(Bloomberg) — Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.
Boris Johnson will try to recapture the spirit of the 2016 referendum as he seeks to convince Brexit supporters he still needs their votes even though polls show him on course for election victory next month.
Johnson warned against complacency late Thursday, saying there is still a risk of a coalition government led by Jeremy Corbyn, even after polling analysis suggested the Labour party could lose districts it has held for decades. John McDonnell, the opposition party’s economy spokesman, announced an “investment blitz” in a bid to win back wavering supporters.
The prime minister said the U.K. is working on “about a dozen trade deals” ready for its departure from the EU.
Must Read: The Tories Secretly Fear Trump Could Wreck Johnson’s Election
For more on the election visit ELEC.
Key Developments:
Johnson and Michael Gove will appear at a press conference in London at 11:15 a.m. in a reprise of the two men’s appearance the morning after the 2016 Brexit referendumLiberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson to speak in Cardiff at 2:30 p.m. on interfaith relations and policingThe BBC will hold a 7-way party debate at 7 p.m. – neither Johnson or Corbyn will take partThere is a 71% chance of a Conservative majority, according to bookmaker Ladbrokes
Johnson Defends Tory Plans on NHS (9:40 a.m.)
During his Q&A appearance on LBC radio, Boris Johnson was repeatedly challenged on his Conservative Party’s plans for the National Health Service. He acknowledged that a pledge to add 50,000 nurses actually includes persuading 19,000 to stay in the profession — a discrepancy that opposition parties have said shows the Tories are misleading voters.
“I do understand the controversy about this,” Johnson said, referring to the 19,000 figure. “The risk is that they will leave the profession and we’re putting in the funds to ensure they will stay.”
Britain’s beloved state-run NHS is a key battleground in the election campaign after Labour accused Johnson of using it as a bargaining chip in talks with the U.S. on a post-Brexit trade deal. The prime minister reiterated on Friday that’s not the case, calling it “Bermuda Triangle stuff” from Corbyn’s party.
Johnson was also on the back foot over his widely disputed plan to build 40 new hospitals, with opposition parties arguing the real number is only six. The prime minister was forced to acknowledge that some voters will not regard hospital refurbishments and upgrades as new hospitals. He also said the Conservative manifesto does not include a plan to resolve the crisis in social care because the precise details have not been “thrashed out” — despite it being a key pledge in his first speech as prime minister.
Johnson: Working on ‘About a Dozen’ Trade Deals (9:15 a.m.)
Boris Johnson could not give a figure for how many trade deals the U.K. has ready ahead of its departure from the EU. “I can’t give the answer to how many deals are actually formalized,” he said in a phone-in with listeners on LBC radio. “There are a number that are virtually ready to go.”
“I imagine we have about a dozen we’re currently working on,” he said, naming China, India, New Zealand and Australia as examples.
If his Conservative Party wins a working majority, the U.K. will leave the EU on Jan. 31, Johnson said. A trade deal will also be agreed with the bloc by the end of 2020, he said: “I see no reason to go beyond that deadline,” he told listeners.
Williamson Denies Tory Threat to Channel 4 (9 a.m.)
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson denied the Conservative Party is threatening to review Channel 4’s broadcasting license following its decision not to allow Cabinet minister Michael Gove to sub in for Boris Johnson in a leaders’ debate on climate change on Thursday.
Speaking on BBC radio, Williamson said the party has raised a complaint with the broadcasting regulator Ofcom. The row came after Johnson declined to appear in the debate, sending Gove in his place. Channel 4 refused to allow Gove, who appeared at the venue with his own television crew, to take part — on the basis that the invitation was to the leaders of the political parties.
“The Conservative Party isn’t threatening Channel 4, we’re raising a complaint with Ofcom which is perfectly legitimate,” Williamson said. “Frankly they reduced the quality of the debate that happened yesterday by refusing to let Michael Gove go on.” The Telegraph cited a source in the Tory party it didn’t identify as saying Channel 4’s public broadcasting license is under threat.
McDonnell: Johnson ‘Running Scared’ (Earlier)
Labour economy spokesman John McDonnell said Boris Johnson is “running scared” from scrutiny after the prime minister refused to attend a leaders debate on climate change on Thursday evening. He has also refused to be interviewed by Andrew Neil, who has the reputation of being one of the BBC’s most forensic interviewers.
“The reason he is doing it is because he thinks like, you know, his Bullingdon Club friends, that they’re above the rest of us,” McDonnell said. “Because he knows that Andrew Neil will take him apart. He’s running scared. But even if he does it now, he’s played you because he’s pushing it later and later beyond the postal vote returns.”
The Conservatives wrote to OfCom, the media regulator, on Thursday evening to complain that Channel 4, the host of the climate debate, had replaced Johnson with a melting ice sculpture during the debate.
Labour is not changing its strategy, McDonnell said, denying reports that the party is switching its focus to leave voting areas after polling showed that it was set to lose seats in its north of England hearltlands.
Earlier:
The Tories Secretly Fear Trump Could Wreck Johnson’s ElectionU.K. Consumer Confidence Lowest Heading Into Election Since 2010Johnson Warns Against Complacency Over Lead: U.K. Campaign TrailTories Riled After Iceblock Replaces U.K. PM in Climate Debate
To contact the reporters on this story: Stuart Biggs in London at [email protected];Thomas Penny in London at [email protected];Greg Ritchie in London at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], Stuart Biggs
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.