COBRA for coronavirus, Home Office chaos and Labour’s Brexit challenge

Our “part-time Prime Minister”, as Labour has taken to calling him, will finally chair a COBRA meeting this morning on the coronavirus outbreak. Cases in the UK have now increased to 36, and a plan of action is needed. The chief demands of trade unions have centred on workers’ rights, with the TUC making the point that this threat and the calls for self-isolation in some cases shows why statutory sick pay should be a day one right for everyone. Lisa Nandy is calling on the government to pass emergency legislation guaranteeing just that, because “people need to be able to follow medical advice” without having to make “unnecessarily difficult choices”.

It also looks likely that there will be an urgent question from Labour in the House of Commons on the Home Office chaos. The most senior civil servant in the department quit on Saturday, accusing Priti Patel of bullying. She denies the allegations, but Philip Rutnam plans to take his case to an employment tribunal. Keir Starmer was quick off the mark with a series of demands after the news broke, for: the Cabinet Secretary to launch an investigation; Patel to explain herself to parliament; Liaison Committee to hold an urgent inquiry “into the culture and workings of government”. Rebecca Long-Bailey said she preferred an independent judge-led inquiry, and called on the government to offer to pay Rutnam’s legal fees or at least not seek costs in his case. It looks like Pratel is on her way out – only weeks after Sajid Javid had to resign.

It’s all kicking off today: EU-UK trade negotiations are starting, and the UK is seeking to strengthen its hand by publishing the government’s mandate for a US trade deal at the same time. How will the trickiest issues, such as fisheries, be resolved? Will the transition period need to be extended beyond December 31st, or will the UK walk away? John Lehal of Labour Business has written for LabourList on how Labour should approach Brexit in the coming months. There is a tricky balance to be struck between warning of the dangers of ‘no deal’ and not setting the bar too low.

While a ‘no deal’ scenario seems far from unlikely, the constant talk last year of Johnson never being able to renegotiate the exit package meant that when he achieved just that – by recycling an earlier version discarded by his predecessor – his victory was huge. The demands of the opposition should therefore hold the government to a high standard, rather than limit itself to predictions of doom and gloom. Labour’s next leader must make the details of these crucial talks real to voters who do not have the time nor inclination to follow blow-by-blow accounts of the UK-EU negotiations.

If you missed them since our last morning email, catch up on our most-read pieces of the weekend. Starmer promised to consult Labour members on electoral reform. Long-Bailey set out a six-point plan to stop the “corrupting influence of corporate money in politics”, prevent “vested interests” from “buying policy” and “end the gentleman’s club in Westminster”. Most importantly, the second leadership election Survation poll for LabourList dropped. It not only showed Starmer take a clear lead, but also indicated that members overwhelmingly believe he would shift the party “further to the centre” – and plenty more, which you can read in full here.

• Today: COBRA meeting on coronavirus; Hope Not Hate report launch (10am)
• Tuesday: Sadiq Khan launches London mayoral campaign; British Kebab Awards 2020; BAME leadership hustings
• Wednesday: PMQs (12pm); Labour Women’s Network leadership hustings (6.15pm); Rebecca Long-Bailey and Keir Starmer on The Andrew Neil Show (7pm)