POLITICO London Playbook, presented by BP: Panic on the streets of Birmingham — Another Boris essay — Degsy’s dinner
Degsy #Degsy
By Jack Blanchard
Updated 9/28/18, 8:02 AM CET
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By JACK BLANCHARD
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Good Friday morning.
DRIVING THE DAY
PANIC ON THE STREETS OF BIRMINGHAM: The Conservatives head to Birmingham this weekend looking oddly spooked by Labour’s performance this week. This morning’s papers are chock-full of prominent Tory ministers and backbench MPs offering withering assessments of their party’s efforts to win over the public and face down the threat from Jeremy Corbyn. Chief among Theresa May’s woes is another 4,500-word magnus opus on Brexit from her verbose ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who is again given a huge front-page platform by his employers at the Telegraph. To make matters worse, one of her predecessors as Tory leader, Michael Howard, has been caught on tape predicting she could be gone in the spring, while another, John Major, will share a platform with Labour figures tonight for a big speech attacking her Brexit plan. They say it never rains but it pours … and for this prime minister it feels like a permanent monsoon.
Start your day with the flurry of Tory MPs berating the party’s current direction. They come from all wings of the party, and each has a different solution to the current malaise. It makes for an incoherent picture, but taken together, it is not a strong look for the start of a pivotal-looking conference. What’s worse for May is that this is just the start. There will be plenty more — and worse — in the days ahead.
Say it again, Sam: Writing in The House magazine, Universities Minister Sam Gyimah says the Tories “have lost our way” and now veer between “talking business down” and “ignoring the concerns of voters.” He says the Tories must again become the party of business, while also offering more help to hard-pressed families. It’s pretty strong stuff for a serving member of the government.
Family affair: Writing in the Daily Mail, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg complains the Tories are doing nothing to promote traditional family values. “Politicians consistently say how important the family is, but then do nothing to support it,” he notes. (Though given Rees-Mogg has six children but has never even changed a nappy, maybe “support for families” isn’t the topic for him.)
Truss me: The Guardian picks up on Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss‘ enthusiastic response to Labour’s new political broadcast on provincial towns. “That video does capture the heart of where we need to be as a party,” she said. “We need to be talking about how people’s lives are getting better.”
Party of the rich: Commons education committee Chairman Robert Halfon writes for Conservative Home about how the Tories are seen as the part of the rich. “We are stuck in the political rhetoric of the past, rather than providing a proper Tory vision for the future,” he says. Labour is “speaking to the problems faced by many. We too often speak only for the few.”
Get radical: Also writing for The House magazine, former Cabinet Minister Priti Patel says the Tories must recapture their radical right-wing zeal. “We are not inspiring the public,” she complains. “The so-called solutions proposed to every problem by this government are always the same — more tax, more spending, more red tape, more burdens and barriers to individuals.”
And last but not least: In his sprawling novella for the Telegraph today, Boris Johnson says May’s approach to Brexit has been “supine” and brands her Chequers plan a “moral and intellectual humiliation.”
More on Boris: Johnson’s latest missive is designed to rebut criticism that he has no serious proposals of his own on Brexit. And so today he lays out a six-point plan for what he would do if he were prime minister. (It gets the full Telegraph front-page treatment yet again, though sadly he hasn’t posed for a special new photo this time.) Boris says his first move after “chucking Chequers” would be to tell the EU that Britain will no longer accept the Irish backstop it signed up to last December, and that the border issue must instead be resolved in free trade talks after Brexit day. In the “remote” chance the EU won’t accept that, he adds, we should prepare for no deal. But assuming it does, his plan then is to negotiate a “SuperCanada” tariff-free trade deal during the transition period that would basically give all the benefits of being in the single market, while negotiating other big free trade deals with countries around the world at the same time.
And if you think that all sounds a bit optimistic: Then you need to stop talking Britain down.
