although they’ll have to take place behind screens or through the window. The Alzheimer’s Society said the “prison-style screens” were “frankly ridiculous when you consider someone with advanced dementia can often be bed-bound and struggling to speak”.

BACK ON THE BRINK: The Brexit mood music is getting gloomy again. No 10 negotiator David Frost said “wide divergences” remained despite some progress, while his EU counterpart Michel Barnier spoke about “serious divergences” over fishing and competition rules. Talks are expected to resume in London from Sunday. Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen are set to hold emergency talks if the two sides are still deadlocked at the end of next week. Brussels wants “stable and predictable” fishing quotas in UK waters, but Downing Street continues to demand annual negotiations. Barnier is said to have complained the UK was still trying to play games with time pressures rather than commit to compromises. “The real surprise is that we are here at this point in time,” one diplomatic source told The Times. “There is not much time left for brinkmanship. It is a recipe for disaster.”

CAN’T SAY ANYTHING NOWADAYS: Don’t tell Lawrence Fox, but some Tory MPs and legal experts are worried that reforms to hate speech legislation could impact what you can and can’t say at dinner parties. The Law Commission raised concerns about the part covering hate offences inside “dwellings” – claiming it could criminalise dinner-table chat about, for instance, other nationalities. Conservative MP Tim Loughton moaned: “What has the world come to when the principles of freedom of speech are being trampled upon in conversations within your home?” It comes as home secretary Priti Patel warned senior police officers about the importance of freedom of speech. She alluded to the recent investigation into Darren Grimes’ interview with David Starkey (since dropped) saying there was “public concern” about it. Yet Patel also called on cops to be tougher when enforcing Covid restrictions – including with protesters. “We have empowered and resourced you to do more,” she said.

OLD LADY SPLASHES THE CASH: So what’s the big announcement from the Bank of England? The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street will set out a new round of quantitative easing this morning, with Governor Andrew Bailey leading a press conference at around 9.15am. The sum injected into the system is expected to be around £150bn. Despite Britain’s ongoing economic woes, there’s hope that we could start seeing the beginning of the end of the Covid crisis next month. The vaccine taskforce chief Kate Bingham told MPs on the science committee that the data from the final trials of two Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Oxford University were very encouraging and the roll-out could begin as soon as December. However, there will be only four million doses of the jab available by the end of the year, Bingham revealed.

On the record

“We have got to look the public in the eye – if the infection rate is still going up on 2 December, it is madness to come back to the tier system.”

Keir Starmer thinks the PM lacks a coherent lockdown exit strategy

From the Twitterati

“Trump’s on the ropes but he’s going to fight this endgame ferociously. Anyone who thinks this election is over is living in cloud cuckoo land. Prepare for weeks of mayhem.”

Piers Morgan says the US is in for short-term chaos...

“The sad truth is that even if Biden wins the US is no longer the “shining city on a hill” that the rest of the world looks to for leadership … Like the Roman Empire after Commodus it will dominate for a long time yet. But it’s glory days are now over.”

…and former Tory MP Nick Boles thinks US going through long-term decline and fall.

Essential reading

Patrick Cockburn, The Independent: Trump’s bid to stop count could turn US into ‘illiberal democracy’

Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Whoever wins the US election, the UK is set to lose out

Stephen Bush, New Statesman: Why are we locking down? Because England didn’t learn from Europe’s mistakes

Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker: Trump’s speech made America’s troubles so much worse

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