London Playbook: Trump charges — Trade
breakthrough — The rest is local
BY DAN
BLOOM
MARCH 31,
2023 8:09 AM CET
London
Playbook
By DAN
BLOOM
WHILE YOU
WERE SLEEPING: U.S. politics is in meltdown after Donald Trump became the first
ex-president to face criminal charges. Sources told CNN he will be presented
with more than 30 counts related to business fraud after adult film star Stormy
Daniels was given $130,000 in 2016. After railing against the “witch hunt” in a
statement from his Florida resort (of which 10,000 people were watching a Sky
live feed overnight), Trump is expected to attend a New York court on Tuesday.
“There will be a mugshot,” notes the Guardian liveblog.
Can he
still run for president in 2024? Er, quite possibly. My POLITICO colleagues in
Washington have a great explainer on what Trump is accused of, whether it will
be easy to convict (no), and whether he can become president regardless (it’s
“murky” and would raise “serious constitutional questions.”) Anna G. Cominsky,
a professor at New York Law School, tells the Washington Post he could run for
president even if convicted of a crime, as there’s no “explicit prohibition.”
And as for
the US courtroom news you really care about: Gwyneth Paltrow won her
ski-and-run court case within minutes of the Trump news. She bags $1 in
damages. Dom Cummings and fellow Vote Leavers would have enjoyed her parting
shot.
Good Friday
morning: This is Dan Bloom. Rosa Prince returns Monday.
**A message
from Google: How much screen time is too much? What’s OK to share online? What
should you do if you see something online that worries you? In partnership with
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important conversations about online safety by asking some simple questions.
Learn more.**
DRIVING THE
DAY
BREAKING
OVERNIGHT: Britain is joining a £9 trillion trade bloc in its biggest deal
since leaving that other one three years ago. Accession to the Comprehensive
and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — whose 11
members include Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam — was confirmed
by Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch at 12.52 a.m. in what is a
start-of-recess cork-popper for Rishi Sunak. Not least because it has even his
sternest Brexiteer critics delighted.
How it
unfolded: POLITICO’s Pro Trade crack team broke the news of the U.K.’s
accession on Wednesday. Read their insider account of how 21 months of talks
came to a head on a Vietnamese island, only to almost collapse thanks to a
last-minute row over Canadian beef. The Mail’s Jason Groves points out the
controversy of reducing tariffs on palm oil — and notes the TUC’s Paul Nowak
has criticized the “dire” deal with nations where workers are exploited. No. 10
says it will “boost the U.K. economy by £1.8 billion in the long run.”
But but but
… This is about much more than trade. My colleague Cristina Gallardo writes
that while the effect as a percentage of GDP is small — the BBC puts it at a
princely 0.08 percent — this is about growing influence in the Indo-Pacific as
China flexes its muscles. “We will be in a geographic table where the United
States and China are absent,” economist George Magnus tells Cristina. Badenoch
is on this morning’s broadcast round.
HOW SUNAK
WILL CELEBRATE: In (checks notes) a cafe in Darlington with Tees Valley Mayor
Ben Houchen, where the PM will record a regional ITV clip at around 9 a.m. and
go on a short walkabout. It’s Easter recess for 17 days, so of course the
parties have swung into local elections mode. His plans to talk about May 4
might be somewhat derailed by the big news above.
First
weekend of recess klaxon: Sunak is spending the rest of today working at the
government’s “economic campus” in Darlington before retreating for some R&R
in his North Yorkshire constituency. Finally, a swim!
LABOURWATCH:
Labour leader Keir Starmer is spending this morning in target area Plymouth at
a food manufacturing factory, doing a Q&A with staff, a pool clip around
noon, a regional media round, and a members’ event.
TURDWATCH:
Defra releases annual statistics on sewage discharges at some point this
morning and opposition parties will kick up a stink. The i’s Paul Waugh says
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey is targeting the “dog walker demographic” — hence the
focus on excrement. He has “sewage visits” (yes really) teed up next week and
may demand Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey’s resignation.