Setting the scene: Johnson’s hope is that by publishing his own Brexit plan this morning, he can become a rallying figure at Tory conference for other Brexiteers. A few pro-Leave MPs tweeted their support last night including Steve Baker, Andrea Jenkyns and Marcus Fysh, and you can expect plenty more reaction (from both sides of the argument) throughout the rest of the day. Boris’ next big moment will come on Tuesday in an appearance at a “chuck Chequers” rally for conference activists, just 24 hours before May delivers her own big leader’s address. Writing for Bloomberg News today, Tim Ross charts how the relationship between these two pivotal Tory figures has fractured over the past two years, reaching its climax with a stuttering phone call in which Johnson resigned in July.
Never mind Chequers — time to chuck the Cabinet: More advice for the PM comes via Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson, who suggests the solution for the Tories is actually to ditch cautious ministers like Philip Hammond, Damian Hinds and James Brokenshire and shake the Cabinet from its “vegetative state.” He wants Sajid Javid as chancellor, Liz Truss promoted to education secretary, and Michael Gove’s reforming zeal focused on the housing crisis. Jacob Rees-Mogg, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat should all be promoted, Nelson says, and — a little controversial, this one — MEP Daniel Hannan appointed to the Lords and given an international trade brief.
Calm down everyone: The latest Times/YouGov polling suggests the Tories are actually headed into their conference with a six-point lead over Labour, which is pretty decent given they’ve been in power for eight-and-a-half years and remain so disastrously split over Europe. However the Sun publishes a separate survey from the U.K.’s 60 most marginal seats suggesting Labour has leapfrogged the Tories in these key electoral battlegrounds, and now has a narrow 2 percent lead in those areas. The study — commissioned by homelessness charity Shelter — reckons the key is Labour’s support among people who rent their homes, which is double that of the Tories.
Something of the night: The Sun has also been passed an unhelpful recording of former Tory leader Michael Howard being asked about May’s future. His reply: “I think she’s the right person to take us through the next few months. Erm …”
Speaking of Tory leaders: John Major has infuriated members of his party by agreeing to speak alongside former Labour leadership hopeful David Miliband at an anti-Brexit rally tonight. Both men will make speeches and then give a Q&A at the event in South Shields, which is due to get underway at about 6.30 p.m. The saving grace for May is that the event may be a little late for newspapers’ early Friday deadlines.
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MEANWHILE IN LABOUR LAND
DEGSY’S DINNER: Big scoop from the Liverpool Echo last night with the announcement that one of Labour’s most divisive figures has been readmitted to the party. Derek Hatton, the former deputy leader of Liverpool Council, who was booted out of the Labour Party in the 1980s for being part of the hard left Militant Tendency, tells the paper he has been allowed back in under the new regime. “In all those 33 years I have never once supported, campaigned for, or joined any other political party,” he says. “Now, in this bold new era, I am pleased beyond belief to say I have rejoined the Labour Party.” Make no mistake — this is going to enrage many parts of the Labour Party. Keep an eye out for MPs’ reactions this morning.
Small point: Labour hasn’t *actually* confirmed Hatton is now a member, and there is some suggestion his application has not been formally approved as yet. But no one in Labour HQ denies it will indeed be waved through.
Speaking of Labour HQ: There’s a bitter row erupting with former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, who is being sued for tens of thousands of pounds by a prominent blogger over a newspaper column she wrote last year. The Labour Party had agreed to pay her legal fees as she fought the case — but it seems that offer has now been abruptly withdrawn. Dugdale is blaming Labour’s new general-secretary, Jennie Formby. “When I found that out by email, I was pretty crushed to be honest,” Dugdale tells the Daily Record. “I probably hit one of the lowest personal moments of my life … I lost the ability to cope with this for a few days. First of all, how was I going to pay? This could mean my house, my livelihood. You can’t be an MSP if you’re declared bankrupt … And secondly, how could my party do this to me?”
A friend in need: Dugdale adds that she has been texting Jeremy Corbyn asking for his help, but that so far he has simply ignored her. “I know he’s read those messages, but he’s yet to respond,” she says.
