Money for something – Mar 16 2026

Good Monday morning. This is Andrew McDonald.

DRIVING THE DAY

DIRE STRAITS: Keir Starmer will unveil financial assistance this morning for households hardest-hit by spiraling energy costs caused by the blocked Strait of Hormuz. After so much criticism of Britain’s ponderous response to the Middle East war, the PM wants to show that he’s acting in a crisis that will hike the cost of living at home. Although … given support for heating oil costs was always going to be pretty limited, thoughts are already turning toward any plans to help the far bigger number of Brits who heat their homes with gas. And that won’t be cheap.

Burning the morning heating oil: The PM has a press conference in No. 9 from 10.30 a.m, where he’ll lay out what an official said would be a package costing tens of millions “targeted at households with lower incomes.” This will focus today on heating oil, the price of which has surged since the outbreak of war (and isn’t capped by Ofgem). Starmer will face questions from hacks afterwards.

But but but: Given there is no Lobby briefing for journalists to ask questions of No. 10 on this busy Monday — Tim Allan’s legacy of replacing it with a press conference lives on — grumpy hacks will rightly pepper Starmer with queries on a whole basket of issues. As of last night there weren’t any plans for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to update the Commons this afternoon either, though Playbook was told that could change this morning. That sound you hear is Lindsay Hoyle getting ready to erupt at more government policy being announced outside the Chamber.

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Oiling up the Treasury taps: The plan on heating oil — worth about £50 million, according to the FT — comes after last week’s big signals that something might be on the way, including that meeting between Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband with petrol retailers and energy suppliers Friday afternoon. Starmer also went to Belfast on Thursday — and it’s worth noting that while heating oil is a very rare way of heating your home in Great Britain, in Northern Ireland more than 60 percent of homes depend on it. They account for most of the 1 million or so households affected today, and the Northern Ireland executive has been asking the Treasury for financial support, my energy reporter colleagues hear.

Interrupting “reading time“: As soon as he finishes his spiel, the PM will likely face questions about what support the government is getting ready to offer everyone else. The current energy price cap finishes at the end of June and the new level will be announced in just over two months. Gas and electricity bills are expected to rise sharply when the cap ends, and if the conflict in Iran is prolonged they could rise even further.

Hell yes, we’re not Truss enough: On the Sunday media round Miliband said he was not going to let prices for consumers rise to the level they were set to back in 2022 — when the war in Ukraine prompted Liz Truss, of all people, to introduce the energy price guarantee costing about £40 billion in government cash. Aides and Reeves herself have been indicating they are looking at something more “targeted” to support households with mounting energy prices, and that they won’t follow the Truss example. The Times’ Max Kendix hears one option is support modeled on the Warm Home Discount Scheme, where a payment of £150 is handed to low income households each winter. Miliband also hinted yesterday (like Starmer did last week) that the planned fuel duty rise for September is under review.

Priorities: How much all this “targeted” support will truly shield a weary public from the impact of another war is … not yet clear. Nonetheless, the PM will say his first instinct and priority is “to help you with the cost of living through his crisis.” Which sounds like words that will open up the government to more spending if the conflict becomes prolonged.

More dire Straits: The Telegraph’s Camilla Turner reports that pharmacists are warning Wes Streeting to start stockpiling medicines that could run out if the Strait of Hormuz is closed for much longer. Then there’s the cost of travel. Flights were suspended at Dubai airport overnight after a drone hit a nearby fuel tank.

TRUMPING THE NEWS AGENDA: Donald Trump has been taking more potshots at the U.K. and Starmer, this time for refusing to commit any of its few warships to his demands to help the U.S. open up the strait. (Remember, this is the guy who said he didn’t need our help a week ago.)

Giving it to us strait: “It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the FT in yet another interview sparked by a journalist’s cold call. “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” he added. There is more U.K. bashing in the full piece, much of which we’ve heard before.

Oh, and … Speaking only a short while after a Sunday evening call with Starmer (where they discussed how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Downing Street’s short readout), Trump told reporters on Air Force One that “we will remember” when it comes to Britain’s role in his war so far. Which sounds a bit ominous.

