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Good Sunday Afternoon: This is John Johnston, watching all the Westminster drama so you can sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. Annabelle Dickson is back next week.
THINGS TO KNOW
NO SURPRISE: The fallout from Boris Johnson’s shock resignation from Parliament — alongside allies Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams — has dominated both the Sunday papers and the morning media round.
ICYMI (somehow): Johnson’s dramatic exit came late on Friday after he got first sight of the House of Commons privileges committee’s Partygate report, branding the probe a “kangaroo court” that was “riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice”, before going on to give an excoriating analysis of Sunak’s leadership.
Also no surprise: The move has triggered a weekend of blue-on-blue infighting, pushed Rishi Sunak on to the back foot, and left the opposition salivating at the prospect of three juicy by-elections.
You know it’s a crisis: When Grant Shapps is sent out on the Sunday media round to defend the government. It’s become such a running joke that Sky’s Sophy Ridge opened her interrogation by asking the energy secretary if he had become the ministerial “fire blanket.” Just a “coincidence,” Shapps assured viewers with a wry smile.
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But as expected: Shapps stuck to the line dutifully, insisting that while Johnson is “someone with many qualities,” there is now “new management” in Downing Street better suited to dealing with the “different challenges” facing the country.
He added: “The world has moved on… he is the one who removed himself from the current political scene… he was the right man for his time,” Shapps said of his former boss, before saying he felt the public were quite finished with all the “drama” of the Johnson era.
Try telling that … to a vocal gang of angry Tory MPs, who this weekend have eschewed drinking in the park like the rest of the country in favour of spending their time rattling away on Twitter about “the blob,” “the establishment” and various other boogeymen who are apparently responsible for Johnson’s departure.
To be fair: Many of them rightly credit Johnson and his 2019 landslide for launching their political careers, and are increasingly concerned Sunak’s more reserved approach will not be enough to ward off the looming Labour threat.
Sunak strategy: But it’s pretty clear from Shapps’ remarks that Downing Street has settled on a strategy to de-escalate the situation by playing up Johnson’s successes over COVID and Ukraine, while gently suggesting he’s yesterday’s man.
We can only wait: To see whether that approach will be enough to dampen down a wider Tory rebellion in the coming days. It has certainly failed to convince Johnson’s key allies, several of whom are stirring the pot in the Sunday papers.
That includes: An op-ed in the Mail on Sunday from Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has warned the party faces “civil war” if it attempts to block Johnson from running in a new constituency. A Telegraph write-up from former Brexit minister David Frost gives a glowing appraisal of the ex-PM’s political career and concludes his story is “not over” yet.
Reminder: Johnson gave Frost a life peerage in 2020. He gave Rees-Mogg a knighthood on Friday evening. Always worth bearing these things in mind.
Happy families: Notably, none of Johnson’s political allies were willing to actually face press scrutiny on the Sunday shows, a decision that one unnamed minister (clearly not familiar with the concept of irony) told the BBC was proof they were a band of “cowardly piglets.”
Dishonorable: Shapps also dismissed claims that Johnson’s decision to jump was partially because Rishi Sunak had filleted his honours resignation list — removing Dorries and several other Johnson chums from the list. Shapps insisted he could say “for certain” that Sunak had “not changed or altered the list in any way,” and that the usual appointment process had been followed.
If only there had been some clue he was like this: And Shapps said while he wasn’t sure whether the confusion was partly down to Johnson’s own failure to understand the process, he admitted the ex-PM “occasionally … wouldn’t be all over the details.”
Bookmark moment: The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg pushed Shapps hard on a slightly different, but crucial, point — that Sunak’s team reportedly intervened early in the process to stop some of these names making in on to the initial list. At risk of becoming a hostage of fortune, Shapps said “as far as he was aware” that wasn’t the case. Hmmm.
Major case of the Sunday scaries … for Rishi Sunak, as rumors swirl that further resignations could leave the PM facing yet more dangerous by-elections. The Sunday Express reckons former Cabinet ministers Nadhim Zahawi and Alok Sharma are next in line.
Pinch of salt: Vague resignation warnings do wonders for keeping a crisis narrative at the top of the news agenda, of course. Zahawi has already come out to rubbish the rumours, saying: “Any speculation that I might be stepping down from my seat is untrue.”
Sun Tzu snubbed: Rather than just sitting back and letting the latest Tory psychodrama unfold, Labour leader Keir Starmer has said the situation can only be resolved with a snap general election.
Sign of the times: Unlike his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn — who played the election card at the slightest sniff of scandal — Starmer usually reserves such talk for moments of genuine crisis or political opportunity. Shadow Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden told Sky that a snap election was needed because there was no “cure for this chaos under the current government.”
No wait, look at me! Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage (come on, you remember) told GB News’ Camilla Tominey he’d be up for launching a whole new party with BoJo. “If he wants to defend his Brexit legacy, I want to defend my Brexit legacy too,” Farage said. “Would there be a possibility of a new coming-together on the centre-right? It would be Boris Johnson, there would be other MPs that would join in with this as well.” He added: “I have discussed it with people very close to him and around him.” It’s going to be a long old summer.
QUICK-FIRE CATCH-UP
TRUMPED-UP CHARGES: Another blond-haired ex-leader with few qualms about traducing democratic institutions — Donald Trump, obvs — has issued a defiant response to federal indictments against him as he continues his campaign to be re-elected U.S. president in 2024.