Jezza on tour: Corbyn of course was a little distracted yesterday as Brussels rolled out the red carpet for his arrival. (So distracted, in fact, that he forgot to take any euros on his trip to Belgium — watch the comedy clip here as aides hunt around for some coins in front of the rolling cameras.) Writing for POLITICO, my colleague David Herszenhorn considers what the EU was really up to in offering a platform to Theresa May’s chief opponent at such an important political moment. “It was hard to see anything but provocation and humiliation in granting such an audience to Corbyn just after the Labour Party conference, and as May prepares for a hugely contentious party congress of her own,” he concludes.
Labour vs. Hartley-Brewer: Back home in Blighty, TalkRADIO host Julia Hartley-Brewer is at loggerheads with Labour over her social media posts mocking the “safe space” set aside at party conference for disabled people needing to escape.
The Left will eat itself: One last angry row to take you into the weekend. The founder of shouty Corbynista website The Canary urging people to boycott its main political enemy — the, erm, Guardian — after staff complained about a decision to let her speak at Guardian Towers. Kerry-Anne Mendoza was celebrating last night after getting “Boycott the Guardian” trending on Twitter in response to reports Guardian journos were trying to block her speech at the NUJ-organized event. Interestingly Mendoza seems to have the support of some actual Labour MPs — albeit very pro-Corbyn ones — in Chris Williamson and Clive Lewis. No comment yet from Owen Jones, who finds himself at the very center of this rather awkward Venn diagram.
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TODAY IN WESTMINSTER
RIP-OFF BRITAIN: Citizens Advice has lodged a super complaint with the competition watchdog after finding that customers who remain loyal to their utility providers are being penalized by £4 billion a year. Read the PA story here.
ECONOMY DAY: A raft of new national economic data is due to be published at 9.30 a.m. It’s well worth keeping an eye on, given the budget is only one month away.
‘QUESTION TIME IDOL’: The new host of “Question Time” will be selected following a series of mock shows held behind closed doors at BBC studios over the coming days, the Guardian reports. Real audiences will be invited in along with junior politicians while candidates take turns to try stewarding the BBC’s flagship political show. Newsnight presenters Emily Maitlis and Kirsty Wark, and Today program anchors Mishal Husain and Nick Robinson are among those expected to make the shortlist.
ON THE MARCH: Up to 1,000 headteachers are expected to descend on Downing Street this morning to protest cuts to school budgets. The Indy has some background here.
HOW THEY SPEND YOUR MONEY: Playbook doesn’t normally dwell on yesterday’s news, but we’ll always make an exception for departments that waste thousands of pounds trying to suppress information from the press. So let’s briefly pause to consider the dismal case of the ministry of housing, communities and local government (MHCLG). In case you didn’t see the story, the Guardian submitted a pretty straightforward FoI request in 2016 asking how much official time the recently appointed (and ludicrously titled) Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton had actually been spending up North. This is information that under law must be made publicly available, as the department’s own advisers made clear. Yet officials instead responded in the traditional Whitehall way — with months of delay, obfuscation and denial. A tribunal case followed, which naturally the department lost.
Wharton under the bridge: And so more than two years and £40,000 in taxpayer-funded legal costs later, we have the answer. The Guardian reports: “Of the 693 lines of entries in Wharton’s ministerial diary, just under half contain identifiable addresses or office rooms in the ‘Location’ column. Ninety percent of them are based in London.” You could be charitable and wonder if officials forgot to write down all the locations he visited in the north of England. Or you could not. It doesn’t matter much to Wharton — he’s long gone, having been reshuffled out of his job in July 2016 and then booted out of parliament by voters last summer. Happily he has since found lucrative work as a “strategic adviser” for various corporate entities including a global PR giant, a major law firm and an energy company. So all’s well that ends well there.
Blame game: But who would actually sanction spending so much money trying (and failing) to keep their minister’s diary a secret? An experienced Whitehall official tells Playbook the decision would only be taken “at the very highest level” of the department. This is the same cash-strapped department, of course, that has suffered some of the biggest financial cuts in Whitehall since 2010 — most of them passed on to town halls, with significant effects on local services. So it’s reassuring to see senior officials still have cash to burn on trying to stop the public from knowing basic information about ministers’ activities.
