Presented by Goldman Sachs
By EMILIO CASALICCHIO
with NOAH KEATE
PRESENTED BY
Good afternoon. This is Emilio Casalicchio in committee room 14 in the Commons, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just finished addressing MPs and peers for the third time (if we count the video address in 2022 alongside his in-person address in 2023.)
Ssshhh! No-one tell Donald Trump, who was denied the chance to address parliament during both his state visits.
TUESDAY CHEAT SHEET
— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a message to Donald Trump from the U.K. parliament: You need us.
— He made the pitch amid growing fears that the White House is losing interest in Ukraine.
— Trump took *another* shot at Keir Starmer from the Oval Office.
— Rachel Reeves promised a massive devolution on regional tax spending.
— Wes Streeting tried to calm the public over the meningitis outbreak in Kent.
**A message from Goldman Sachs: Growing global growth, falling interest rates, and rising corporate earnings continue to create headwinds and tailwinds for the European economy. Amid geopolitical and market volatility, turn to the latest insights on the forces shaping the region’s growth from the bankers, traders, and researchers following every move. Explore insights on the European market landscape from Goldman Sachs.**
TOP OF THE NEWSLIST
TRUMP NEEDS … UKRAINE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a clear message to Donald Trump that the U.S. needs Ukraine to fight its war in the Middle East.
Defense salesman: In a speech from the U.K. parliament in the past hour, the Ukrainian president showed off the drone-fighting tech his nation has developed to fight Vladimir Putin and argued the Russian despot and the Iranian ayatollahs are “brothers in hatred.”
In the committee room where it happened: The Ukrainian wartime leader made the comments in the green-wallpapered committee room 14, where 60 MPs and 60 peers (handpicked by party whips) plus 10 hacks (including your Playbook PM author) had assembled for the historic moment. PM Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte were among those watching on as Zelenskyy’s deep growl echoed off the ornate wood paneling and giant oil paintings depicting dramatic scenes from the 1600s.
Textbook marketing: Wearing his trademark all-black, Zelenskyy said there had not been “a single year of real peace” since the Iranian revolution in 1979 and insisted: “We do not want this terror of the Iranian regime against its neighbors to succeed.” He will be hoping Fox News carried at least some of the address and beamed it into the Oval Office.
Not least because … he delivered substantial detail about how Ukrainian tech works to fight cheap but advanced drones from the Russians — as well as use drones to target enemy assets. He even showed slides with maps, graphics and videos to illustrate how Ukrainian soldiers use iPads to track Russian drones in real time and take them out. While he spoke from the front desk, a couple of parliament officials stood at either end wearing black cloaks and frilly white cravats. One held a big stake with a golden point on the end. MPs and broadcast technicians crammed against the back wall craned their necks to see.
The point: Zelenskyy insisted Ukraine can help allies in manufacturing tech and learning the computer programs to fight similar threats (e.g. those from Iran.) “If evil wins, the evolution of war will cross any distance on earth. No ocean will help. No desert. No mountains,” Zelenskyy said. “We must act now so that a future generation will say these leaders acted when it mattered.”
Last hurrah: The speech in parliament capped off an afternoon hanging out with Starmer and Rutte in No.10. Zelenskyy arrived in Downing Street at 2.30 p.m. for a chat with the PM, before Rutte joined the gang a little later. He then headed to Wellington Barracks while Starmer and Rutte continued chatting, before the three met back up in this mad, crumbling palace we call our office.
What the politicos like to describe as tangibles: As part of the high-profile visit, Starmer and Zelenskyy announced an “industrial declaration” on security and defense, combining Ukrainian expertise on the battlefield with British manufacturing. The pair said other nations could cooperate on the pact, too. It’s all about anti-drone surveillance, AI and general tech innovation, which Ukraine has been using against Russia, and which others now want to see in the Donald Trump war with Iran.
But but but: The big focus of the visit was a bid to keep Ukraine at the top of the agenda. There are fears across Europe that Trump (who loves to sound non-committal about the Ukrainian war at the best of times) is now leading the globe down a Middle Eastern chaos-path that will divert attention and resources from the Ukrainian plight. One Conservative frontbencher who spoke recently to U.S. officials in Washington said the MAGA administration is indeed talking about giving up on Ukraine.
