Presented by Goldman Sachs
By ANDREW MCDONALD
with BETHANY DAWSON
PRESENTED BY
Good Wednesday morning. This is Andrew McDonald.
DRIVING THE DAY
HERE WE GO AGAIN: Keir Starmer faces another PMQs dominated by the war in Iran and its cascading side effects. Things have moved on since the PM’s recent back and forth with Kemi Badenoch over Britain’s resistance to joining the conflict (even if the PM will probably have another pop at his opponents’ shifting positions today). But there are still plenty of questions floating around. Westminster is looking for clarity on the government’s deliberations over the Strait of Hormuz, as well as support for energy bills, volatile markets and rising fuel prices. These sessions have a habit of creating news during fast-moving global turmoil.
Though there is one other unwelcome distraction for the PM … in the form of a blatant leadership pitch speech last night from his former Deputy Leader Angela Rayner lambasting the government and one of its flagship policies. More on that later. Badenoch might not be able to resist reading out a couple of key passages from Rayner, when the opposition leader locks horns with the PM at noon.
BUT ON THE WAR BEYOND THESE SHORES: And the noise emerging from the government appears to be pointing toward Britain being open to deploying warships to the Strait of Hormuz — but not to Donald Trump’s timeline. The Telegraph’s Tony Diver reports that considerations over the issue have resulted in talks to send ships under plans for an “escort system” to police the area after a ceasefire is reached. Emmanuel Macron proposed a plan for such an international mission to escort oil tankers on Tuesday.
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Which would match up with … what other reporters and your Playbook author have been hearing about how the current situation is the biggest impediment to sending warships — due to a fear it would escalate the conflict while it’s still ongoing. And Yvette Cooper told the Commons Tuesday that Britain will look to strike an agreement with allies that would “contain and constrain” the threat from Iran after the war. One problem is that the war looks far from over, with Israel confirming the killing of Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani last night. Which isn’t exactly a de-escalatory move.
Also overnight: The U.S. hit Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz with “multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions” … Israeli strikes continued on Beirut … and there were other strikes and warnings across the Gulf.
The other obvious ongoing questions: Are there circumstances in which we would consider deploying warships before a ceasefire is reached? … Do we even have enough warships in a fit state? … What is going on with deliberations over the other types of lower level support we could provide, such as manned minesweeping ships or unmanned drones? … And are we getting anywhere with our pleas for de-escalation?
On the first points: The Times’ Lobby team reports government lawyers have been asked to provide advice on whether Britain could offer military support to reopen the strait — seemingly on the basis of self-defense. The paper reports of concerns that participation might require a U.N. resolution, which would be tricky given China and Russia have vetoes … and that the current situation is “too hot” for the U.K. to get more involved.
While on our de-escalation efforts: The FT has an intriguing line this morning, following up on Patrick Wintour’s earlier Guardian exclusive on Jonathan Powell’s involvement in pre-war talks. The FT reports that Powell has been “texting and talking all the time” to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff about the conflict and that there are hopes Powell might be able to nudge the Trump administration toward an energy-price saving off ramp.
Of course: That direct line clearly hasn’t helped with getting Trump to stop slagging the PM in public. He was at it again with his Churchill obsession yesterday, bigging up the wartime leader’s comparative qualities compared to Starmer while sat next to the Irish (!) prime minister. Don’t expect to see Badenoch use those comments to hit Starmer with today, given she was describing Trump’s approach to diplomacy as “childish” in her own Tuesday appearance.
Barrage the Farage: Though what you can probably safely expect … is for Starmer to use the conflict as a stick with which to beat Nigel Farage, given the Reform UK boss’ U-turns on the conflict. Farage has a question at PMQs.
Reignite the bromance: Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg last night that Trump and Starmer should meet to “re-load the relationship.” And he knows all about having to do that.
ON THE HOME FRONT: The Tories and the Lib Dems will both try to press Starmer on two related issues they reckon there’s political capital in pursuing.
Fuel fury: Badenoch has opposition day after PMQs and will use her moment to force a vote on axing the planned fuel duty hike in September. Mounting energy and fuel prices have offered her the easy way in on that front. Badenoch has a Sun op-ed describing the PM as “utterly hopeless and clueless” for not committing to canceling the rise. Starmer has said the planned phasing out of the 5p cut is being kept under review.