If you weren’t following the weekend in Trump: He appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. to join a team effort to reopen the strait by sending in warships. Ministers are saying on the record that we’re looking at what we can do … but privately, government officials were saying that they aren’t prepared to send any warships, partially due to the fact the U.K.’s navy is already depleted.

The U.K. is also very wary of the risks of escalating the conflict. The Times and Telegraph splash on Starmer effectively snubbing Trump’s ask — so the PM will surely be pressed this morning on whether he is actually doing so. Ministers will also be keeping a close eye on what emerges from an EU foreign ministers meeting on the issue today.

But instead … Whitehall is currently drawing up plans to send minesweeping drones and Octopus drone interceptors to the area, as reported in the Sunday Times and splashed on in today’s Guardian. We might get some more details at defense questions in the Commons from 2.30 p.m.

Special relationship: Otherwise, the PM will face yet more questions about the state of his relationship with the U.S. and Trump. Whether that relationship is now damaged or not, Playbook hears Starmer will make a firm defense for not taking Britain further into the war so far, warning in reference to opposition leaders back home that there are “others who would have made a different decision two weeks ago … that’s not leading, it’s following.”

Man-marking: Starmer (the man who spent so long buttering up Trump) naturally hasn’t gone full tilt in trying to turn their disagreements into votes. But if he does need any tips on that, then good news! The PM is meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Downing Street before his press conference.

Away from Trump: For all Starmer can argue it was the right choice not to chase Trump into war, he’s still facing criticism for not moving quickly in recent months when it was clear a conflict might be coming down the track — whether we liked it or not. One former military commander familiar with conversations in government told my colleagues Anne McElvoy, Esther Webber and Sophie Inge that British defensive actions in the region were hobbled by a risk-averse stance from Starmer, national security adviser Jonathan Powell and Defence Secretary John Healey, whose fears of a domestic backlash to being embroiled in a Middle East conflict hurt the U.K.’s preparations.

Minefield: “No. 10 was determined to downplay any risk or perception of us getting involved and now the government is playing catch up,” the former commander said. “And that means we are showing up late.” Food for thought for the Treasury aides considering how far to shield citizens from the energy price bomb.

ON THE HOME FRONT

THE THREE CERTAINTIES IN POLITICAL LIFE: (Assisted) death, welfare reform and aid cuts. OK, it’s a bit of a stretch — but all three issues will be exercising Labour MPs as a busy week of policy begins in Westminster.

ON WELFARE: Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has a big speech at 11.30 a.m. at a London college to announce a £1 billion package to reverse the number of “Neets,” those not in education, employment or training. There will be financial incentives for employers to hire jobless young folks … a refocusing of apprenticeships on idle youths rather than middle managers … and an expansion of the Jobs Guarantee scheme which gives long-term unemployed younglings a subsidised job for six months. Parts of it were trailed in the weekend papers.

It’s an early signal of … how the government plans to sell welfare cuts to the PLP after how it went last time. The broad feeling across Labour MPs was that they felt the government was simply trying to save money by cutting a host of benefits, rather than believing in the progressive case for reform it often spoke about. One official said McFadden would signal today that “spreading opportunity and supporting people into work” will be at the heart of the argument when the government comes back around for more efforts at welfare reforms later this year.

Euphemism for “cut”: McFadden will however suggest that benefits should be “rewired” to help bring down the number of Neets, the Times reports — with the way sickness benefits are administered in the firing line. The paper hears ministers have discussed creating a separate disability benefits system for those aged between 16 and 24, but with the benefit linked to attempts to get a job. The government’s push on welfare will contain carrots and sticks yet again, but MPs will be listening closely for detail on the sticks. McFadden has the morning round and a Commons statement this afternoon.

ASSISTED DYING BILL, DEAD: MP supporters of the assisted dying bill appear to have accepted the bill won’t make it through the Lords with only three more days scheduled to debate the over 600 amendments still outstanding. A letter to the PM from more than a 100 Labour MPs — sent this morning — urges Starmer to ensure time is found to “come to a decision” in the next session of parliament.

