Inside Politics: No 10 wants ‘compromise’ with Tory MPs on Covid rules

Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has held talks with senior backbencher Sir Graham Brady in a bid to head off an embarrassing defeat for the government, writes Adam Forrest

Cowboy builder: Johnson is in the hot seat at the wrong time (Getty)

Who says there are no good right-wing comedians? Boris Johnson made sure there was little difference between the real prime minister and the parody version Matt Lucas does so well when he blundered his way through another press conference and forgot his own coronavirus rules. Is Johnson’s bumbling, stumbling act wearing thin for Tory MPs? Backbenchers are hoping they can strip some power from No 10 and shape the Covid restrictions themselves. Maybe MPs will at least remember the latest rules and regulations.

Inside the bubble

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

A busy day for Boris Johnson. After chairing cabinet and doing PMQs, he will hold a press conference on coronavirus with his top advisers. For good measure, the PM will make an online address to a UN biodiversity summit. The Commons will renew the Coronavirus Act 2020 which handed the government emergency powers. But before the vote, ministers will try to reach a compromise with Tory MPs who want the right to approve national restrictions in advance.

Daily briefing

THE 100-PLUS CLUB: A growing number of Tory MPs feel they could work up more coherent Covid rules than Boris Johnson. Former chief whip Mark Harper said over 100 Conservative MPs are ready to back the rebel amendment to give parliament a proper say in debating and approving restrictions. The Commons’ liaison committee added to the pressure by saying it was concerned about No 10’s use of emergency powers to curb our freedoms. Will there be a vote on the amendment today? No 10 officials were hoping Speaker Lindsay Hoyle would refuse to select it and give them more time. But time only seems to add more names to the rebel list. One “red wall” Tory MP from the north east said Johnson’s big Tuesday gaffe had “strengthened the argument” for parliamentary scrutiny. Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee of backbenchers, held talks with Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg last night over a possible “compromise” deal. But it feels like the rebels hold all the cards.

PEAK MISSPEAK: So how did Johnson muck up so badly? The PM was forced to apologise and admit he “misspoke” after getting his own government’s rules wrong. Asked about the new ban on mixing between households in the north east, he blathered on about out-of-date measures: “Six in a home, six in hospitality”. Labour called him “grossly incompetent”. It followed earlier confusion sowed by Johnson’s education minister Gillian Keegan, who was asked if different households in the north east could still meet up in pub gardens. Ms Keegan replied: “I’m sorry, I can’t clarify that.” It looks like local leaders are considering doing their own thing now. Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said it was “only a matter of days” before his city would have to introduce its own two-week “circuit breaker lockdown” – banning households from mixing, and shutting down pubs and restaurants completely.

FANTASY ISLAND: It seems home secretary Priti Patel has a feverish imagination. She and her Home Office officials reportedly considered a plan to build a processing centre for asylum seekers on Ascension Island – a tiny UK territory 4,000 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. She asked her team to look at “offshoring” options on the island and nearby St Helena, according to the Financial Times. Apparently it only was “dropped” after the Foreign Office briefed them on the sheer impracticality of sending people to a rock half-way between West Africa and Brazil. Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “This ludicrous idea is inhumane, completely impractical and wildly expensive – so it seems entirely plausible this Tory government came up with it.” Back in the real world, the government’s Migration Advisory Committee said welders, butchers and bricklayers are in short supply and will have to be recruited from abroad after Brexit.

WASPISH REMARKS: Germany’s Europe minister Michael Roth has written an open letter to the UK government, asking No 10 not to “play games” during the little time left for trade deal negotiations. “It is really high time we reached agreement” Roth said, adding that it was possible for both sides to “make a clean, fair break and then remain friends”. The Internal Market Bill passed its third reading in the Commons with a government majority of 84 last night. Labour’s shadow business minister Lucy Powell reminded the House: “It’s a bill that breaks the law and could break up the United Kingdom.” Elsewhere in parliament, Tory MP Philip Davies clashed with BBC chairman Sir David Clementi when he asked why the Beeb “allowed” Gary Lineker to “flaunt his left-wing political views” online. A rather perturbed Sir David said: “I think only Twitter can take people off Twitter,” prompting the Tory MP to respond: “I think you’ve got a wasp down your trousers – calm yourself.”

INVISIBLE MAN APPEARS: Universities in England could finish up in-person teaching early this term so any students who have to self-isolate can return home for Christmas, Gavin Williamson said. The education secretary rejected calls to move all lessons online. Labour called Williamson the “invisible man” – accusing him of failing to “get to grips with the situation”. Johnson’s blunder meant his big announcement was overshadowed, but the PM promised “radical” changes to adult education in England to help people adjust to the post-Covid economy. For the first time, people over the age of 23 without A levels will qualify for free college places. The extra funding will be offered for courses offering “skills valued by employers” – with the list revealed next month. Shadow education secretary Kate Green was not impressed – dismissing it as “reheated old policies”.

SHADDUP YOU FACE: Last night’s presidential debate was like Twitter come to life: petty, angry and chaotic. The big TV event saw Donald Trump and Joe Biden repeatedly interrupt and insult each other – with Trump doing most of the back-biting. Biden was certainly no shrinking violet, however. He called Trump a clown, shushed him and pleaded: “Will you shut up, man?” The Democrat also fired off the notable insult: “You’re the worst president America has ever had.” The Republican, meanwhile, questioned Biden’s intelligence: “You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class.” Trump also claimed postal ballots would cause “fraud like you’ve never seen … This will not end well.” According to a CBS News poll, 48 per cent said Biden won the debate, while 41 per cent said Trump took it. Unusually, a clear majority of Americans actually agreed on something. The debate made 69 per cent of voters feel “annoyed”.

On the record

“For the prime minister to not understand his own rules is grossly incompetent.”

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner.

From the Twitterati

“Don’t be so hard on Boris Johnson. He misspoke about the rule of six. Just as he misspoke about his deal being “oven ready” and our test and trace being “world-beating” and the A Level results being “robust and dependable” etc etc etc.”

Comic David Schneider thinks the PM misspeaks consistently well...

“Can’t even be bothered to learn his own laws. World-beating laziness.”

…and author Edwin Hayward thinks the PM is brilliant at one thing.

Essential reading

Holly Baxter, The Independent: Trump skewered himself at the debate while Biden watched and smiled

Rachel Shabi, The Independent: The Tory government’s obsession with slogans is distracting public from serious failings

Rafael Behr, The Guardian: Boris Johnson sowed the very discord which is making it so hard for him to govern

The Spectator, Katy Balls: Is No 10 about to move on the rebel Tory amendment?

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