Ruh roh: “It wasn’t like they were saying they will pull out tomorrow, but the sense was they had lost interest in securing a deal with Russia,” the MP said. “They are disappointed that Putin isn’t a man you can do business with. They don’t like Zelenskyy; they think he’s pretty insignificant.”
Delivering the opposite message to MAGA-land … as has now become the norm, is Keir Starmer. In filmed comments in Downing Street this afternoon, Starmer told Zelenskyy “the focus must remain on Ukraine” despite the Middle East being on fire. “Putin can’t be the one who benefits from a conflict in Iran, whether that’s oil prices or the dropping of sanctions,” he added.
What doesn’t help … is that no-one (including Trump) seems to know how or when the conflict in the Middle East might finish. My POLITICO colleague in D.C. Megan Messerly has a great piece here about White House officials worried Trump is losing control of his Iran gamble.
Latest vote of confidence: U.S. Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joseph Kent resigned this afternoon arguing he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.” His full resignation statement — illustrating how much of a Trump supporter this bloke was — is worth a read in full.
On a similar note … the Guardian’s Patrick Wintour reports that U.K. National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell attended the final talks between the U.S. and Iran before Trump launched his surprise attack, and thought the offer from the Iranians on their nuclear ambitions meant a deal was within reach.
All going to plan (whatever the plan happens to be right now): In a Commons statement this afternoon, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced another £10 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon — where she said Israeli bombing in pursuit of Hezbollah is estimated to have killed around 1,000 people and displaced one in seven. She said Lebanon is “on the precipice of a widening conflict that risks disastrous humanitarian consequences.”
At least it’s not all for nothing, eh: The U.S. and Israel have managed to kill another senior Iranian, it would appear. The Israeli government said it took out Iranian national security boss Ali Larijani in strikes overnight — which would mark the second-most senior killing of the conflict after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Watching with regal interest: Don’t forget that King Charles (who is also hanging out with Zelenskyy today) is expected to head to the U.S. on a state visit next month. But Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry told Radio 4 it could be worth postponing the event.
Bad backdrop: “It would go ahead against a backdrop of a war and that, I think, is quite difficult,” she said. “The last thing we want to do is to have their majesties embarrassed.” They have Andrew for that, TBF. Trump said this afternoon that he’s looking forward to seeing the King “very shortly.”
For what it’s worth: Nigel Farage argued the visit should deffo go ahead. “There are considerable tensions between the American president and the British prime minister,” he told a press conference this morning to launch a political data-harvesting drive. “I would say that makes the king’s visit even more imperative.”
And the tensions keep tension-ing: Trump told hacks in the Oval Office that the American relationship with the U.K. “always was the best until Keir came along.”
Trump said of the PM: “I like him. He is a nice man. He says everything beautiful. He’s a very nice man with a beautiful family. Everything’s perfect. But he doesn’t produce.” Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, sitting next to Trump, actually hopped in to defend Starmer, so at least there’s that.
MAIS OUI
KER-CHING OF THE NORTH: Rachel Reeves delivered her much-hyped Mais lecture in the City of London — complete with expected stakes-raising on the EU reset and some serious AI love, my POLITICO colleague Sam Blewett writes in. The surprise trinket? Regional devolution. The Andy Burnhams of the world are in for quite the power grab.
The Devo Revo: Reeves promised to hand regional leaders a share of income tax (plus some other taxes) and let them control how it’s divvied out in a “permanent transfer of power and resources.” She said she would deliver a “roadmap” for this “fiscal devolution” at her next budget in the autumn. And she promised that the reforms will be “fiscally neutral,” adding: “I will not ask taxpayers to pay more.” Where have we heard that one before?
Mais mais mais: Naturally, Reeves couldn’t make that same no-tax-rises commitment in response to the economic chaos triggered by the war in the Middle East. That’s despite being asked twice to do so by hacks who had assembled, alongside ministers and economic gurus, at the Bayes Business School’s annual fixture. (It wouldn’t be a lecture if it wasn’t in a lecture hall, natch.)
Brussels pouts: Elsewhere in the speech lecture, Reeves managed to go even further on closer ties with the EU. She blamed Brexit for doing “deep damage” to the U.K. economy, and said she wants to align further with the single market in search of that elusive growth (while sticking to the usual “red lines.”) She made clear the growth-via-Europe-ties objective is waaaay more important than any new trade deal. But on what sectors she might want to align, she couldn’t say.
