Matthew Taylor

Alok Sharma: Net zero targets can be met with incentives With the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow looming ever closer, Andrew Marr spoke this morning to Alok Sharma, the President for COP26. Marr asked about what the UK government was preparing to do in order to meet its ambitious targets of zero carbon emissions by 2050: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1439523850895638532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw AS: The UK actually has been making progress… This isn’t about forcing anyone to do anything, this is about providing incentives.

Sajid Javid – I’m not anticipating any more lockdowns The Health Secretary was the main guest of the day on BBC One’s Andrew Marr show, hosted this morning by Nick Robinson. Robinson asked Javid about the likelihood that Christmas could be threatened once again by lockdown. Javid responded by saying that it was highly unlikely that the UK would see itself in a similar position to last year, even with an expected surge of the virus over this winter: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1436977708823629824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw SJ: I’m not anticipating any more lockdowns… I just don't see how we get to another lockdown.

No one could argue that there hasn’t been anything to talk about since the Sunday shows made their last appearance in July. From Afghanistan to vaccine passports, the government has had plenty on its plate, and the latest thorny issue to hit the headlines is the government’s plan to reform the social care system. It is being reported that a rise in the rate of National Insurance is practically a done deal, despite an explicit Conservative commitment not to do so in 2019. Andrew Marr took the Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi to task over the government’s record on its promises: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1434454059004616705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw NZ: We’re determined to reform the social care system… We want to get this right.

Perhaps 'freedom day' eve was never destined to run smoothly. Nevertheless, the breaking news this morning that both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor had been contacted by NHS Test and Trace falls in the realm of absurdities that one just couldn’t make up. It had initially been announced that Johnson and Sunak would be taking advantage of a pilot scheme that would have allowed them to avoid self-isolating, under the proviso that they took daily lateral flow tests and kept their work to essential duties only.

Nadhim Zahawi – Government will set out unlocking steps tomorrow The government’s original plans for ‘Freedom Day’ on 21 June came and went, but this morning the vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi re-asserted that the blueprint for Freedom Day Mk 2 had been given the green light: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1414127268406902787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw NZ: I am confident that we can proceed… but cautiously, and we will be setting out tomorrow, guidelines on… the transition from mandating, or government by diktat, to taking personal responsibility… for our own actions.

Robert Jenrick – We will have to ‘learn to live with the virus’ The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick was the government’s chief spokesman today as England edges ever closer towards the planned relaxation of Covid restrictions on 19 July. Jenrick continued to make positive noises about this date, telling Trevor Phillips that data being examined by the Prime Minister was looking promising – and suggesting that another postponement of ‘Freedom Day’ was highly unlikely. However, Jenrick’s cautious comments did not rule out the return of restrictions in the winter, should cases continue to rise: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1411590196290785280?

Brandon Lewis: Matt Hancock has ‘ultimately’ made ‘the right judgement’ There is only one story in town at the moment: Matt Hancock’s resignation after the Sun splashed a picture of him and his Department of Health colleague Gina Coladangelo on Friday’s front page. Their embrace, recorded on CCTV in early May, has prompted accusations of hypocrisy, with the hapless Health Secretary apparently unable to follow the guidance he laid down for the rest of the country. Hancock initially had Boris Johnson’s full backing, but he stood down on Saturday following mounting pressure, including the full release of the CCTV tape in question.

John Bercow – ‘I do not identify with the Conservative party’ Last night, it was revealed that the former Commons Speaker John Bercow had not merely distanced himself from his former party, but had disowned it altogether. Interviewed by the Observer, he castigated the Conservative party as ‘reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic’. Bercow’s jump across the divide may come as no surprise to some, but in doing so he has become the first ex-Speaker to ever make such a move back into the political arena. Trevor Phillips spoke to Bercow, once an enthusiastic figure on the Tory right, about the reasons for his change of allegiance: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1406523980979355655?

Not all is harmonious in Carbis Bay this morning. Amid the sun and sea air, a row has erupted between Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron reportedly suggested to the Prime Minister that Northern Ireland was not part of the same country as the rest of the UK, as part of a heated discussion about sausages, which have become symbolic of the trading difficulties imposed by the Northern Ireland Protocol. The Foreign Secretary, who is also in attendance at the G7 summit, spoke to Andrew Marr about the incident: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1404009290768265219?

The Health Secretary was back in front of the cameras this morning, and there was plenty to discuss, from the planned lifting of all restrictions on 21 June to the fallout from Dominic Cummings’ testimony before MPs last week. Dominic Cummings’ most wounding accusation last week was that Hancock had deliberately lied to the Prime Minister’s face during a cabinet meeting in the early days of the pandemic. The allegation concerns the testing of patients who were to be moved directly from hospitals into care homes. Cummings claims thousands of deaths resulted from outbreaks in care homes because such tests were not carried out, despite Hancock confirming to the Prime Minister that they were. Hancock categorically denied Cummings’ allegation: https://twitter.