Scoop — keep the monarchy (here): The Lib Dems will table an early day motion this morning calling on the PM to advise King Charles III to cancel his state visit to the U.S. Which would hit Trump right in the feels. The text of the motion, shared with Playbook, says that this would “ensure His Majesty is not placed in an embarrassing situation, given President Trump’s ongoing illegal war and disparaging remarks about the U.K. and other allies who were not consulted on the decision to go to war.”
Good luck with that: The same call was also made by Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry Tuesday. But it’s sounding as if the calls will fall on deaf ears. The Sun’s Martina Bet reports that officials are finalizing the itinerary for the visit right now, even as Trump and Starmer row in public. The paper reports the trip will include Washington D.C. and New York, plus a third U.S. city.
LAST NIGHT IN WESTMINSTER
RAYNERISM BEGINS AT HOME: Angela Rayner has given the Labour benches plenty to whisper about. The former deputy leader appeared at the soft-leftie campaign group Mainstream’s spring reception last night to slam the direction of the current government in a direct challenge to her former boss. My colleague Dan Bloom was there — as were several other journalists.
That last bit … is significant in itself. Fewer than a dozen MPs were there and most of the crowd was decidedly more left-wing than the vast majority of the PLP. And yet … your Playbook author and others have been reporting this year on remarks from Rayner at private events. This time she machine-gunned the government in the full knowledge hacks invited to the event would report them, and that a large number of Labour members would read them.
What She Said: Rayner said her party is “running out of time” to show change and “cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline.” She suggested the public reckons Labour represents the establishment rather than working people “and at worst, we became it” … said the party shouldn’t be embarrassed by achievements “that reflect our Labour values” … and took a big swipe at Shabana Mahmood’s migration policies (don’t tell Paul Ovenden). More quotes from inside the room via the Telegraph’s Dominic Penna. Hacks outside it quickly got their hands on excerpts too.
How come someone hasn’t noticed that we’re dead? In possibly her grabbiest line, Rayner said that the “very survival of the Labour Party is at stake” amid rising populism and that political parties have no right to exist. Wonder who she thinks could save the party from terminal decline?
Certainly not … Mahmood, in Rayner’s view — although she didn’t mention the home secretary or the Home Office by name. Instead, she launched an attack that was clearly aimed at Starmer and Mahmood’s flagship policy of making it harder for migrants who arrived here legally to gain permanent residency.
Ooft: “Enforcing a fair deal is not the same as ripping up a deal halfway through,” Rayner said. “The people already in the system who made a huge investment now fear for their future … we cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts, because moving the goalpost undermines our sense of fair play,” she added. Open-mouthed allies of Mahmood weren’t responding directly last night beyond pointing Playbook back to how the home secretary defended her reforms as the “progressive” choice two weeks back.
Opening question for the PM’s spokesperson today: Rayner summed up Mahmood’s reforms as “bad policy,” a “breach of trust” and “un-British.” Now that they’ve come under fire, is No. 10 ready to guarantee that Starmer won’t U-turn on the plans the next time he sits for a cosy chat with Tom Baldwin?
The subtext: Most people in Labour, whether they support Mahmood’s reforms or not, don’t believe the home secretary could win a leadership contest while driving through hardline migration policies. Disavowing them very publicly is catnip for left and soft-leftie Labour members and the growing ranks of MPs on rebellion watch over the measures. Plus it places her (unsurprisingly) firmly on the side of the ranks of MPs who think Labour ought to be more worried about the threat from its left flank.
Quite the contrast: In the same sweaty room in Walkers (one of the few Westminster pubs with reliable events space) two weeks ago today, a collection of Labour right types listened to Keir Starmer calling his departed chief of staff Morgan McSweeney one of the best political strategists in the entire world — as the McSweeney era of Labour in government came to an end. Some of those gathered in the room last night to listen to Rayner slam the Blue Labour agenda will hope the speech marked the start of a new era.
Though of course … Rayner still has a tax investigation hanging over her, which her allies are concerned about due to the fact it hasn’t reported back yet. In the meantime, the Times reckons her plans for after-dinner speeches and a memoir to raise money (as POLITICO reported last month) are on course to raise more than £100,000, enough to pay any possible fine from HMRC. It could also come in handy for any future leadership contests.