AI AI captain: On the artificial intelligence front, Reeves pledged to set up an “AI Economics Institute” to understand how the tech will impact productivity and jobs. And although Reeves reiterated that the current student loans regime is “broken,” she added: “Is it front of the queue? No it’s not.” She still won a round of applause in the uni lecture hall. The chancellor is up on Newsnight tonight and has also done the Economist’s podcast.
DRIVETIME DEBRIEF
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Keir Starmer will appear for a 90-minute Liaison Committee hearing on March 23 at 2.30 p.m. The grilling is expected to focus on defense and the current international turmoil.
WHAT NORMAL BRITS WHO DON’T READ NICHE POLITICAL NEWSLETTERS WILL WANT TO KNOW ABOUT: Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Commons the meningitis cases in Kent represent an “unprecedented outbreak,” after two students died and two others were confirmed as having the infection, with others under investigation. He said general eligibility for the routine Meningitis B vaccine, which was rolled out in 2015 (meaning older teens are not covered), will be re-examined. And he said the government will begin a targeted vaccination programme for students in halls at Kent university in Canterbury in the coming days.
The political bit: Streeting defended the UK Health Security Agency over suggestions it was slow to respond to the outbreak, arguing the body “acted as quickly and as comprehensively as possible.” No.10 said UKHSA was notified about a cluster of cases late on Saturday, and began contacting those at risk that evening. Streeting added that UKHSA activated a full response on Sunday when the scale of the outbreak was recognized, issuing antibiotics and putting out a public health alert by 6 p.m. The agency will publish figures related to the outbreak each morning at 9.30 a.m.
WHAT THE CONSERVATIVES WANTED TO TALK ABOUT: Attacking Reform over its pledges to scrap VAT on household energy bills and ditch various green energy levies, which Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said were uncosted.
Speaking of Reform: During his own press conference this morning, Nigel Farage defended his second-in-command Richard Tice’s tax affairs amid intense scrutiny. “He’s obeyed the law in every way, and no one pays more tax than they have to,” Farage said. “You don’t. I don’t. No one does.”
EUROPEAN VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: “I think Brexit was a colossal mistake,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb (who was a student in London and has a British wife and children with dual nationality) told Chatham House this afternoon. “It’s not only shooting yourself in the foot, but it’s like amputating your leg without medical reason for doing it.” Full writeup here.
LABOUR LAND: Someone is briefing against Labour General Secretary Holly Ridley but team Keir Starmer insist it’s not them. The Times has the details. The story has, naturally, triggered immediate finger-pointing between opposing Labour camps at the top of government.
NET ZERO-RUSH: The government’s much delayed plans for making new build homes greener and net-zero-friendly are finally set to be published next week, my energy and climate colleague Charlie Cooper messages in. Deets here.
HOTEL BILL: Labour MP Matt Bishop is working on a law to tighten hotel security following the Travelodge sexual assault case, and the government could support it, according to PolHome’s Tilda Martin.
SOCIAL (MEDIA) AFFAIRS
RISKS OF CAMEO: The Guardian’s Henry Dyer and Michael Goodier dug into all the *ahem* colorful comments Nigel Farage has made over the years selling his persona on the Cameo app — which allows members of the public to exchange cash for short video messages from celebrities.
Oh, and … the best content is the clip at the end of the Guardian article, showing Farage fuming when people call or message him and interrupt his recordings.
Right of reply: A Reform spokesperson said the clips “should not be treated as political statements or campaign activity” and do not suggest Farage agrees with their content. The spokesperson added that mistakes can happen when using Cameo, since Farage “uses the platform in good faith and without knowledge of the individuals involved.”
Nevertheless: Labour said Farage “will say anything to line his own pockets” and is “simply not fit to be prime minister.”
BOYS IN BLUE: The Conservatives channeled Spooks by sending undercover investigators inside PIP centers across London to highlight the impact of online assessments on in-person meetings.
NOT SURROUNDED: Keir Starmer took a punt on a new comms experiment — answering social media questions in a podcast-esque format dubbed “With Keir.” He of course gets to choose the questions in advance.
