Inside Politics: Ministers braced for student protests over A-level ‘fiasco’

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Thursday 13 August 2020 07:59 BST

Minister for School Standards on last minute change to the exam appeal process

People on the south coast have found a new summer pastime – waving to “ghost ships” in the English Channel. Empty cruise liners are drifting around in the water because it’s cheaper than paying docking fees. If that’s not a metaphor for aimlessness and ennui, I don’t know what is. Our aimless, ennui-filled government appears to be drifting helplessly towards a huge backlash over A-level exam results. Listless ministers are also making a half-hearted attempt to re-launch the contact-tracing app today – setting afloat the patched-up piece of tech without much hope it’ll reach its destination.

Inside the bubble

Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn on what to look out for today:

Boris Johnson is heading to Northern Ireland to outline plans to mark the centenary of the country’s founding – and discuss the response to Covid-19. The PM is set to meet with first minister Arlene Foster and deputy FM Michell O’Neill. He’s also expected to hold his first meeting with Micheál Martin, who became Republic of Ireland’s premier in June. Elsewhere, ministers are also expected to unveil a new trial of the long-delayed NHS Test and Trace app.

Daily briefing

FAIREST OF THEM ALL: Gavin Williamson insists every student will receive “credible, strong” A-level results today – describing the predictive exams system as “the fairest that we can do”. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the education secretary said he refuse to follow the Scottish government and drop the statistical model involving schools’ previous performance. Schools minister Nick Gibb admitted the algorithm would lower 40 per cent of English grades from teachers’ recommendations. Teaching unions have warned of “major turbulence” today. The NUS said pupils could take to the streets to protest. Universities UK, meanwhile, is confused by the government’s plan to allow pupils to use mock exam results if they want – asking whether mock results should be considered as having “equal status” in deciding who gets accepted. Labour leader Keir Starmer said responsibility for the “fiasco” lies with Boris Johnson.

APPY GO LUCKY: It’s back. The unflushable contact-tracing app will start public trials again today after it was ditched by the government in June. The Isle of Wight will be involved, again (poor sods), along with one other area. The government is trying to re-launch with as little fuss as possible, since it’s not at all clear when the damn thing will work well enough for a wider roll-out. The software has been revamped based on Apple and Google’s method for mobile phones to detect one another, but according to the BBC, the app still “wrongly flags” people as being within 2m of each other. It comes as the government announced that the official coronavirus death toll has been reduced by more than 5,000 to 41,329 (they’ve stopped counting people in England dying at any point following a positive test for Covid-19).

ALL IN GOOD MARITIME: Only yesterday the government was talking about a “joint plan” agreed with France to deal with migrant crossings in the English Channel. It seems the mayor of Calais didn’t get the memo. Mayor Natacha Bouchart branded the proposal for British Navy ships to block small boats “a declaration of maritime war”. She demanded the UK “take its responsibilities” – calling on Boris Johnson to create safer, legal routes for asylum seekers. In an extremely silly development, one Tory MP has suggested Match of the Day host Gary Lineker should offer up his home for migrants coming over on boats. Lee Anderson, 53, attacked the BBC presenter as a “virtue signaller” on the subject. On more serious matters, transport secretary Grant Shapps is heading up to Aberdeenshire today following the deadly train derailment “to try to understand the situation first hand”.

LACKING MATCH FITNESS: The New Zealand government thinks the Brits are seriously out of shape when it comes to deal-making. Winston Peters, the country’s deputy PM, said he was “very frustrated” with the pace of post-Brexit trade talks. He said the UK was not “match fit” to negotiate its own agreements after EU membership. “In terms of [British] trading skills and finesse … they’ve never had an outing lately, they’ve never had a test, so to speak.” Elsewhere, Rishi Sunak offered a gloomy assessment of the economy after figures showed the UK plunging into the deepest recession on record. “Hard times are here,” he said, warning that “many more” people will lose their jobs in the months ahead.

FINE WHINE: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris delivered an aggressive attack on Donald Trump in their historic first appearance as running mates. Harris said he had left the US “in tatters” while Biden said it was no wonder the president was “whining” about his VP pick. “Whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any president in American history … Is anybody surprised [Trump] has a problem with a strong woman?” Analysts at the FiveThirtyEight group have given Biden a 71 per cent chance of beating Trump in November (but they rated Hillary Clinton’s chances highly and look what happened there). Meanwhile, Kayne West reportedly met with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner last weekend. Make of that what you will.

GROUCHY FAUCI: There’s growing international scepticism over Russia’s claim to have developed a safe, working vaccine for the coronavirus. The US’s top expert Dr Anthony Fauci told National Geographic: “I hope that the Russians have actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective. I seriously doubt that they’ve done that.” Ouch. Moscow dismissed all concerns as “absolutely groundless”. The Russian authorities plan to produce five million doses of the vaccine a month by 2021. Elsewhere, New Zealand’s first community outbreak in more than three months has grown to 17 cases. With more infections expected, officials said a three-day lockdown imposed in Auckland could be extended.

On the record

“There is no confusion. We have been very clear … We apologise to nobody for finding a solution – even at the 11th hour.”

Schools minister Nick Gibb is unrepentant over last-minute changes to A-levels results.

From the Twitterati

“The UK has suffered the worst coronavirus death toll in Europe AND now the worst recession in Europe. This would suggest we have the most incompetent Govt in Europe.”

Piers Morgan accused the government of ineptitude…

“It’s extraordinary that Piers Morgan is criticising the Government for the serious recession that we’re now experiencing. What did he think would happen after the measures he called for were put in place?”

…while right-wing pundit Darren Grimes accuses ITV host of hypocrisy.