Ruh-roh: That asks adds a bit of extra awkwardness (and division within Labour) into the equation for Starmer, who avoided getting into the issue at PMQs last week. There are plenty in government who are keen not to get back into the minefield of assisted dying again once the current bill runs out of time in the Lords, yet the letter shows that a significant portion of the PLP want them to do exactly that. Starmer once promised Esther Rantzen he would ensure parliament had time to debate and vote on assisted dying — if asked today will he reiterate that promise, now it looks as if the current bill will run out of time to become law?

THEN THERE’S AID: And the weekend was full of rumors about further cuts (beyond those already announced) to development spending, which reached some Labour MPs. Playbook hears from two people with knowledge that some Labour backbenchers in Green-facing seats privately made approaches to the government to warn against any further cuts. A No. 10 official last night flatly denied that further cuts to aid were being considered.

If something is coming … we may hear about it in the coming days. My colleagues report that Yvette Cooper is expected to unveil details this week about where the deep cuts announced last year will fall, while your Playbook author hears Development Minister Jenny Chapman has a speech lined up for Thursday. My colleagues report that the watchdog which measures the U.K.’s overseas aid spending will be downsized or scrapped altogether in the currently planned cuts, which won’t help with the disquiet among MPs about Britain’s commitment to helping the rest of the world.

HOSPITAL PASS: Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson gets the lucky job of responding the Parliamentary Labour Party’s opinions on all this at tonight’s usual meeting. Cue the usual ad hominem grumbles … although for some MPs, it could be worse. “I voted Lucy [Powell] but thank god it’s Bridget [tonight] because I couldn’t bear listening to Ed Miliband,” a Labour MP swiped after watching the Energy Secretary on the Sunday round. Charming.

OH, AND: If you missed it over the weekend, you can imagine that Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire’s excruciating write-up of Keir Starmer’s management style from those exposed to it will be a talker in the tea room and bars of Westminster. QOTD: Who’s driving the DLR these days?

TODAY IN WESTMINSTER

NOT IN WESTMINSTER BUT PRETTY RELEVANT: The government’s Brexit reset sherpa Nick Thomas-Symonds is off to Brussels to kickstart a week of activity aimed at highlighting how Labour loves the EU again. Alongside Europe Minister Stephen Doughty and trade minister Chris Bryant, they’ll attend a meeting of the joint EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly to try to move reset talks on ahead of a summit planned in Brussels in the summer.

Just one problem: Tuition fees — and a demand from Brussels that Britain agrees to a cut in tuition fees for EU students, as my colleague Jon Stone reported Friday (the Guardian’s Kiran Stacey hears the same). British unis, which aren’t very liquid at the minute, hate the idea, while U.K. officials are moaning the demand wasn’t included in the “common understanding” drawn up as a blueprint for talks last year.

Which isn’t the best backdrop for … Rachel Reeves’ big Mais lecture on Tuesday, which is being touted by officials as policy-heavy and stuffed full of warm words about getting closer to the EU’s single market in a bid for growth. Considering the chancellor’s already touted closer re-integration with the bloc as the “biggest prize”, those warm words must be pretty steamy.

SCOOP — BLUE PETER: Peter Mandelson’s £75,000 severance payment as ambassador is being eyed ruefully by staff who lost their jobs in the collapse of Global Counsel, the lobbying firm he co-founded. Administrators who took over the company last month made staff redundant without a consultation period, my colleagues Dan Bloom and John Johnston report. That has left ex-staffers trying to apply for a “protective award” through the employment tribunal system, which could take months to work out.

Talking of Mandelson: Met Police chief Mark Rowley is in the U.S. this week to press for the release of unredacted exchanges between Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein as the force continues its investigation, the Times’ Steven Swinford reports.

ANOTHER VICTORY LAP: Reform UK and Nigel Farage are touting their latest scalp — this time over YouGov, which backed down in its row with the Reform boss and agreed to publish its raw data which shows Reform in a better light than their “model” which the pollster previously published. “This is a Reform research department victory,” one official gloated to Playbook last night. More in the Telegraph here.

That’s bound to come up … when Farage’s deputy Richard Tice holds a press conference to talk about DOGE measures in local councils at 11 a.m.