Nadhim Zahawi – Government ‘absolutely’ threw protective ring around care homes Dominic Cummings’ much anticipated testimony before the lessons learnt joint inquiry on Wednesday has proved as volcanic. Earning his particular ire was the health secretary Matt Hancock. Cummings claimed that Hancock should have been fired for ’15 to 20’ different reasons, and alleged that Hancock had lied about supplying tests for Covid patients before they were discharged to care homes during a cabinet meeting in March 2020. Matt Hancock stated two months later that the government had thrown a ‘protective ring’ around the care home sector.

Priti Patel: The BBC’s reputation ‘has been compromised’ Today’s political shows were dominated by the fallout from the Dyson inquiry into the BBC and its relationship with the journalist Martin Bashir. The findings of Lord Dyson’s report have already seen Tony Hall, the BBC’s former director-general, resign his post as chair of the National Gallery. The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, spoke to Trevor Philips – who will be replacing Sophy Ridge while she is on maternity leave – about the issue: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1396371925941772288?

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was urged to justify the government’s roadmap for easing Covid restrictions during his TV round this morning. From tomorrow in England and Wales, indoor hospitality and entertainment businesses will be able to reopen their doors, and rules on meeting other people both inside and out will also be relaxed significantly. Hancock insisted it was right for Britain to go ahead with the next step in its easing of restrictions, but told Andrew Marr the decision to unlock the economy fully would not be taken until 14 June: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1393854974325575681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw AM: Are you sure… that it is wise to go ahead with the unlocking at the rate that we’re doing?

The results from the ‘Super Thursday’ elections are now in, and they are raising existential questions, both for the Labour party and for the United Kingdom. The SNP re-established their dominant position across Scotland, hoovering up most of the constituency seats, but falling just short of an overall majority once the ‘list’ seats were taken into account. Nicola Sturgeon has already announced her plans to introduce another independence referendum in a speech yesterday. On the Andrew Marr Show, she responded to the suggestion that her plans could be bought before the Supreme Court, either by the government, or another challenger: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1391319272987799552?

Douglas Ross – PM should resign if he broke the Ministerial Code Andrew Marr’s first guest of the day was Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives. With potentially crucial elections being held all across the UK next week – including to Holyrood – the row about the Prime Minister’s arrangements to pay for the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat continues to rumble on. Marr asked Ross if he thought Boris Johnson should consider his position if the Electoral Commission finds him to have broken the Ministerial Code over the issue: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1388776897237168130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw DR: Of course. I think people expect the highest standards of those in the highest office of the land.

Liz Truss – I ‘absolutely believe and trust’ the PM on Downing Street refurbishment The International Trade Secretary Liz Truss was the government’s chief spokesperson this morning, meaning that she would be the lightning rod for the questions raised by Dominic Cumming’s latest blog post. The most incendiary part of the blog concerned the Prime Minister’s designs on refurbishing his Downing Street flat. Cummings claimed that Boris Johnson’s initial hopes to fund the renovation with money from the pockets of Conservative donors were ‘unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure’.

George Eustice – David Cameron’s behaviour ‘is acceptable’ Both Andrew Marr and Sophy Ridge were joined this morning by the Environment Secretary George Eustice – and much of their conversations focused on the recent lobbying debacle sparked by the former Prime Minister’s texts to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Cameron was attempting to secure support loans on behalf of the financial services firm Greensill Capital, but was unsuccessful and the business filed for insolvency in March. Marr questioned Eustice over whether the current lobbying rules were too soft and ineffectual: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1383715753459781640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw AM: Do you think that what David Cameron has done is acceptable?

Oliver Dowden – We have ‘every confidence’ there will not be future lockdowns The Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden was in the hot seat this morning amid reports that a third wave of Covid-19 is engulfing much of continental Europe. Many of the UK’s close neighbours, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, are re-introducing or extending measures to combat the so-called ‘Kent variant’ of the disease. Andrew Marr sought to get reassurance from Dowden that the government would not end up plunging England back into a fourth nationwide lockdown: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1376097151437135876?

Steve Baker – Coronavirus Act is ‘excessive and disproportionate’ This week, before Parliament breaks up for the Easter recess, the government will seek to extend the Coronavirus Act by a further six months. The act, which was first passed almost exactly one year ago, has been met with serious discontent by many Conservative backbenchers, who argue that the curbs it has imposed on civil liberties are unacceptable. Steve Baker, the deputy chair of the Covid Recovery Group, told Sophy Ridge why he would be voting against extending the Act: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1373563139262922755?

Victoria Atkins – Police response to Sarah Everard vigil ‘very upsetting’ On Saturday, a vigil was held on Clapham Common in memory of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who disappeared from London’s streets earlier in March and whose body was later found in a Kent woodland. After talks between the police and the organisers of the event broke down, the vigil was held unofficially, and the Metropolitan Police have been criticised for their conduct in managing the crowd of several hundred people. Andrew Marr spoke to the Home Office minister Victoria Atkins about the incident, which saw scuffles break out and four arrests made: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1371036422598189057?