Inside Politics: Michel Barnier breaks Brexit deadlock as talks resume

No 10 officials have decided the EU chief said just enough on ‘compromises’ to kick start new, daily negotiations, writes Adam Forrest

Michel Barnier speaking in European parliament on Wednesday (EPA)

You can’t keep some people apart. Four students in Nottingham have been fined £10,000 each after telling the cops who broke up their house party they were “spoiling the fun” during the “time of their lives”. Our big Brexit party will not be broken up just yet. Michel Barnier and David Frost have decided to get the negotiating gang back together again. They weren’t going to let a whole series of major disagreements spoil the fun. So break open the legal texts and crank up the mood music – trade deal talks are back on!

Inside the bubble

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

The morning kicks off with metro mayors, including Andy Burnham, appearing before MPs on the Commons business committee. They’ll be asked about how the government is doing in “levelling up” their areas, but given the recent row over tier 3 lockdowns, it should be an interesting session. Later in the afternoon, Michel Barnier will arrive in London to kick-start a new round of Brexit talks.

Daily briefing

FRIENDS REUNITED: Michel Barnier will be back on the Eurostar today, ready to meet up with his phone buddy David Frost and restart face-to-face negotiations over a trade deal. Downing Street said the pair had “agreed a set of principles for handling this intensified phase” – with talks set to take place every day (including weekends). So what changed? Barnier had already committed to working on legal texts, but on Wednesday he stressed that “both sides” had to compromise. This seemingly innocuous phrase was enough for No 10. There doesn’t appear to have been any substantial concessions made behind the scenes – which suggests the last few days has been pure grandstanding. Anyway, I hope Boris Johnson wasn’t listening to the European parliament. German MEP Theresa Reintke accused him of “lying to the people of the UK”, while Spanish MEP Esteban Gonzalez Pons said the PM would be “without a friend in the world” if Trump loses next month’s election.

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT: South Yorkshire will move into tier 3 this Saturday morning – which means around 7.3 million people in England will soon be living under the strictest Covid curbs. The Sheffield city region’s mayor Dan Jarvis didn’t put up the same fight as his Labour colleague Andy Burnham, saying only that “inaction was not an option”. Leaders in the area agreed to financial support worth £41m. Meanwhile, after losing the PR battle with the “king of the north”, the PM finally confirmed that Greater Manchester would be getting a £60m package after all. Burnham said he had “no regrets for taking a stand” – claiming he had been fighting against the government’s efforts to “impose an arbitrary formula one-by-one on places.” This is exactly the point Labour leader Keir Starmer made at PMQs, attacking the “grubby, take it or leave way these local deals are being done – it’s corrosive to public trust.”

DISAPPOINTING RESULT: Man United striker Marcus Rashford said he would be watching all the action in the Commons last night, but he didn’t get the win he was hoping for. Only five Tory MPs voted with Labour in a failed bid to extend free school meals over the holidays. Some Conservative MPs openly criticised Rashford’s campaign, with Brendan Clarke-Smith calling for less “celebrity virtue signalling”. Rashford – who clashed with Tories Steve Baker and Ben Bradley on Twitter – later issued a statement condemning MPs’ “stigmatising” remarks. “Children are going to bed tonight, not only hungry, but feeling like they do not matter because of comments that have been made today.” Meanwhile, there is anger that foreign rough sleepers could be deported from the UK under draconian, post-Brexit immigration laws announced by the Home Office last night. Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “Deporting people for being homeless is immoral.”

HOUSE OF LIES: Boris Johnson has sparked a nasty war of words with Sadiq Khan over London’s finances. Johnson used PMQs to claim the mayor had “bankrupted” Transport for London (TfL), and said any need to increase fares to start filling the “massive black hole in its finances” was Khan’s responsibility. Khan shot back by calling the PM a “liar” and pointed out that he had cut the operations deficit left by Johnson by 86 per cent. “Our prime minister today, on the floor of the House of Commons, has lied.” TfL bosses have asked for a £5.7bn package to help it through the next 18 months. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is set to make a big announcement today on extra financial help for workers in tier 2 areas – described as “the worst of all worlds” since it doesn’t provide the same support as tier 3. The chancellor is expected to address the issue and “update” his Job Support Scheme (JSS).

UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE: Those offended by rude words may wish to look away now. Tory MP Christopher Clarkson was shocked – shocked! – when deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner called him “scum” during a Commons debate on coronavirus restrictions. “Excuse me! Did the honourable lady just call me scum!?” Rayner did not deny making the remark – accusing Clarkson of making misleading comments about a fellow Labour MP. But she said sorry later on. “I apologise for the language that I used in a heated debate.” Dehenna Davison, one of the newest Tory MPs, said: “This is not what politics is about.” Really, Dehenna? Nasty insults are absolutely integral, surely. Elsewhere, Dominic Cummings – a man who has had a few four-letter words chucked in his direction – is back in headlines. Lord Sedwill, the ex-head of the Civil Service, said the No 10 adviser’s trip to Barnard Castle “undermined the government’s coherent narrative”.

REMEMBER HIM? Americans got a glimpse of a fantasy election battle between Barack Obama and Donald Trump – with the pair attacking each other at rival campaign rallies. Let’s start with Obama. The Democrat compared Trump to a “crazy uncle” and claimed he emboldened “racist” behaviour – before condemning his handling of the Covid pandemic. “He can’t even take the basic steps to protect himself.” Obama added: “Tweeting at the TV doesn’t fix things.” Trump fired back by reminding his own supporters of his own 2016 victory, relishing in his enemy’s middle name. “I think the only one more unhappy than crooked Hillary that night was Barack Hussein Obama.” Meanwhile, a depressing new poll shows two-thirds of US voters are worried the presidential election will not be fair, suggesting Trump’s sustained attacks on mail-in ballots are actually working.

On the record

“We will seek the necessary compromises on both sides in order to do our utmost to reach an agreement and we will do so right up until the last day which it's possible to do so.”

Michel Barnier says the magic words to break the Brexit deadlock.

From the Twitterati

“I do wish MPs like Angela Rayner would remember that they’re in parliament, and not the stairwell in a council flat.”

Conservative supporter Chris Rose appalled by the ‘scum’ remark…

“Angela Rayner really should have used appropriate language in the House: the "the honourable member is scum.”

...while Dave MacLadd thinks Rayner could have said ‘scum’ more politely.

Essential reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: Could Andy Burnham win back red wall seats for Labour?

Jess Phillips, The Independent: The way the government is treating the regions is just insulting

George Monbiot, The Guardian: The government’s secret Covid contracts are heaping misery on Britain

Steven Shafarman, RealClearPolitics: How the Democrats can dominate the decade and beyond

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