BEYOND THE M25
REACHING OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE: Keir Starmer’s Cabinet did some electioneering this morning, discussing “how Labour is delivering for families in Scotland and Wales” ahead of votes for the two parliaments, according to a readout.
NORTH OF THE BORDER: Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray was admitted to hospital Monday evening just hours before tonight’s pivotal vote on assisted dying (he abstained last May). LBC hears Gray will abstain by proxy as he’s unable to attend Holyrood in person. A Scottish government spokesperson said Social Care Minister Tom Arthur will lead the government’s response in the chamber. Gray said he hoped “to be back to work later this week.”
SAVED BY A WHISKER: Reform UK’s Warwickshire County Council Leader George Finch survived a confidence vote — by just one vote. The Conservatives backed Finch remaining leader while Labour, the Lib Dems and Greens voted against him. ITV has more.
ACROSS THE POND: Joe Kent resigned as U.S. National Counterterrorism Center director over the war in Iran, saying he could not “in good conscience” back America’s actions. My Stateside colleagues have the latest.
**A message from Goldman Sachs: From fiscal spending in Germany to UK debt markets and the growing role of private equity in the region, the outlook for European markets is expected to continue to shift throughout 2026. As policy announcements move local markets, AI spending drives corporate earnings results, and international trade creates reverberations across global markets, stay up to date with insights from Goldman Sachs. Research reports, articles, and podcasts from leaders throughout the firm provide a comprehensive understanding of the forces shaping European markets. For the latest analysis on forces moving European markets, explore insights from Goldman Sachs.**
TONIGHT’S MEDIA ROUND
LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.), BBC News at Six and ITV Evening News (6.30 p.m.) all lead on the fatal meningitis outbreak in Kent … Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) focuses on the Middle East.
Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 6 p.m.): Kent County Council Leader Linden Kemkaran (5.05 p.m.) … former Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Head of Energy Strategy Adam Bell (5.35 p.m.).
Drive with John Pienaar (Times Radio, until 7 p.m.): Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby … Labour MP Jonathan Brash … Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey … former U.K. National Security Adviser Peter Ricketts … Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Doron Spielman … former Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.K. Volodymyr Khandohiy … former U.S. Army Europe Commanding General Ben Hodges.
Kevin O’Sullivan (Talk, until 7 p.m.): Independent MP Rupert Lowe (6 p.m.).
News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Former Chief of the Defence Staff David Richards (5.20 p.m.) … former British Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Westmacott (5.45 p.m.) … former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe Richard Shirreff (6.20 p.m.).
Tonight With Andrew Marr (LBC, 6 p.m.): Reform UK Treasury Spokesperson Robert Jenrick … former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton … Labour peer and former Defence Secretary Brian Hutton.
Dewbs and Co (GB News, 6 p.m.): Shadow Home Office Minister Matt Vickers … Labour peer Steve McCabe.
Farage (GB News, 7 p.m.): Robert Jenrick … former Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena … former Lib Dem adviser Jo Phillips.
Politics Hub (Sky News, 7 p.m.): Keir Starmer’s former Political Director Luke Sullivan … former Secret Intelligence Service Chief Richard Dearlove.
The Evening Edition with Kait Borsay (Times Radio, 7 p.m.): Eurasia Group Managing Director Europe Mujtaba Rahman (7.35 p.m.) … retired U.S. Navy admiral James G. Foggo (8 p.m.).
Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC, 8 p.m.): Green Party Westminster Leader Ellie Chowns … Labour peer Maurice Glasman … the New World’s James Ball … businesswoman Kiki McDonough.
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation (GB News, 8 p.m.): Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice.
Newsnight (BBC 2, 10.30 p.m.): Chancellor Rachel Reeves … Labour peer Thangam Debbonaire.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: George Mann.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Sky News (10 p.m.): Times Radio’s Adam Boulton and the FT’s Lucy Fisher … Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): Broadcaster Carolyn Quinn and Talk’s Peter Cardwell.
WHERE TO FIND BOOZE IN WESTMINSTER TONIGHT
A PROPER KNEES-UP: The Irish Embassy is hosting press drinks for political types to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, from 6 p.m.
TIPSY WITH TORIES: Onward is hosting a panel about welfare support, with speakers including Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately, from 6.15 p.m.
