Boris Johnson is facing a growing backlash over his “levelling up” agenda as leaked documents on Sunday reveal that funding has been slashed in half for his favourite transport policy – improving bus services in more deprived areas including “red wall” seats.

Toby Helm www.theguardian.com

The prime minister announced last year that £3bn would be spent on “new funding to level up buses across England towards London standards” as part of the government’s “bus back better” strategy. He said: “I love buses and I have never quite understood why so few governments before mine have felt the same way,” adding that “better buses will be one of our major acts of levelling up”.

But a letter sent to Local Transport Authority directors by the Department for Transport on 11 January – and obtained by the Observer – makes clear that the budget for the “transformation” of buses – a pot from which local regions can bid for funds – has now shrunk to just £1.4bn for the next three years.

The letter says this will mean hard choices for areas that had expected more, adding that “prioritisation is inevitable, given the scale of ambition across the country greatly exceeds the amount”.

The funding cuts have caused dismay behind the red wall and are an embarrassment for the government, particularly as a white paper on levelling up is expected to be published by Michael Gove – the cabinet minister in charge of the broad push to equalise standards of living across the country – within a fortnight.

The white paper has already been delayed, partly as a result of pressure from the Treasury to keep costs down. In his spending review last autumn the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, prepared the way for a reduction in spending on buses, but local transport leaders had still pinned hopes on the prime minister sticking to his word about £3bn for extra investment.

Figures compiled by the shadow buses minister Sam Tarry’s office show the amount of funding bids submitted by 53 out of 79 local transport authorities from the extra funding pot is already more than £7bn. This suggests the total is likely to exceed £9bn, against a total available of £1.4bn.

Local transport authorities and bus operators are already facing huge financial uncertainty as a result of the fall in passenger numbers and fare revenue during the Omicron surge, and lack of clarity from government over whether extra Covid-related funding will continue.

Tarry said last night: “The Tories promised ‘transformational’ investment in bus services. But millions of passengers are seeing managed decline. They’ve dramatically downgraded the ambitions of local communities. With bus services being slashed nationwide, this is proof that this government simply will not and cannot deliver for the people that need it most.”

The mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said the decision to cut the funding for bus service improvement by more than 50% was a major blow. After losing out on long-promised rail investment – with the scrapping of HS2 and paring-back of Northern Powerhouse Rail – we in the north of England were counting on this funding, so we could deliver the green, reliable and affordable bus network our people deserve.”

The director of the Urban Transport Group, representing the transport authorities for the largest urban areas, Jonathan Bray, said: “We welcome any additional funding for buses given they are relied upon by those communities with the least and which are most in need of levelling up. However it is disappointing that the Treasury has substantially reduced the amount we were originally promised.”

Transport expert Stephen Joseph, a visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire’s Smart Mobility Unit, said: “On buses, the Treasury isn’t counter-signing the cheques No 10 is writing. In fact the prospect seems to be of cuts, including in the red wall areas, rather than the expansion Boris Johnson has been promising.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “It is incorrect to claim that funding has been cut from our original ambition. Over this parliament, the government has committed to making a step change investment of over £3bn into bus services.

“This includes £1.2bn in dedicated new funding to deliver improvements in fares, services and infrastructure, and a further £355m of new funding for zero emission buses.”

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Move along – nothing to see here

Boris Johnson still believes he broke no lockdown rules at Downing Street party

Henry Zeffman www.thetimes.co.uk

Boris Johnson is “determined” to fight on and still does not believe that he broke any lockdown rules as he braces himself for Sue Gray’s imminent verdict on parties in Downing Street.

The senior civil servant’s report on a series of allegations about rule-breaking in Downing Street during periods of severe coronavirus restrictions is expected to be published this week.

It could prove decisive in determining the fate of Johnson’s faltering premiership, and he is drawing up plans to “own the narrative” afterwards. The vast majority of Britons have already made up their minds about the allegations, regardless of what the report says, polling for The Times has found.

Johnson, who faces allegations that he did not take seriously the case of Nusrat Ghani, who was told she was dismissed as a minister because of her Muslim faith, spent the weekend making calls to Conservative MPs trying to shore up support before Gray’s findings.

“He’s feeling determined,” one loyal MP said. “He genuinely believes that he didn’t break any rules and that he was going to the garden [on May 20, 2020] to say thank you.”