YEP, IT’S
RECESS! Brace for more than two weeks of heavily gridded local elections
content. Labour’s offering today is analysis of ONS data, which claims families
are spending £13 more per week on groceries in December 2022 compared to
2020-21 — part of a £3,500 annual rise in the cost of essentials (via PA).
Try, try
again: Labour Chair Anneliese Dodds spent several minutes on TalkTV defending
Labour’s pledge that it “would” freeze all council tax this year, but (checks
notes) isn’t actually promising to do so in the first year of a Labour
government. Not yet, anyway. Starmer sent a personal email on Thursday to
supporters with the subject “Your council tax, frozen” … which it isn’t.
SCOOPS —
CANDIDATE WATCH: Labour currently has 103 candidates selected, and is planning
to get two more by May — followed by a further 41 by the end of November, two
organizers tell your author. They include most high-profile seats such as
Islington North, where Jeremy Corbyn is mulling standing as an independent.
Speaking of
which: Ex-Momentum Chair Jon Lansman has told my colleague Aggie Chambre that
the “stitch-up” of Labour selections could “absolutely” let in a fascist government
— by keeping the left alternative too “narrow.” “We see it in the rise of the
far right in Germany and France. You know, it’s across the world and it could
happen here,” he said.
That’s a
bit on the nose: My colleague Eleni Courea texted to point out the Tony Blair
Institute’s Rosie Beacon was elected chair of Croydon Central CLP on Thursday
night … unseating Andrew Fisher, Jeremy Corbyn’s former policy director.
CLUCK CLUCK
BWAARK? Meanwhile, a clutch of Tory MPs who’ve announced they are vacating
their marginal seats — but not leaving parliament — are being accused of
plotting “chicken runs” to safer ones. Eleni and Aggie report that Tory
insiders reckon there are half a dozen or more MPs using minor boundary changes
as an excuse to attempt to move to plummier constituencies.
Tory fury:
“If their seats are changed at all, even fractionally, they’re trying to use it
as an excuse to say that they should get a safer seat,” one senior Tory said.
“It’s very disloyal to the place you’re representing — and it’s bad for the
party.” Another said local associations were “screaming blue murder.”
Selections
kick off: Party Chair Greg Hands emailed MPs this week to say he aims to
install the first 100 candidates in time for conference, and that the first
tranche will be advertised on April 17. (HuffPost also got the email.) That
will pit any serving MPs looking to move against 1,000 people on the approved
Tory candidates list. Deputy Tory Chair Luke Hall has essentially warned this
list that unless they get stuck into campaigning for the locals, they risk
being taken off.
Coming up
this weekend: The highly anticipated selection battle between Suella Braverman
and Flick Drummond after boundary changes pitted them against each other.
GOOD
TIMING: Aggie’s Westminster Insider podcast this week is all about selections,
with Conservative peer Anne Jenkin acknowledging the Tories may lose seats at
the next election. In comments that will rankle with some associations, she
said certain safe seats have a sort of responsibility to “pick future cabinet
ministers,” rather than simply people who live in the area.
And the
rest: You can also hear Aggie going on a road trip with the former chairman of
Richmond Conservative association — who recreates the scene of Rishi Sunak
being picked as their local MP.
BATTLE
ROYALE: Tory Robert Buckland was reselected Thursday night for Labour target
seat South Swindon, where he is defending a 6,625 majority against ex-MP Heidi
Alexander. Here’s the pic, replete with six Bucklands.
MEET THE
VOTERS
STATE OF
THE NATION: As the Commons rose for recess, your author sat in on a virtual
focus group with nine Heywood and Middleton voters who backed the Tories in
2019, but would consider changing their minds. Tory Chris Clarkson prized the
ultra-marginal from Labour in 2019 with a 663 majority. The verdict is Sunak
has a lot of persuading to do … but Starmer should read the next bit through
his fingers.