LINE UP THE VENOMS: Campaign group Mainstream hosts its spring reception in London from 7 p.m., with a speech by Angela Rayner. Invites needed.
BEER AND CHIPS: Defra Minister and peer Sue Hayman is among guests at a Demos event with McCain Foods, to launch a report about sustainable farming, from 7 p.m. in the Churchill Room.
TOMORROW’S WORLD
HAPPENING OVERNIGHT: The Public Accounts Committee has a report out into hospice care.
LADS ON TOUR: Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife Oluremi Tinubu begin a state visit to the U.K.
INFO DUMP: Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds speaks to the Lords’ Environment and Climate Change Committee about waste crime, from 10 a.m.
SEEDS OF AN IDEA: Green Party Leader Zack Polanski delivers the New Economics Foundation’s 40th anniversary lecture at 10.30 a.m.
IN THE COMMONS: MPs sit themselves down from 11.30 a.m. with science questions, PMQs and a Conservative-led debate.
VIEW FROM AFAR: Former Foreign Office Permanent Secretary Simon McDonald and King’s College London academic Lawrence Freedman are interrogated by the Lords’ International Relations and Defence Committee about the U.K.-U.S. relationship, from 11.30 a.m.
IN THE LORDS: Peers step inside at 2.30 p.m. for the sixth day of the Crime and Policing Bill at report stage, including proposals to decriminalize abortion.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Land use, via a speech from Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds at 3 p.m.
WHAT THE TORIES WANT TO TALK ABOUT: Petrol tax, via their opposition debate slot.
CHARMER OFFENSIVE: The BAME PLP group is due to meet Keir Starmer in No.10 at 4 p.m.
PRIME MINISTERIAL TIME: Former Prime Minister John Major gives the Attlee Foundation Lecture at 6.30 p.m.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
HAPPY RISHIVERSARY: Keir Starmer has now been in office longer than Rishi Sunak was, the PoliticsUK X feed noted.
SPOTTED: Canadian PM Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb went for a morning jog in Hyde Park during their visit to the U.K. as there were “no ice-hockey rinks available.” Insert the “they’re running” and “Finnish line” gags here.
ALSO SPOTTED getting themseles around stacks of pancakes with maple syrup at a Canada House breakfast event this morning: Labour MP Canada APPG Chair Matt Western … fellow Labour MPs Adam Jogee, Callum Anderson, Chris Bloore, Chris Evans, Chris Kane, Emily Darlington, Josh Slinger, Kirsteen Sullivan, Leigh Ingham, Luke Charters, Melanie Ward and Rachel Taylor … Conservative MPs Andrew Bowie, Harriet Baldwin, Kit Malthouse and Richard Holden … Lib Dem MPs Angus MacDonald, Anna Sabine, Al Pinkerton, Gideon Amos, Jamie Stone, Christine Jardine and Steff Aquarone … SNP MPs Graham Leadbitter and Stephen Gethins … Reform MP Andrew Rosindell … and, of course, new Canadian High Commissioner Bill Blair.
PACKED LUNCH OR PALACE LUNCH: Subject to change, here are the lunch menus on the estate tomorrow: Bellamy’s: Steamed haddock with turmeric potato, spinach and chickpea stew; masala tofu with saag gobi, bombay potatoes and coriander oil; pesto chicken penne with, chestnut mushroom, roasted tomato and rocket … The Debate: Venison keema burger with red onion and tomato salad and mint raita; roasted ras el hanout hispi cabbage on coriander hummus with Moroccan carrot and chickpea salad; Indonesian kecap manis salmon with turmeric and coconut rice and green bean and peanut sambal … Terrace Cafeteria: Lemon and thyme halloumi with rocket, pesto and toasted ciabatta; cottage pie with mustard mash; chicken and bacon carbonara with parmesan.
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: On March 17, 1337 Edward the Black Prince became Duke of Cornwall, the first duchy made in England. On the same day in 1801, Henry Addington became prime minister, ending up famed for his botched negotiations with Napoleonic France … while in 1995, then Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams visited the White House. And in 2003, Cabinet minister Robin Cook resigned in protest over the Labour government’s plans to go to war in Iraq.
WRITING PLAYBOOK TOMORROW MORNING: Andrew McDonald.
THANKS TO: My editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster, reporter Noah Keate and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.
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