Even Johnson’s allies accept that the report by Gray is likely to make a series of damaging claims about the conduct of people working in Downing Street at the height of the pandemic.

The prime minister’s inner circle — recently bolstered by the return of the MPs who masterminded his 2019 leadership campaign — is preparing to argue that whatever Gray’s findings it would be “disproportionate” for him to resign.

“Clearly there was a culture and clearly that culture was wrong,” one ally said. “But the prime minister was not in No 10 for many of these events, he didn’t know about them, and while it’s perfectly proper to hold the prime minister to account for things that he is responsible for, are we really going to ask the prime minister to resign because some people organised a party that he didn’t know about? It’s an argument about proportion.”

Downing Street is drawing up plans to “own the narrative” of Gray’s report, The Times has been told. Members of Johnson’s team have approached Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, to ask whether Johnson could go to the dispatch box almost immediately after Gray delivers her findings to address MPs, regardless of what business is planned for the Commons at that time.

Johnson’s team is especially keen for him to speak on the same day as the findings are published if the report is critical. “If it’s leaning towards a difficult finding then you don’t want an overnight period for a narrative to build,” a minister said.

Relatively few voters are waiting to read the Gray report to form a view of the issue, according to polling by YouGov for The Times. Fifty-one per cent believe that Johnson should resign as prime minister whatever Gray’s report says, including 26 per cent of people who voted Conservative in 2019. Nineteen per cent think he should remain as prime minister regardless of the findings. Sixteen per cent think that Johnson’s future should depend on what the report says.

Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, declined to commit the government to publishing Gray’s report in full, saying only that “the substance of the findings” would be released, and that there would be “full transparency” and “full scrutiny”.

Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, said that the report “must be published in its entirety with all accompanying evidence”, adding that Johnson “cannot be allowed to cover up or obscure any of the truth”.

Last night it was reported that Gray had interviewed police officers who guarded Downing Street when the gatherings took place. Members of the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection command provided an account of who entered and left No 10, according to The Daily Telegraph. Gray is said to be in “ongoing dialogue” with the Met about her investigation.

Johnson’s official diary is also said to be among the sources being examined as part of the inquiry. It is understood that Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s former chief adviser, is to be interviewed by Gray today.

The Sunday Times revealed that Gray had widened her inquiry to include allegations that parties were held in Johnson’s flat above 11 Downing Street. The paper claimed that two government advisers, Henry Newman and Josh Grimstone, visited the flat on several occasions during lockdowns.

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Did you get the call?

Neil, Simon did either of you get a personal call from Boris over the weekend?

On balance was it more stick or more carrot?

Did he make any promises?

If you didn’t get a call, are you disappointed?

Owl

PS hope you weren’t in a mobile blackspot.

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No 10 police officers ‘interviewed in Partygate inquiry’

Police officers who guard No 10 have reportedly been interviewed as part of Sue Gray’s inquiry into parties held at Downing Street during Covid restrictions.

www.independent.co.uk

A source told The Telegraph their statements to the civil servant in charge of the probe were “extremely damning”.

Ms Gray is looking into allegations of a number of parties held at Downing Street while the country was under Covid restrictions. She is expected to publish her findings in the next week.

Officers who were on duty outside No 10 at the time of alleged rule-breaking parties have now reportedly been spoken to for the inquiry.

Access to Downing Street is controlled by the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. According to The Telegraph, members of this branch have given detailed testimonies about what they saw to Ms Gray.

Asked how significant their information was, a source told the newspaper: “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still prime minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.”

Downing Street refused to comment on the ongoing investigation.

On Sunday, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said Tory MPs were rallying behind the prime minister ahead of the Partygate inquiry’s expected publication this week.

The Met has previously faced questions over how officers could have been unaware of a “bring your own booze” garden gathering as they stood guard outside Downing Street.

Ms Gray is also looking into reports of other gatherings alleged to have happened at No 10 – including two events on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.

Officials working in No 10 claim they have held back information from the investigation into the partygate scandal due to “culture of fear” surrounding the probe. Three sources told The Independent they had not divulged messages and pictures on their phones after a senior member of staff told them to remove anything that could fuel speculation in the wake of the first party revelations.

The Met has been approached for comment.

Planning applications validated by EDDC for week beginning 10 January

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Boris Johnson’s ‘bus back better’ plan in tatters as Treasury cuts funding by half

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Move along – nothing to see here

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Did you get the call?

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No 10 police officers ‘interviewed in Partygate inquiry’

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