O VOO DO CORVO

 

By ALEX WICKHAM

https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/starmers-korma-karma-elsie-dagger-barclay-vs-wallace/

 

DRIVING THE DAY

STARMER’S KORMA KARMA: In the next few minutes, it is Labour leader Keir Starmer’s turn to face a grilling from ITV Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid, this time accompanied by Richard Madeley, following her bruising encounter with Boris Johnson on Tuesday. Starmer is on the GMB sofa at 7.40 a.m. to try to deliver his pitch to the nation ahead of tomorrow’s local elections — but he remains unable to escape increasingly difficult questions about his attendance at a late-night beer and curry gathering in Durham last year, which the Tories say broke COVID laws.

 

Refresher: Starmer was photographed drinking beer at an indoor gathering with Labour officials at a constituency office in Durham past 10 p.m. on a Friday night in April last year. Starmer claims it was a brief takeaway in between work meetings, though Labour have been unable to answer what work took place following the late-night drinking session. The rules at the time stated that indoor campaign gatherings were only legal if “reasonably necessary” for a campaign. Labour have stonewalled questions on why a group drinking beer and eating curry on a Friday night was necessary for campaign purposes.

 

Curry house plot: The Sun and the Mail both put the story on their front pages again today — the Mail for the seventh day in a row. They say Starmer is “the man who just can’t answer a straight question” following Tuesday’s challenging broadcast round, which saw him inexplicably refuse three times to answer whether the police had been back in touch with him over the incident, despite Labour sources later insisting they hadn’t. And in a fresh revelation, the Sun’s Amir Razavi, Harry Cole and Robin Perrie reveal the takeaway order made by Starmer and co. to a local curry house, which came to £200 and was apparently enough food to feed 30 people.

 

The order: Biryanis (£10.95 each) … bhunas (£9.50 each) … tikka masalas (£10.50) … pilau rice (£3.90) and naans (£2.85). A “local source” tells the paper: “There was a lot of food. It came to at least £200 and would have fed 25 or 30 people. It was a late-night delivery — the last order of the night. It must have been placed around 9 p.m. maybe. Last orders are at 10 p.m. and everything at the restaurant is freshly-cooked, so it would’ve taken time.”

 

**A message from Lloyds Banking Group: As part of our commitment to helping Britain prosper, we’re focused on financing a greener future.  That’s why, we’ve set ourselves the goal to work with customers, Government and the market to achieve net-zero for the activities we finance by 2050 or sooner. Find out more.**

 

Korma police: The Sun also says Met Police bodyguards looking after Starmer were present — which will put further pressure on Durham police as they decide whether to open an investigation. Playbook is old enough to remember when the Met originally said they wouldn’t retrospectively investigate No. 10 parties, only to U-turn when suggestions of complicity started to emerge.

 

Why this matters: Playbook will be honest: When the original Starmer Beergate story came to light a few months ago, most Westminster observers didn’t think much of it, your author included. That has changed significantly. Labour’s incorrect statements about deputy leader Angela Rayner’s presence, revelations about the late-night timing of the event raising serious doubts about Starmer’s “in between meetings” excuse, a series of unconvincing Starmer interviews on the subject, and the fines for Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak over a comparable event, mean the tale has turned from an effective Tory HQ attack operation into a media frenzy that dominates every broadcast clip Labour’s leader does. The news that a big curry order was made late on Friday night appears tricky to explain, to say the least.

 

Tory MP Richard Holden goes all in: “Does anyone really believe that 30 people drinking beer and tucking into curry at 10 p.m. on a Friday is a work meeting? Did all 30 really go back to work after they finished their biryanis? If not, they have breached the rules and police should investigate.” Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted last night: “How many aides can you feed on curry in Durham for £200 — 20, 30? Starmer cannot continue to fudge. The public have a right to know. What time did the Met security leave? What did they see, know? If it looks like a cover up and smells like a cover up … it’s probably a lie.”

 

Spin wars: Starmer and Labour have used two tactics to counter Beergate: express outrage at being asked questions by the media, and claim it’s all Tory “mudslinging” ahead of the locals. The problem is it isn’t just Tory mudslinging — day by day, more non-Tory voices are joining the criticism. Red Box’s Patrick Maguire yesterday questioned whether Labour’s line was “sustainable” and concluded: “It certainly hasn’t sounded it.” The Economist’s Anne McElvoy got to the nub last night: “No one is really clear now on the difference between a ‘party’ and an office/work meeting with drinks and food during lockdown. (My legal opinion here is bi-partisan). Tories can’t get away from Partygate. Labour can’t sidestep fact that in Durham case, many features are similar.”