ICYMI: The former leader was hit with an extraordinary 37-count indictment on Friday accusing him of keeping hundreds of classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago resort — claims he has strongly denied.
But but but: Speaking at two campaign events on Saturday, Trump — who remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination — branded the claims a “hoax”, a “joke” and a “travesty of justice.”
Fan favourites: Trump hit all the applause points, saying the federal charges were part of a plot cooked up by (and this is not an exhaustive list): “Radical left” democrats, “environmental extremists,” “open border fanatics,” Marxists, communists and “crooks.” He didn’t quite get as far as Hilary Clinton’s emails, but hey — the campaign is still young.
UKRAINE COUNTERS: Ukrainian troops have indeed launched their long-awaited pushback of Putin’s forces, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Pushback: Speaking during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Zelenskyy said his forces had started “counteroffensive and defensive” operations but would not provide details on the stage of the plans.
Remember: The offensive comes just days after Russia provoked international condemnation over the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam which has caused fears of a humanitarian and ecological disaster triggered by widespread flooding.
Sending a message: Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to confirm the counteroffensive Saturday, claiming Ukrainian forces were taking “significant losses.” But Zelenskyy dismissed the comments, saying: “Everything is positive. Pass this on to Putin.”
ASYLUM PLAN SUNK: The U.K. government has ditched plans to house 500 asylum seekers on a cruise ship in Birkenhead after objections from the port operator, Sky News’ Ali Fortescue reports. The ship would have been one of seven sites ministers were hoping to use to house asylum seekers as they continue efforts to move people out of costly hotel accommodation.
Scuttled: Citing a government source, Sky said the plans were scrapped after Liverpool port operator Peel Ports Group said it could not see “any conceivable scenario” where local agencies could make the scheme work.
MORTGAGE MADNESS: Sensing opportunity on another flank, Labour have launched an attack on the Tories’ economic credibility, claiming homeowners are being hit with a “Tory mortgage penalty” of £7,000 a year.
Fallout: Shadow Treasury Minister Pat McFadden said their analysis found homeowners were still suffering from higher mortgage rates triggered by Liz Truss’s “reckless economic gamble” — claiming those who had renewed their mortgage since the mini-budget were now paying an additional £150 each week.
What Labour definitely doesn’t want to talk about: Questions over Labour’s own economic competence which followed the party’s embarrassing climbdown this weekend. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested Friday she may scale back plans to borrow £28 billion a year to invest in green jobs and industry.
That prompted: A scathing response from Tory ministers, with party chair Greg Hands saying the U-turn was proof Labour’s economic plans were “in tatters.”
Uh-huh: But speaking on Sky, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy instead blamed fluctuating interest rates for messing up the sums — which makes it the government’s fault really, see? He pitched the decision as proof of the party’s commitment to keeping spending in check.
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MEDIA ROUND
Ayesha Hazarika on Times Radio (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.): Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown … Labour MP Emma Hardy … SNP MP Ronnie Cowan … The Guardian’s Aubrey Allegretti.
Gloria Meets (GB News, 6 p.m.): Tory MPs Steve Brine and Henry Smith … and Shadow Environment Minister Ruth Jones.
The Westminster Hour (Radio 4, 10 p.m.): Tory MP Bim Afolami … Shadow Health Minister Karin Smyth … Daily Mail Political Editor Jason Groves … and the Institute for Government’s Hannah White.
WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY
COMMONS: Sits from 2:30 p.m. starting with education questions, followed by a general debate on “risk-based exclusion” of MPs from Westminster.
LORDS: Peers continue their scrutiny of the Illegal Migration Bill.
COURT: Final legal arguments in bid to stop asylum-seeker camps being built in Wethersfield, Essex, and Scampton, Lincolnshire, to be heard at the Court of Appeal.
TUESDAY
INQUIRY: The COVID inquiry holds its first substantive hearing, with opening remarks by chair Heather Hallett.
COMMONS: Foreign Office questions from 11:30 a.m., after which MPs will get a chance to chew over Lords amendments to the Procurement Bill.
WEDNESDAY
ECONOMY: Monthly GDP stats are published at 7 a.m.
COMMONS: Science, innovation and tech questions from 11:30 a.m., then PMQs at noon.
POPCORN 1: The Commons home affairs committee will question Home Secretary Suella Braverman from 9:45 a.m.
POPCORN 2: ITV boss Carolyn McCall will face questions on her handling of the Philip Schofield saga from the Commons culture, media and sport committee.
PARTIES: The Institute for Government hosts its summer party, while Netflix is gearing up for a “Netflix and Grill” event in central London.
THURSDAY
COMMONS: Culture, media and sport questions from 9:30 a.m., followed by the weekly business statement and then a backbench debate on Pride Month.
INQUIRY: Second COVID hearing takes place, featuring infectious disease experts.
FRIDAY
COMMONS: Not sitting.
INQUIRY: Third COVID session takes evidence from scientists and former senior civil servants.
SATURDAY
FESTIVAL: The Big Tent Ideas Festival takes place in York.
Thanks: To editor Jack Blanchard for sending typos to the kangaroo court. And to the production team for delivering this straight to your deckchair.
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