Meanwhile: Rayner issued a paean to the British public who “work hard and they pay their taxes” while feeling “there’s always someone jumping the queue or cheating the system.” Just leaving that there.
Different crowd, different message: Rayner also took on what she called the “unscrupulous landlords” and “rigged system” shortly after telling City investors they shouldn’t worry about Labour, per the FT).
ELSEWHERE ON THE LEFT: Zack Polanski has his biggest policy speech since he became Green leader at the traditionally Labour-aligned New Economics Foundation from 10.30 a.m. He’ll accuse the government of presiding over “managed decline” — not too far from the language Rayner used last night — and will announce a series of new Green policy aimed at the economy and cost of living.
Including … an expensive call for the chancellor to spend £8.4 billion on shielding households from energy price rises. Sky got a preview of that bit. He’ll say Labour should pay for it by clawing back more profits from energy companies and equalizing Capital Gains Tax with income tax. He’ll make the case that customers would have been better protected if the U.K. was more reliant on cleaner energy — though in the meantime will suggest the government subsidize energy bills, whether that energy is “clean” or not.
Plus: The Guardian’s Peter Walker has some more on the Polanski pitch, reporting that he’ll say Britain has been turned “from a place which made things people need into a place which made money for people who owned things.” There should be a fair amount of policy and economic philosophy in there, too.
On which note: Net support for a wealth tax is higher among Labour voters (66 percent) than Greens (43 percent), even though it’s one of Polanski’s flagship policies, according to new polling by Merlin Strategies seen by Playbook.
TODAY IN WESTMINSTER
DOMINATING THE NEWS AGENDA: The meningitis outbreak is now being treated as a national incident, with the UK Health Security Agency now set to publish stats on the latest every day (the first batch coming at 9.30 a.m.). Health Secretary Wes Streeting — who would have been launching a major government strategy today under different circumstances — will instead be on BBC Breakfast and the Good Morning Britain sofa on the public reassurance round shortly.
ROMAN’S EMPIRE SUED: Officials are preparing to sue former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich after he missed a deadline to release the £2.4 billion he raised from selling the club. The Guardian’s Kiran Stacey reports the government is now taking steps to prepare for a court case.
EMPTY CHAIR: Travelodge CEO Jo Boydell will not attend a meeting scheduled today with 100 MPs who demanded talks after a woman was sexually assaulted by a man given a key card to her room by hotel staff. Boydell instead met earlier this week with Labour MPs Jen Craft and Matt Bishop — who have led the campaign — along with Ministers Alex Davies-Jones and Jess Phillips.
Just tell them what I said: According to a letter seen by Playbook’s Bethany Dawson, Boydell told Craft and Bishop that she wouldn’t attend today’s meeting but they could “feedback the output” of Monday’s discussion to colleagues. An MP involved in the talks says the move shows a “complete lack of commitment to tackling this issue in the most transparent way.” Sky News’ Lucy McDaid and PolHome’s Matilda Martin are hearing the same.
WHAT THE TORIES ALSO WANT TO TALK ABOUT: Kemi Badenoch’s other opposition day debate will see the party force a vote on scrapping interest above inflation on student loans, after Rachel Reeves said in her Mais lecture that fixing child poverty is more important. The Times has a write-up.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FOR ALL, INCLUDING CHINA: The government is concerned that China is exploiting our freedom of information laws to collate unclassified info that might nod toward revealing more sensitive information, the FT’s Lucy Fisher reports.
CODE RED: The government isn’t responding to the growing financial crisis in the adult hospice sector with enough seriousness and urgency, the Public Accounts Committee is warning. The committee says in a report that some hospices have recently reduced essential services, despite demand for palliative and end-of-life care increasing — and others are planning to do the same.
WARNING SIGNS: The U.K. has a “moral responsibility” to speak up about democratic backsliding and human rights violations during Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s upcoming state visit, Human Rights APPG Chair Fabian Hamilton has told the prime minister. Helpfully, Starmer will attend the state banquet with Tinubu tonight.
SW1 EVENTS: Former Prime Minister John Major gives the Attlee Foundation Lecture (6.30 p.m.) … Lioness legend and Fields in Trust President Jill Scott is hosting a drop-in for MPs and peers to talk about her campaign to protect playing fields and green spaces from development (5.30 p.m. to 7 p.m.).