MEDIA ROUND
TalkRADIO: Tory MPs Bob Blackman (7.05 a.m.) and Bernard Jenkin (8.05 a.m.).
All Out Politics (Sky News, 10 a.m.): The IfG’s Bronwen Maddox discusses preparations for Brexit (10.10 a.m.) … The Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey and columnist Steve Richards review the newspaper comment sections (10.15 a.m.) … Commons education committee Chairman Robert Halfon, former Schools Minister David Laws and headteacher Siobhan Lowe debate school budget cuts (10.30 a.m.) … Former Telegraph Editor Max Hastings discusses his new book on the Vietnam War (10.45 a.m.).
Politics Live (BBC2, 12.15 p.m.): Tory MP Paul Scully … Former Corbyn spinner Matt Zarb-Cousin … Columnist Rachel Johnson … The Henry Jackson Society’s Sophie Gaston … Campaigner Peter Tatchell.
Any Questions? (BBC Radio 4, 8 p.m.): Business Minister Margot James … Corbynista MP Chris Williamson … Green Party co-leader Siân Berry … LBC Radio’s Iain Dale.
Reviewing the papers tonight: BBC News (10.45 p.m.& 11.30 p.m.): The Daily Mirror’s head of politics Jason Beattie and the FT’s Sebastian Payne … Sky News (10.30 p.m. & 11.30 p.m.): Demos Director Polly Mackenzie and political consultant Alex Deane.
TODAY’S FRONT PAGES
(Click on the publication’s name to see its front page.)
Daily Express: Dementia cure hit by lack of funds.
Daily Mail (not online): Victory in war on bank scams.
Daily Mirror: Mr. Loophole bends it for Beckham.
Daily Star: Germany conkers Britain — Heatwave forces us to import nuts.
Financial Times: Watchdog to probe £4 billion loyalty rip-off of consumers.
HuffPost: “Parents left in the dark” — Privacy laws are causing confusion over student mental health.
i: Breast cancer warning for British women.
Metro: Supreme ordeal — Kavanaugh accuser testifies.
The Daily Telegraph: Boris Johnson — My plan for a better Brexit.
The Guardian: “I believed he was going to rape me” — Kavanaugh accuser testifies.
The Independent: Tory mayor frontrunner in Islamophobia row.
The Sun: Bend the law like Beckham.
The Times: Top schools call for end to unconditional offers.
On the Continent: Read what the rest of Europe’s papers are saying in POLITICO’s EU press review blog here (updated daily at around 8 a.m.).
TODAY’S NEWS MAGS
The Economist: Sex and power — #MeToo, one year on.
THANK POD IT’S FRIDAY
Chopper’s Brexit Podcast: The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope interviews Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer … CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn … Unison boss Dave Prentis … Labour donor John Mills .. and author and academic Philip Cowley.
EU Confidential: Guests include Thomas Greminger, head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanović.
Iain Dale’s Book Club: LBC Radio’s Iain Dale interviews Max Hastings about his new book on the Vietnam War.
Media Masters: Host Paul Blanchard (no relation) interviews Daily Mirror Editor Alison Phillips.
Political Thinking: The BBC’s Nick Robinson interviews Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. (Goes online around 6 p.m.).
The Spectator Podcast: Guests include former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and Corbynista pundit Paul Mason.
BEYOND THE M25
From Cardiff
WOOD CHOPPED? Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru will announce the winner of its leadership contest winner at lunchtime today, with two male assembly members — Adam Price and Rhun ap Iorwerth — challenging Leanne Wood for the top job. BBC Wales has a preview.
From D.C.