GROUNDHOG DAY: Scotland Yard has opened an investigation into chants of “death, death to the IDF” at Sunday’s al-Quds Day demonstration, which included a speech from musician Bobby Vylan (from the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan of Glastonbury infamy). The Met Police also confirmed 12 people were arrested at the protest and counter-protest. The Indy has more.

YOUR COMPLICITY: Jeremy Corbyn’s unofficial Gaza tribunal will find the government complicit in the “desecration of international law” over the war in the territory, arguing that Britain should have stopped all arms exports and ended intelligence sharing with Israel. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour has a preview of its findings. Watch the report launch at 1.30 p.m. here.

“OPT OUT” OPT OUT: My tech colleague Joseph Bambridge hears the government will rule out sweeping reforms to its copyright laws this week by not implementing an “opt out” model that would require rights holders to explicitly say they don’t want their work used to train AI models.

THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS: The i Paper’s Adam Forrest hears landlords are rushing to remove tenants through eviction notices before Labour’s Renters’ Rights Act comes into force in May and bans no-fault evictions.

LETTER OF THE LAW: The Post Office plans to challenge appeals by at least 29 subpostmasters seeking to overturn their convictions linked to the faulty Capture software, as it believes staff had a “fair trial” despite its flaws. Subpostmasters criminally prosecuted will not receive compensation until their convictions are struck out, the i Paper reports.

FINANCIAL FUTURES: City Minister Lucy Rigby is the third government minister making a major speech today, with a keynote at Bloomberg from 8.10 a.m. on the future of the U.K.’s financial services sector.

Also in action today: Reform’s Zia Yusuf and Tech Secretary Liz Kendall have fireside chats at the TechUK conference. Full agenda here.

OTHER SW1 EVENTS: The Institute for Government is in conversation with Reform UK’s Scotland Leader Malcolm Offord about the future of devolution at 12.30 p.m.

REPORTS OUT TODAY: The inheritance tax threshold should be hiked to £2 million and the headline rate cut from 40 to 20 percent if the government isn’t willing to abolish the tax altogether, argues the Institute of Economic Affairs (more in the Telegraph) … and people with dementia are being subjected to restraints and non-consensual sedation while in hospital care, according to University of West London research written up in the Guardian.

HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sits from 2.30 p.m. with defense questions followed by any urgent questions and statements … and then the main business is the Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill. Labour MP Douglas McAllister has the adjournment debate on the Compensation Act 2006.

WESTMINSTER HALL: Debates from 4.30 p.m. on an e-petition about automatic by-elections after MPs defect (led by Lib Dem MP Roz Savage).

On committee corridor: Department for Business and Trade Permanent Secretary Gareth Davies is quizzed by the Public Accounts Committee about regulating for growth (3.30 p.m.).

HOUSE OF LORDS: Sits from 2.30 p.m. with oral questions on behavior by public servants, NHS software and a visitor levy … and the main business is the first day of the Pension Schemes Bill at report stage.

BEYOND THE M25

SURGE OF THE INSURGENTS: The far-right National Rally performed strongly in local elections in France, though without the landslides it craved in its southern strongholds. Former center-right PM Edouard Philippe’s mayoral reelection bid in Le Havre also looks more certain than before polling day, putting him in position for a presidential run next year.

And on the left: France Unbowed, Jean Luc-Mélenchon’s hard-left movement, did better than expected in key target cities. In Paris, socialist candidate Emmanuel Grégoire came first by a comfortable margin over his center-right rival Rachida Dati. My colleague Marion Solletty has the five key takeaways, and a live blog will track all the developments throughout Monday.

THE LAST JUDGMENT: Scottish politics faces another momentous week as supporters and opponents of Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur’s assisted dying bill embark on the final round of lobbying ahead of Tuesday’s Holyrood vote. Both sides agree it’s tight after the initial 70 votes in favor to 56 against last May. The Herald highlights that three MSPs have already switched from backing to rejecting the bill, while suspended Labour MSP Colin Smyth (a supporter) isn’t expected to vote and Labour’s Davy Russell (elected in June) will oppose the bill.