REPORTS OUT TODAY: Nearly 10,000 Afghans are still waiting for relocation to the U.K. despite being promised sanctuary, the National Audit Office warns in a report picked up by the Times … British Muslims are far more likely to consider the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as “definitively wrong” than the general population, according to research by Policy Exchange … women with maternal sepsis are almost 150 times more likely to die in Africa than Europe, according to WaterAid, which is calling for the U.K. to protect aid funding … and the government should put the Regulation Policy Committee on a statutory footing rather than scrapping it, says a Re:State report.
HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sits from 11.30 a.m. with science questions … PMQs at noon … Labour MP Abena Oppong-Asare’s 10-minute-rule motion on menstrual and gynecological health … and an opposition day debate. Conservative MP Alicia Kearns has the adjournment debate on flooding support for rural communities.
On committee corridor: The Work and Pensions Committee quizzes Pensions Minister Torsten Bell — once a Triple Lock hater — on changes to state pension age (9.30 a.m.) … VAWG Minister Jess Phillips discusses violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland with the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (9.30 a.m.) … the Lords’ Environment and Climate Change Committee grills Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds on waste crime (10 a.m.) … and the Lords’ International Relations and Defence Committee discuss the future U.S.-U.K. relationship with former Foreign Office boss Simon McDonald (11.30 a.m.). Which government official will McDonald criticize today?
HOUSE OF LORDS: Sits from 2.30 p.m. with questions on the contribution of trail hunting to the rural economy, the Strait of Hormuz and the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages … and the sixth day of report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill.
BEYOND THE M25
ASSISTED DYING BILL FAILS: Holyrood voted 57-69 against legalizing assisted dying late last night, after more than two years of deliberation over Scotland’s own version of the measure. The defeat followed four days of intense debate among MSPs last week about whether disabled and other vulnerable people would be properly protected from coercion. It all culminated in a highly emotional final debate late into the evening, before the vote — which wound up not being as close as observers had been expecting. SNP leader John Swinney, former leader Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar voted against.
SCHOOLS OUT: Wales’ Cabinet Secretary for Transport Ken Skates told the BBC that the current cost of university would stop him from going if he were still in education. The minister told a live debate that the Welsh Labour government is “doing all we can to limit” student debt.
WOOF: Senedd members voted to ban greyhound racing in Wales but the legislation faces a legal challenge amid accusations that ministers didn’t consult on it properly, the BBC reports.
PUSHING THE BOAT OUT: France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot suggested, only half joking, that Canada could one day join the EU as the bloc becomes more attractive to countries looking for stable partners amid the global geopolitical turmoil, as POLITICO reports.
THIS IS FINE: A top Pentagon official told lawmakers that military operations targeting Latin American drug cartels are “just the beginning” — and left open the possibility of deploying ground forces even as lethal boat strikes against alleged smugglers continue indefinitely.
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MEDIA ROUND
EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds broadcast round: Times Radio (7.05 a.m.) … Sky News (7.15 a.m.) … 5Live (7.35 a.m.) … LBC (7.50 a.m.) … GB News (8.30 a.m.).
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden broadcast round: Times Radio (7.45 a.m.) … GB News (8 a.m.) … Talk (8.35 a.m.) … LBC (8.50 a.m.) … Sky News (9.15 a.m.).
Also on BBC Breakfast: Health Secretary Wes Streeting (8.10 a.m.).
Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: BMA Industrial Relations Officer Andrew Jordan (7.40 a.m.).
Also on Good Morning Britain: Wes Streeting (8.35 a.m.).
Also on GB News Breakfast: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (9.30 a.m.).
Also on GB News PMQs (11.50 a.m.): Labour MP Luke Charters and Lib Dem MP Max Wilkinson.
Also on Times Radio Breakfast: Former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton (8.35 a.m.).
Also on Sky News Mornings: Former U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch (8.15 a.m.).
Also on LBC News: Scottish Conservative MSP Sandesh Gulhane (7.40 a.m.) … National Pharmacy Association Chair Olivier Picard (8.40 a.m.).
Politics Live (BBC Two 11.15 p.m.): Justice Minister Jake Richards … Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins … Labour peer Helena Kennedy … Conservative MP Graham Stuart … Sun on Sunday Political Editor Kate Ferguson.
5Live MPs phone in (10 a.m.): Labour MP Melanie Ward … Conservative MP Joe Robertson … Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain.
