There is some big non-election news happening today: Simon Case is finally giving evidence to the Covid inquiry, from 10am. As a reminder, we already know (from WhatsApps) that the cabinet secretary viewed Boris Johnson’s No 10 as “poisonous” and “mad”.

theguardian.com/uk-news/articl… It's Simon Case time!

The DfT has put out a press release on clamping down on LTNs and various other scourges like 20mph limits - and it’s interesting in what is says about where we are with transport policy and the culture around it. Thread. 1/ Away from the “anti-driver” headlines, the content about more consultation on LTNs isn’t hugely controversial. That said, when I asked the DfT if they could cite one of the “recent examples where councils have implemented these schemes without public support” they couldn’t. 2/

Oh, hello Rowan, 2014 just rang, asking for their comment piece back. Seriously, who still writes or commissions this sort of stuff? The article itself actually manages to cram in even more cliches than the astonishingly banal headline suggests, which is an achievement of sorts.

In case you've been in a cupboard this last week, it's Boris Johnson day (first of two) at the Covid inquiry. While Johnson's set-piece events tend to underwhelm - think of all those liaison committee appearances – this could be different in that he faces sustained questioning. It's worth remembering the lengths Johnson has tended to go to so as to avoid long form interview-style sustained questioning, eg the 'diary clash' which scuppered an Andrew Neil grilling before the 2019 election. He has, however. spent *weeks* preparing for this appearance.

It's Vallance time! Patrick Vallance has done a *200 page* witness statement, and a supplementary statement. Should politicians worry? Possibly.

🧵 Nigel Farage makes his I'm A Celebrity debut tonight, where he will be presented as a purveyor of robust but mainstream rightwing views. A pre-show reminder that he's not: he has regularly aired conspiracy theories linked to antisemitism & far right beliefs. Here's a sample 1/ Farage has been repeatedly condemned by leading Jewish groups, eg Board of Deputies, for using antisemitic-linked tropes, eg about a 'new world order' and the threat of a 'globalist' government. He has often singled out Goldman Sachs and George Soros as threats 2/

Live stream of today's about-to-start Covid inquiry hearing. First up is Clare Lombardelli, who was chief economic adviser under Rishi Sunak at the Treasury - this could be a tricky listen for No 10.

Lombardelli is telling the inquiry how near-impossible it was to model the potential economic impact of a lockdown, saying that to do that you would also need to know the counter-factual – how the economy would have been affected by the virus running unchecked.

Hang on… explain all that to me one more time? This is one of the most genuinely bizarre newspaper stories of any description I have ever read.

NEW: No 10 & DfT have confirmed their plan to prioritise drivers, including proposals to limit:
• 20mph zones
• Bus lanes
• LTNs
• Fines imposed by councils for law-breaking
• Block 15-minute city ideas

Full details here:

theguardian.com/politics/2023/… This is politically fascinating in that it is, very openly, an attempt to make roads more favourable to car drivers at the expense of the convenience and (sometimes) safety of others such as bus users, cyclists and pedestrians. Reverses the policy stance of recent UK govts.

Gillian Keegan on Sky says the DfE is taking a "very cautious approach" and is "going beyond" what it officially has to do given it "isn't strictly responsible fr the buildings". Latter might be officially true, but I'm not sure it's the message worried parents want to hear. "Most schools will be open," Keegan adds, saying it's "not the while building" that needs to be evacuated in the majority of cases. Again, there's a real danger this just sounds jarring and complacent.

Away from the right to banking/Coutts’PR mess-up, in purely corporate reputation terms Nigel Farage not just a Telegraph-friendly Brexiter: he’s strongly pro-Trump, has been repeatedly condemned for using antisemitic tropes, and has been pally with far-right conspiracists. None of those are illegal, and to stress this isn’t to argue he could/should be denied banking. It’s just to note that in terms of his expressed views and links, he’s arguably closer to a Tommy Robinson than, say, a John Redwood.

Back at NatCon for day two. Highlights for the day include Michael Gove doing a so-called “fireside chat” at 2pm. Now we have John Hayes - what you might call a pioneering Tory culture warrior. He is talking about the “widening chasm” between the people and “the liberal establishment”.

Welcome to the National
Conservatism conference - aka NatCon London 2023. Despite speakers including Suella Braverman and Jacob Rees-Mogg, this isn’t a Tory party event. It’s a moveable annual gathering of low tax populist nationalism run by a US think tank. Conservative-wise, it’s particularly appealing for those on the culture war side - Miriam Cates is an early speaker today. Not packed yet, but a big queue for delegates to get accreditation. This is definitely a thing for some Tories, and could be influential post-election.

Junior minister Rachel Maclean tells the Commons that voter ID is required because of the "absolute fiasco" in places like Tower Hamlets. But that was *postal voting*, not in-person voting. Sounds like she doesn't understand the basics of her own policy. Maclean was responding to an urgent question on whether proper data on the number of voters turned away for lack of ID will be collected. She twice declined to say whether "greeters" outside polling stations will count the numbers who leave when told they need ID.

Rishi Sunak was in Dorset yesterday afternoon and Cornwall today. But rather than stay overnight, he took a helicopter back to London and a jet to Cornwall this morning. Man doesn’t like trains. For the geographers/completists among you, it was 140 miles between his Dorset & Cornwall engagements. Going back to London made a round trip of 400 miles.

I’m in a very packed Westminster Hall and *just* about close enough to see the lectern from which President Zelenskiy will speak. Announcement of Zelenskiy brings a real surge of applause and feeling in Westminster Hall. MPs and peers have a high bar for being impressed, but it’s very clear they are.

Richard Sharp evidence so far:
• Was working in Downing Street anyway, on Covid projects.
• Told Johnson/Sunak he was going to apply for BBC job before he did.
• Introduced Sam Blyth to cabinet secretary.

All sounds very insular and cosy. It's also quite something in retrospect to have a prime minister whose finances were so famously dicey that a rich, overseas distant cousin feels obliged to seek ways to help him out.

NEW, on low-traffic neighbourhoods: biggest-yet UK study (of 46 London LTNs) indicates they notably reduce motor vehicles within the zone without seemingly increasingly traffic on boundary roads. The latter has been a major objection by LTN critics.

theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/j… Within the LTNs, motor traffic fell by 32.7% (as a median) or 46.9% as a mean. The proportion of streets seeing fewer than 1,000 vehicles/day - seen as friendly for cycling & walking - rose from 41% to 66%. Research was done by Westminster University’s Active Travel Academy.

Alister Jack formally tells the Commons that the government will impose a S35 order on the Scottish government's gender recognition act. Shouts of, "Shame!" from SNP benches. One of the problems faced by Alister Jack and the government is that even if the S35 order has been imposed purely on legal advice/for valid constitutional reasons, rather than to make a political point (and opinions will, obviously, differ), not many people will believe this.

Rishi Sunak tells the liaison committee that he cannot say how many asylum seekers the government hopes to send to Rwanda, as he cannot "comment on a commercial contract". That's a curious way to refer to a public policy. Asked to name his biggest regret during his time as chancellor, Rishi Sunak says it was being unfairly criticised for being right about fiscal policy when others were wrong. OK.

Grant Shapps on Sky very much sounding like the government is about to back down over the Simon Clarke amendment on allowing new onshore wind projects in England. Ludicrously, he is trying to dress this up as what was government policy anyway. Shapps says all the Clarke amendment does is allow local consent for onshore wind projects, which is just what Rishi Sunak has always wanted. But that's not true.

theguardian.com/politics/2022/…