Boris doubles down on Rashford row, for now

Boris Johnson has refused to U-turn on free school meals despite growing opposition from the public, the private sector, and his own backbenches. Speaking to reporters today, the Prime Minister claimed the government had found more effective ways to combat the issue of child holiday hunger.

“We support the local councils, and indeed we fund the local councils and many of the organisations that are helping in this period. But we’re also uplifting Universal Credit by £1,000, and we think that is one of the best ways you can help families in these tough times,” Johnson said, adding: “I totally understand the issue of holiday hunger. It is there, we have to deal with it. The debate is how do you deal with it.”

The statement follows a mass mobilisation of private businesses over the weekend in support of footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign for free school meals over the half-term, Christmas and Easter breaks. Hundreds of restaurants and cafés are providing lunch boxes to children in their local areas in the absence of a government-funded programme. This has provoked a wave of public sympathy for the issue and, in turn, anger at the Conservatives.

Tory backbenchers, seemingly inundated with constituent complaints, have begun to voice their concerns with the party leadership publicly. Conservative Chair of the Commons Liaison Committee, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said yesterday that his party now has to “admit we’ve misunderstood the mood of the country here” and that “the public want to see the government taking a national lead on this, and I think the government will probably have to think again on that.”

Nick Timothy, former joint chief of staff to ex-Prime Minister Theresa May, tweeted: “The problem with arguing that free school meals are a sticking plaster and not a long-term cure is that sometimes, in the short-term, sticking plasters are all we have.”

This row could have long-term consequences for Johnson: it underlines the growing belief among some backbenchers that their leader has lost his way. Having backed his leadership on the basis that was an election winner with his finger on the pulse of the common man, some Tories are beginning to believe that the Prime Minister is a one trick pony: good on Brexit, terrible at everything else.

There is only so much political capital a leader can lose.

Speaking of the Tory leadership…

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is the target of a negative ad campaign by a new anti-Conservative group called One Rule For Them. The advert, narrated in a northern accent, attempts to frame the rising star as an out-of-touch elitist. “He’s even got his own California beach house, not forgetting a whole country estate, and a mansion in Kensington to boot,” it says.

It’s unclear how effective this line of attack will be, especially since Sunak has dramatically increased benefits payments and directly paid wages into millions of ordinary bank accounts. Indeed, some voters may associate personal wealth with good economic management. What we know for sure is that the left is worried about Sunak’s popularity.

This ad comes off the back of recent attempts by Labour to brief against Sunak. These efforts are a sign that, whatever the misgivings about Johnson in the Tory ranks, the Labour Party doesn’t want to see him switched out for a popular and secure replacement.

There is also a danger that the One Rule for Them line of attack could backfire. While it is no doubt playing into a well-worn trope about the Tories being out of touch, it might also have the effect of making Sunak’s lifestyle appear more glamorous than it really is. Among the non-political public at large, celebrity lifestyles actually turn out to be rather popular. Sunak’s opponents should think carefully before potentially turning him into a celebrity Chancellor.

Trump’s last dash 

With a week to go until the last votes are cast in the US presidential election, Donald Trump is frantically criss-crossing the battleground states in a last-ditch attempt to win. Tonight alone, the President will hold three separate rallies in Pennsylvania – widely considered to be one of the crucial states by pollsters. Meanwhile, Biden is holding no events.

Things look bad for Trump. In today’s YouGov polls of the battleground rust belt states, he is behind by ten points Michigan, nine points in Wisconsin, and eight points in Pennsylvania. If Trump loses all three, he loses the presidency. More worryingly for long-term Republican prospects, YouGov also has Trump tied neck-and-neck with Biden in Georgia, and a Dallas Morning News poll shows Biden three points ahead in Texas.

Still, Trump’s campaign team remains hopeful that the combination of a campaign blitz and the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, expected tonight, will energise the President’s base to turn out in large numbers next Tuesday. It’s going to be a fascinating week.

Fly me to the Moon 

A new era in space exploration? Perhaps. NASA’s “unambiguous detection of molecular water” on sunlit regions of the moon provides a massive boost to prospects of a permanent lunar base. Elon Musk has already made clear that if such molecules are available, he would use them to fuel engines that could then set off for Mars, with the Moon acting as a transit hub.

Much remains uncertain, however; it is not clear how much water there is or how easy it will be to extract, but let us imagine for a moment an era in which the moon becomes the stepping stone to human settlements across the solar system. Its lack of atmosphere would allow refuelled engines to propel people and telescopes faster and further into the unknown.

“Water is the oil of space,” says George Sowers, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines. “If NASA’s plans are to create a permanent human presence on the Moon, the first thing NASA needs to do is build a production facility for propellant.”

Mutaz Ahmed
Political Reporter