AMERICA DIVIDED: Politicians on the Senate judiciary committee will today vote on whether to confirm the appointment of judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. It follows another of those days when we just stared open-mouthed at America and what it can sometimes be, as Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford took turns giving emotional testimony on live TV. (CNN describes all the key moments here.) My POLITICO colleague Burgess Everett sets the scene for today’s vote — if approved by the committee, it will go before a full vote of the Senate this weekend. Both votes are absolutely on a knife-edge, with moderate Republicans such as Arizona’s Jeff Flake the key to deciding Kavanaugh’s fate.
Potentially significant: The American Bar Association has this morning called for the confirmation to be postponed so the FBI can investigate the allegations made against Kavanaugh. More here.
Essential reading: POLITICO founder and editor-in-chief John Harris writes here on a day that will be remembered by Americans for generations to come. He writes: “Brett Kavanaugh and senators of both parties over eight hallucinatory hours on Wednesday served up the distilled essence of a potion — a toxic mixture of foaming malice, self-righteousness and conspiracy theory — that has been brewing for nearly three decades.” Susan Glasser in the New Yorker is also well worth your time, as she reflects on an extraordinary day of anger and rage.
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YOUR WEEKEND IN POLITICS
TORY CONFERENCE: The Conservative Party conference kicks off in Birmingham on Sunday, with proceedings in the main hall getting underway at 2 p.m. with speeches by party Chairman Brandon Lewis and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street. They will be followed by a “Global Britain” session featuring speeches by two out-and-out Brexiteers, Liam Fox and Penny Mordaunt, and two Brexity Remainers, Gavin Williamson and Jeremy Hunt. There are also some good “in conversation with” events on Sunday afternoon featuring current and former Cabinet ministers including Business Secretary Greg Clark, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and former International Development Secretary Priti Patel. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss will be leading an event on how to cut public spending, while BrexitCentral is organizing a big rally featuring all your favorite Brexit Squad types including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Andrea Jenkyns.
BUT THE MAIN EVENT: Will clearly be the POLITICO fringe on Sunday evening, when Playbook’s own Jack Blanchard will be in conversation with former Brexit Secretary David Davis. “The future of Britain post 2022” event is presented by London City Airport — please come down and join us for a drink from 8 p.m.
BIG MATCH: After last week’s Robbie Fowler-inspired defeat at the hands of Labour, the Lobby XI head to Birmingham on Sunday to take on the Conservative Party team. There’s plenty of well-known faces lined up to play, with another former Liverpool legend John Barnes managing the Tory team. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Work and Pensions Minister Guy Opperman, government whips Nigel Adams and Chris Heaton-Harris, and South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge are all expected to play. Excitingly, a Champions League-level referee has also been drafted in to officiate … one Douglas Ross, the MP for Moray. The Tories look like they mean business — Opperman even tweeted out this preview video last night, featuring himself casually knocking 15 or so kick-ups. Bring it on.
YOUR WEEKEND SHOWS LOOK-AHEAD: Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, Tory Party Chairman Brandon Lewis and former Brexit Secretary David Davis are on Sophy Ridge on Sunday … Prime Minister Theresa May is on the Marr Show, with Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee, former No. 10 spinner Tom Swarbrick and the Daily Telegraph’s Kate McCann reviewing the papers … and Pienaar has Education Secretary Damian Hinds and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, with former No. 10 spinner Katie Perrior and the Times’ Matt Chorley on the panel.
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LONDON CALLING
Westminster weather: 🌤🌤🌤Dry and pleasant day with sunny intervals and highs of 17C.
Travel: No service on the Piccadilly line, likely to stretch into the afternoon, as a result of a strike by RMT train operators.
Happy birthday to: Farming Minister George Eustice … Former Justice Minister Phillip Lee … Tory peer Patience Wheatcroft … Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning … Maidstone and the Weald MP Helen Grant … Middlesbrough South MP Simon Clarke … Former SNP in Westminster leader Angus Robertson … Crossbench peer David Hannay.
And celebrating this weekend: Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter … Shadow Pensions Minister Jack Dromey … Tory peer Seb Coe … Treasury Minister Mel Stride.
PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editor Zoya Sheftalovich.
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