 

Questions Susanna and Madeley might ask: How many people were at the gathering? Were the Met there? How many went back to work after 11 p.m. on a Friday night? What work did Starmer do after his beer? Was a 30-strong, end-of-the-night curry “reasonably necessary” for campaign purposes?

 

Or as a veteran campaigner put it to Playbook yesterday: “I remember campaigning in Tier 2 and eating stale sandwiches in my hotel room by myself at the end of the day, or eating outside with others as the rules required. Maybe I’m a saddo, but we stuck to the rules and would never have dreamt of getting p*ssed and ordering a curry to the office on a Friday night while the public was locked down.”

 

Reminder: Starmer called for Sunak to resign when he was fined for attending a non-essential gathering in the Cabinet room for a few minutes before a meeting — setting a clear standard for Labour politicians to meet.

 

And what about Tory Partygate? Johnson told Times Radio’s Lucy Fisher last night that he had not yet received a questionnaire from the Met about his former spinner Lee Cain’s leaving do. ITV’s Paul Brand hears that questionnaires are still being sent out for the No. 10 party on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. As Brand notes, this shows there “doesn’t seem to be any particular methodology to the Met’s investigation. Not dealing with it party by party as we had originally assumed.”

 

ONE DAY TO GO

ELSIE DAGGER: Johnson might have largely avoided his own Partygate scandal in the week of the local elections, but the cost of living crisis did not provide him with any easier ground during his Susanna Reid interview yesterday. Reid hit the prime minister with a killer question about a 77-year-old woman, Elsie, who says she is struggling so much she only eats one meal a day and travels on buses as she can’t afford to put the heating on. Johnson struggled to answer what the government was doing to help, other than to claim responsibility for freedom bus passes.

 

Burn after Reid-ing: Reid told LBC’s Andrew Marr last night: “I’ve spoken to Elsie, since the interview this morning with the prime minister, and she says how disappointed she is with what he said.” For all the media’s interest in parties over the last few weeks, you do wonder if this narrative on the cost of living might be the thing that damages the Tories long term.

 

What Labour would like to talk about: No mention of Partygate in Starmer’s eve of poll statement — it’s all cost of living: “Right now people up and down the country are working hard, paying more, but getting less. Prices and taxes are rising, but wages aren’t keeping up. The Conservatives are doing nothing to help people now. Instead, they’ve made it worse by imposing 15 Tory tax rises — including this month’s national insurance rise on business and working people. Labour’s plan to tackle the cost of living crisis puts money back in your pocket. Our call for an emergency budget would mean action now.”

 

Blue wall meltdown: The Spectator’s James Forsyth has a well-informed piece previewing the Tory performance. A Cabinet minister expects the next day’s headlines will be about a “Blue Wall meltdown,” with predictions of “carnage in Surrey and Oxfordshire” as “the Libs are now detoxified post coalition.” A Johnson ministerial loyalist tells Forsyth: “Things are particularly bad in Scotland, bad in London, not great in the South West, but in the Red Wall marginals the mood is not that bad.”

 

Get your expectations management here: The FT’s Seb Payne and George Parker have an enjoyable story running through the expectations Tory and Labour spinners would like to set. A senior Tory forecasts the loss of 800 seats and another says central London will be “bad” for the party along with “affluent commuter belt seats,” but that other parts of England would be “less bad.” Labour insiders, meanwhile, claim they’re focused on national vote share rather than seats.

 

Drama free zone: Opinium’s Chris Curtis tries to cut through the spin in the FT: “On the headline numbers, I just don’t think we’re heading for a high number of losses [for the Conservatives] — we’re talking considerably fewer than 500. Labour is now slightly ahead of the Tories in voting intention polls, compared to a neck-and-neck result when these seats were last fought in 2018, but that isn’t enough of a change for a dramatic upset.”

 

Rahman returns: The Times‘ Charlotte Wace and Oli Wright have a disturbing piece about former Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman — found guilty of corrupt practices in a civil finding in 2015 — and his political comeback, including shocking allegations of dirty tricks, support from convicted criminals, and female politicians from other parties being subjected to sexist abuse.

 

Forget Partygate … Many voters in English cities are focused on closures of roads for marmite low-traffic neighborhoods ahead of tomorrow’s elections, POLITICO’s Esther Webber and Annabelle Dickson write. The pair write that the LTN issue has splintered traditional party allegiances — with many Tory council candidates standing on an anti-LTN platform even though the national party is behind them, while the Lib Dem position largely depends on the postcode. Outside of the cities, transport still rules as a huge electoral issue thanks to soaring petrol and diesel costs.

 

See tomorrow’s Playbook … for a full, in-depth preview of the local elections in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as the Northern Ireland Assembly elections.