Inside Politics: Rishi Sunak offered stark warning of widespread poverty

One leading think tank tells the chancellor one in three Britons could soon struggle to afford a ‘decent standard of living’, writes Adam Forrest

(AFP via Getty Images)

The “prisoner escaping” artwork discovered on the side of Reading jail – believed to be a new Banksy – seems fitting for our present moment. Boris Johnson’s government is promising the vaccine programme will let us escape into a “very different world” in a few months’ time. But what will things look like on the other side of the lockdown wall? Rishi Sunak has been warned the number of Britons living in hardship could soar another one million by spring if he fails to take the right Budget measures. The PM, meanwhile, appears to have post-lockdown decorations for Downing Street on his mind.

Inside the bubble

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

No cabinet today because it meets tomorrow to say “hear, hear” after Rishi Sunak reads through the Budget. The Commons starts with foreign office questions, followed by urgent questions on the future of the Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port and the effects of Covid on ethnic minorities. Elsewhere, the environment committee hears evidence on exports to the EU after Brexit.

Daily briefing

HUNT FOR FLIGHT LX318: The search goes on for the person infected with the Brazilian “variant of concern”, as ministers stand accused of “unforgivable incompetence” over Britain’s borders. Public Health England is desperately trying to trace a passenger on Swiss flight LX318 to Heathrow on 10 February. Labour leader Keir Starmer said it demonstrated the “slowness of the government to close off even the major routes”. But Boris Johnson insisted measures had been tough enough and said a “massive effort” under way to prevent the P1 variant from spreading. It emerged the EU’s plan for vaccine passports could include British tourists. Matt Hancock said that the UK was talking to Brussels about its plans for a “Digital Green Pass” scheme. Are we kidding ourselves on summer travel? Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said vaccination would “take us into a very different world in the next few months,” but said there was still “great uncertainty” over foreign holidays. 

CULTURE CLUB: Rishi Sunak is expected to announce more than £400m in support for the culture sector in his Budget – money aimed at helping theatres, museums and galleries reopen. The chancellor has been warned that the number of people living in hardship could soar by one million by May. The New Economics Foundation said even if Sunak extents the £20-per-week universal credit uplift, over 21 million people – or one in three – will have too little income to afford a “decent standard of living”. Despite the bleak possibilities ahead, Sunak appears to be enjoying himself. He shared a video featuring 134 images of himself, which also featured his team interviewing him about how brilliant he is. Labour’s Lucy Powell called it a “shameless publicity stunt”. Writing in The Telegraph, former Tory leader William Hague said Sunak would have to hike taxes before too long. “It pains me to say … we have reached the point where at least some business and personal taxes have to go up.”

GRAND RE-DESIGNS: There’s a lot on Boris Johnson’s mind at the moment: the Covid crisis, Brexit woes, a looming recession and … wallpaper. The PM wants to set up a charity to pay for renovations at Downing Street, following reports the Cabinet Office has refused to fund work wanted by Carrie Symonds, according to the Daily Mail. The newspaper says Johnson has asked Tory peer Lord Brownlow to run the refurb charity. One friend of the PM’s fiancée said: “Carrie has exquisite taste. It is classic, stunning, stylish and chic. She should be congratulated not criticised.” Johnson’s government has been criticised for deciding there’s not much money for foreign aid – halving its commitments to Yemen, where hundreds of thousands are living in famine conditions. Tory MP Jeremy Hunt said he was “deeply disappointed”. It comes as Johnson’s threat to jail people-smuggling “gangsters” involved in Channel crossings for life were labelled a “cheap stunt” by campaigners.

GUERRILLAS IN THE MIST: Gordon Lyons, the DUP’s agriculture minister, has defended the decision to halt work on new Brexit inspection posts in Northern Ireland. He told the assembly it was an “entirely reasonable” move, given the “practical barriers and legal uncertainties” around the protocol his party hates so very, very much. Lyons also refused to condemn comments by the DUP’s Sammy Wilson – who said the party would wage “guerrilla warfare” against the protocol. It is understood the NI executive’s attorney general Brenda King has concurred with the view of ministers from Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance Party – that Lyons had no authority to take such wild action. Lyons was set to hold discussions with the top law officer ahead of further crunch talks today. DUP cheerleader Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested unionist parties could “get rid” of the protocol his own Tory government has agreed to fully implement, so long as they sweep to victory at local elections in 2024.

PAPERS, PLEASE: A fresh twist in the Salmond saga. Nicola Sturgeon’s government has agreed to release legal advice from its doomed judicial review battle with the former SNP leader. It follows a threat from the Scottish Tories to hold a vote of no confidence in deputy first minister John Swinney – with opposition parties all set to back the move. Backed into a corner, Swinney said he would now hand “key” papers over to the Salmond inquiry committee “to counter the false claims”. Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, one of the most active members of the committee, has revealed the body could still ask Salmond’s lawyers to share documents it has been unable to access. The Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC will be grilled by the committee today on claims the Crown Office has unnecessarily interfered with Salmond’s attempts to share vital evidence. Salmond, remember, has said the Lord Advocate should “consider his position”.

HOPING IT GOES AWAY? Top Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo is struggling with a sexual harassment scandal that’s given his party one of the first political headaches of the post-Trump era. So far, few Democrats have defended New York governor – but they haven’t explicitly condemned him, either. Former aide Lindsey Boylan has alleged Cuomo subjected her to an unwanted kiss and comments about her appearance, and a second former aide, Charlotte Bennett, has also gone public with harassment claims. Former Republican Jason Chaffetz claimed that the New York Times and “big media” had been holding back in its coverage of allegations against Cuomo. But one of Fox News’ correspondents interrupted him to point out the Times broke the most recent story.

On the record

“It is deeply concerning that DUP ministers are actively trying to sabotage the arrangements.”

SDLP Colum Eastwood on the DUP’s ‘guerrilla’ tactics in Northern Ireland.

From the Twitterati

“The sheer amount of effort put into the personal branding of Rishi Sunak is really quite something … I’ve seen more sceptical videos produced for military dictators.”

The Guardian’s Peter Walker is amazed by the latest Treasury video.

“I know you all think he’s handsome in a ‘not half bad for a nerd’ way but five-minute vanity videos are a bit, ‘Hubris thy name is Rishi Sunak’.”

…and it left Mark Worgan a bit sickened.

Essential reading

Tom Peck, The Independent: Rishi Sunak has made a prat of himself with a David Brent-esque video

Rachel Shabi, The Independent: Labour’s problem with anti-black racism

Martin Fletcher, New Statesman: Why is Boris Johnson getting away with failure?

Robert Reich, Newsweek: Trump’s takeover of the Republican party is actually great news for the Democrats

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