SWIPE LEFT: In the meantime, Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar and his deputy Jackie Baillie are in Glasgow outlining plans for an NHS app covering Scotland, with health tech experts. Expect clips and an on the record huddle from 10 a.m.

INCUMBENCY FACTOR: Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party defied the polls to secure a second-place finish in the Castilla y León regional election after the Spanish PM’s strong opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. My continental colleague Aitor Hernández-Morales has more.

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME: An unnamed Russian captain was detained by a Swedish court on suspicion of sailing under a false flag as part of Moscow’s shadow fleet operation. The Beeb has the rundown.

NOT AS CATCHY AS BREXIT: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that his country could be the next to quit the EU, accusing nationalist President Karol Nawrocki and right-wing opposition parties of steering it toward leaving the bloc. Tusk said “Polexit” was a “real threat” and he would do everything he can to stop it. My colleague Bartosz Brzeziński has his words.

**A message from Goldman Sachs: Stay ahead of the curve with Goldman Sachs Exchanges, the firm’s flagship podcast featuring in-depth conversations with leaders from across businesses and regions. In each episode, leaders from across the firm break down the most consequential shifts in the global economy, providing clarity on the issues that matter most to business leaders, investors, and policymakers. From tracking global trade trends and market volatility to sector-by-sector and region-by-region breakdowns, tune in for the themes driving the biggest shifts in the global economy – and the implications for what’s coming next. Listen to the Exchanges podcast from Goldman Sachs.**

MEDIA ROUND

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden broadcast round: Times Radio (7.05 a.m.) … Sky (7.15 a.m.) … BBC Breakfast (7.30 a.m..) … LBC (7.50 a.m.) … Today (8.15 a.m.) … GMB (8.35 a.m.) … GB News (9.05 a.m.).

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride broadcast round: Times Radio (7.45 a.m.) … GB News (8.05 a.m.) … Sky (8.40 a.m.).

Also on Times Radio Breakfast: Energy UK Chief Executive Dhara Vyas (8 a.m.) … Union of Jewish Students President Louis Danker (8.20 a.m.).

Politics Live (BBC Two 12.15 p.m.): Labour MP Natasha Irons … Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Alex Burghart … Lib Dem Shadow Commons Leader Bobby Dean.

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES

POLITICO UK: Britain scrambles to shield Gulf allies as Iran war pounds on.

Daily Express: Violent thugs will be kept off child abuse register.

Daily Mail: Two dead in university meningitis outbreak.

Daily Mirror: Crisis of our age.

Daily Star: Jezza — make me Iran’s supreme leader.

Financial Times: Talks with Iran yield results, India says.

Metro: Trump ‘knows he’s in trouble.’

The Daily Telegraph: Starmer refusing to send warships to Strait.

The Guardian: Britain could send minesweeping drones to help clear vital oil route.

The i Paper: Help on way for U.K. energy bills as Iran and U.S. rule out talks.

The Independent: Starmer to promise help for homes hit by soaring heating bills.

The Times: PM resists Trump’s call for warships in the Strait.

The Sun: Mother of all insults.

LONDON CALLING

WESTMINSTER WEATHER: Largely clear skies with a hint of sunshine in the morning. High 13C.

BACK FOR ANOTHER ROUND: The award-winning POLITICO Pub is returning to Labour Party conference — this time with a beer garden overlooking the Mersey — as part of our biggest presence at party conference to date. Invitation-only POLITICO Speakeasies will also pop up in Liverpool alongside the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Reform UK gatherings.

The details: Expect more “A Round With …” sessions, more news-making interviews and, yes, the complimentary pints will be flowing again. Uber will return as founding partner of the POLITICO Pub. Read more here.

NEW GIG: Former Labour staffer Luke Joseph has joined Babcock’s government relations team.

JOB AD: The <a href="https://y3r710.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fdmp.politico.eu%2F%3Femail=newsletter.londoner@gmail.com%26destination=https:%2F%2Fwww.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk%2Fcsr%2Findex.cgi%3FSID=c2VhcmNoc29ydD1jbG9zaW5nJnNlYXJjaHBhZ2U9MSZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZqb2JsaXN0… [Content truncated]