Inside Politics: Boris Johnson to make big Brexit decision on Friday

An original copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio has been sold for £7.5m at auction. Which is a reminder that British creative genius is still valued – despite the government’s efforts to get artists retraining in cyber security. What about the art of a trade deal? Do the creative geniuses at No 10 have an ending for our Brexit drama? If all the world’s a stage, and all men and women merely players, then we are set for some wonderful performances as the EU leaders’ summit begins in Brussels. Boris Johnson says he wants to assess all the grandstanding over the next two days, before deciding later on Friday whether our fifth-act Brexit finale will be comic or tragic.  Or both.

Inside the bubble

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

EU leaders kick off a two European Council summit in Brussels, with a Brexit trade deal front and centre of discussions – but precious little sign of a breakthrough on the horizon. Boris Johnson is to review proposals to place more areas of northern England under tier 3 restrictions – before health secretary Matt Hancock makes a statement to MPs in the Commons confirmed any changes.

Daily briefing

EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE: Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron: Boris Johnson will be watching you. The PM will observe and “analyse” comments by EU leaders at the big summit over the next 48 hours – before deciding whether to carry on or walk away from trade deal talks. Johnson expressed his “disappointment” at the lack of progress after his call with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Is it more game-playing? Reports suggest No 10’s negotiating chief David Frost will tell Johnson not to pull out because a deal is possible. Merkel is ready to tell Macron his brinkmanship over fishing rights risks damaging other economies, according to The Times. Meanwhile, the government has revealed thousands of portaloos will be set up for British lorry drivers caught short in Brexit queuing chaos. Tory MP Karl McCartney said drivers were already relieving themselves in lay-bys, with a “proliferation of bottles that look like they’re filled with Irn Bru”. Yuck.

FEARS FOR TIERS: It looks like Manchester and Lancashire, as well parts of Yorkshire and the Midlands, will be put under tier 3 lockdown. The changes were recommended to health secretary Matt Hancock at a meeting of the Joint Biosecurity Centre taskforce. London, meanwhile, is set to be moved up into tier 2 status (a ban on households mixing indoors) – with mayor Sadiq Khan backing the imminent change (which may come as soon as Friday). How much of a fight is Manchester going to put up? The city region’s Labour mayor Andy Burnham is furious about finding out in the media last night, and has threatened a legal challenge if No 10 places the area under very high alert “by imposition, not consent”. With the PM said to be considering a “circuit breaker” lockdown across England, Keir Starmer said he should just hurry up and get on with it to “save lives”. The idea is popular – 68 per cent of people told YouGov they support a circuit breaker.

BORDER WARS: Wales will ban people from large parts of the England (and Scotland’s central belt) from travelling over the border, the first minister has announced. Mark Drakeford said he was forced to ask because the PM didn’t listen to his request for travel restrictions in areas with high Covid infections. “I’m still baffled by his unwillingness to take a simple, common sense course of action.” In Northern Ireland, first minister Arlene Foster announced a four-week circuit breaker: pubs and restaurants shut on Friday; schools close on Monday. And in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon told Scots to stay away from Blackpool (because of an outbreak from returning holidaymakers). The SNP leader will be buoyed by a new poll showing 58 per cent of Scots now support independence – a record high. “Let’s keep persuading others,” said the first minister. Her deputy Keith Brown claimed the poll showed separation was now the “settled will of the Scottish people”.

BELLS AND WHISTLES: Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has urged vulnerable MPs to stay away from parliament amid rising infection levels. “MPs could easily become super spreaders … I’m saying you’ve got to look after yourself,” he said – suggesting virtual voting should be considered once again. But Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg rejected the suggestion: “It is our duty to be here.” Speaking of duty and the dutiful, Theresa May is back in the headlines. Boris Johnson once texted friends to say “God, she’s awful”, according to Tom Bower’s new biography of Boris. Hardly revelatory stuff, is it? Theresa can take comfort from the fact she hasn’t had a pub named after her as an insult. A Merseyside boozer has rebranded itself “The Three Bellends”. The board outside shows a picture of Johnson, Hancock and Dominic Cummings with bells on their heads.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT: Remember when Johnson promised a world-beating test and trace system? It has emerged the government is paying management consultants around £7,000 a day to try to make the system less woeful. The rate works out at around £1.5m on an annual basis, according to Sky News. It comes as the government revealed the costs of HS2 have risen – yet again. Ministers have admitted an extra £800m is needed for the high-speed rail project after asbestos was discovered. More encouraging transport news comes from Grant Shapps, who said the 14-day quarantine for travellers returning to the UK could be cut to seven days. The transport secretary told an industry conference the plan for a new system would involve travellers self-isolating at home then taking a Covid test “about a week” after landing. Doesn’t sound so hard – what took so long?

SINS OF THE FATHER: Donald Trump’s 14-year-old son Barron tested positive for coronavirus soon after his dad got it. After his wife revealed the big news, Trump told supporters at a rally in Iowa: “I don’t even think he knew he had it because they’re young and their immune systems are strong and they fight it off,” before adding: “Barron is beautiful and he is free”. Which is a nice addition to Trump’s list of oddly poetic lines. Meanwhile, Trump’s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had her Twitter account locked for sharing a news story about Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine. McEnany accused the social media giant of banning content that “hurts the side of the aisle that Silicon Valley prefers”.  

On the record

“I know that for someone who has been an opportunist all his life this is difficult to understand, but … I have genuinely concluded a circuit breaker is in the national interest.”

Keir Starmer tells the PM he is following the evidence.

From the Twitterati

“Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock – if you want to pay me a £7k a day consultancy fee to tell you that your test and trace system is s***, I’m absolutely up to the job.”

TalkRadio’s Julia Hartley-Brewer is incensed by test and trace...

“You might have noticed that NHS Test and Trace, the £12bn service supposed to tell us who has the virus and where, isn’t yet world class in the way Boris Johnson promised it would be.”

…while Robert Peston is more understated in his criticism.  

Essential reading

Tom Peck, The Independent: Johnson accusing Starmer of opportunism is pure desperation

George Ajjan, The Independent: The 2020 US election polls you should actually believe

Marina Hyde, The Guardian: The Covid mugger is back – but Boris Johnson isn’t even wrestling it

David Aaronovitch, The Times: The reactionary right keeps getting it wrong

Sign up here to receive this daily briefing in your email inbox every morning