TODAY’S FRONT PAGES
POLITICO UK: ‘Worst-case scenario’: Middle East nuclear concerns haunt top health officials.
Daily Express: ‘People are dying in hospital corridors without pain relief.’
Daily Mail: Meningitis outbreak worst we’ve ever seen, say experts.
Daily Mirror: Britain hit by Trumpflation.
Daily Star: Outbreak!
Financial Times: Trump camp shows first cracks over Iran war as counterterror chief quits.
Metro: Reeves bets on quantum leap.
The Daily Telegraph: Trump: BBC is against me winning Iran war.
The Guardian: Iran nuclear deal ‘had been within reach’ before conflict.
The i Paper: Your war on Iran is based on a lie, says Trump’s security chief — in open letter to America.
The Independent: Trump’s tantrum: We don’t need Nato help against Iran.
The Sun: I was blinded by the killer bug.
The Times: Fatal meningitis outbreak declared national incident
LONDON CALLING
WESTMINSTER WEATHER: The sun is shining! High 18C, low 7C.
SPOTTED … in the packed and sweaty Bank Vault at Walkers of Whitehall for a reception by the Mainstream Labour group: former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner … Rayner’s aides Alex Jones and Nick Parrott … Labour MPs Clive Lewis, Kate Osborne, Dawn Butler, Charlotte Nichols, Tony Vaughan, Rachel Hopkins and Rachel Taylor … Mainstream interim council members Kerry Postlewhite and Neal Lawson … Mainstream National Coordinator Luke Hurst … Mainstream NEC candidates Jovan Owusu-Nepaul and Cat Arnold … former Labour staffer Matthew Torbitt … former Labour MP Sandy Martin … hacks including Sienna Rodgers, Megan Kenyon, George Eaton, Dom Penna, Aubrey Allegretti and Morgan Jones.
Also spotted … at a very different Labour drinks, held by businessman and Labour donor Gary Lubner: No. 10 joint interim chief of staff Vidhya Alakeson … “half the Cabinet,” including Pat McFadden and Darren Jones … Deputy Leader Lucy Powell … former Treasury adviser Matt Pound … and Labour Together’s Allison Phillips.
Also spotted … at the Irish Embassy’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration: Outgoing Irish ambassador to U.K. Martin Fraser, who told the room he has money on England winning the football World Cup, after he cracked a joke about Taoiseach Micheál Martin “sticking up for the Brits” in backing Keir Starmer against Donald Trump in the Oval Office … Secondary Care Minister Karin Smyth … Local Government Minister Alison McGovern … Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood … Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride … Shadow Scotland Secretary Andrew Bowie … Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Chair Tonia Antoniazzi … Labour MPs Adam Jogee, Liam Conlon, Deirdre Costigan, Rosie Wrighting, Jim McMahon, Kevin Bonavia, Catherine West and Chris Curtis … SDLP MPs Colum Eastwood and Claire Hanna … Sinn Féin MP John Finucane … SNP MPs Stephen Flynn, Pete Wishart and Seamus Logan … Conservative MP Lincoln Jopp … former First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster … Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee Chair Alex Carlile … Labour peers Kay Carberry, Margaret Curran and Roy Kennedy … Conservative peer Robert Hayward … Lib Dem peers Dee Doocey and Dominic Hubbard … Sky News presenters Kamali Melbourne and Saima Mohsin … LBC presenter and New Statesman editor at large Andrew Marr … GB News pol ed Chris Hope … the Economist Associate Editor John Peet … hacks Patrick Gibbons, James Crisp, Rosa Prince and Antonello Guerrera … and Embassy team members including Emer Rocke, Benjamin Stoneley, Amy Colgan and Jamal Alkayed.
CONGRATULATIONS … to winners of the House’s Parliament’s People Awards, including Parliamentary In-House Individual of the Year Edmund James … Parliamentary In-House Team of the Year the Terrace Café … Staffers of the Year (split by region): Labour’s Zoë Swann, Sion Davies and Ally Routledge and Tories George Bundock and Olivia O’Mahony … winner of the Lord Speaker’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Lords, the Lords’ media and digital communications teams … and winner of the Speaker’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Commons, the parliamentary health and wellbeing team.
CHECKMATE: The Parliamentary Chess Club played a historic online match against Chess School Ukraine to coincide with Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.K. The … [Content truncated]