Starmer
verdict: Not one volunteered a positive opinion of him or said they’d vote
Labour tomorrow. Several said they didn’t know what he stood for. He was
variously described as “underwhelming and wooden,” and lacking “personality” or
a “backbone.” Rebecca, a mental health nurse, accused him of “playing dirty” by
“jumping all over” rivals’ mistakes while Jan, 51, said: “I don’t even know
which party Keir Starmer is in. Is he Labour?”
Sunak
verdict: Participants widely branded the PM out of touch due to his wealth,
bringing up his pool. Retired Tony said: “He pays more for his suits than I get
all year.” They felt uninspired by his style. Commercial manager Aaron, 31,
complained “there’s nobody else,” while construction buyer Jennifer said “I
need to see something — I’m not feeling it.”
More time:
CCHQ will see one or two lines as a lifeline — including broad agreement on
banning laughing gas. Jennifer called Sunak “articulate” and “competent,”
saying he needed more time. Rebecca, who said the budget will do nothing to
stop her childcare costs resembling a “second mortgage,” added: “He’s still
mopping up from the back end of Boris and the mess in between.”
No boats
row: No one brought up small boats when asked for their top problems — the cost
of living, education and housing all came first, with ambulance delays and
leveling-up not materializing causing the most ire. But once the host raised
migration they had strong opinions. They were split across the full spectrum on
whether deporting people is correct, but broadly said the Rwanda crackdown
wouldn’t work.
TFIF: Asked
to sum up the state of the nation, they said “broken,” “mess,” “confused,”
“strained,” “crisis,” “not so great,” “room for improvement,” “floating in deep
waters” and “sh*tshow.”
King over
the water: Asked to name one politician who is “authentic and gets it,” the
answer came: Andy Burnham. “He’s smashing it,” said one in the Greater
Manchester seat.
Disclaimer:
Participants were of course not a representative sample and shouldn’t be read
like an opinion poll. At the end, three said they’d vote Tory tomorrow, and
four were undecided but still leaning Tory.
None of the
above: Luke Tryl, director of More in Common, which organized the group, told
Playbook the verdict was “a plague on both your houses” as the government was
seen as failing on the NHS and leveling up, but voters were also “frustrated
that Keir Starmer seemed to spend more time playing politics than spelling out
what he would do differently.”
OUT BY
RECESS
PENSIONS
PLANS: Thursday’s review of the state pension age didn’t change the law, but
makes plenty of headlines. The i splashes on ex-Minister Steve Webb’s warning
that younger workers could have to retire at 70 if ministers cap pensions
spending at 6 percent of GDP — as recommended. The Times splashes on the
suggestion an “early access scheme” could let manual workers retire earlier
than white-collar counterparts.
NET ZERO:
Playbook PM on Thursday rounded up much of the coverage, but the Mail has a
spread on Tory MPs — including Net Zero Scrutiny Group Chair Craig Mackinlay —
calling the net zero plans “completely mad” and demanding to know their cost
(while other activists say they’re not enough).
Meanwhile:
The Telegraph’s Daniel Martin reports that EPC energy ratings for homes could
be overhauled because Michael Gove is “very worried” about the sustainability
of private lettings.
TRASH IS
OUT: Playbook flagged Thursday that some awkward news could slip out on the
last day before recess, and lo, it occurred. Let’s take you through a few…
Fly in the
ointment: The Telegraph has spotted Rishi Sunak spent more than £500,000 on
jets in two weeks as he went to Egypt, Indonesia, Latvia and Estonia.
Whoosh:
More than 1.4 billion PPE items were burned including 570 million aprons and
450 million face masks — the i’s Arj Singh is among those writing up the
government figures.
One’s cost
of living crisis: The sovereign grant for King Charles has been frozen for the
third year in a row, reports the Times’ Oliver Wright.
Tiny
violin: Playbook notes that poor old Kwasi Kwarteng received no gifts or
registered hospitality during his brief stint as chancellor, and made one
foreign visit — only to learn he was being sacked on the way home from the
airport,
Transparency,
what’s that? The i is among those to spot that ministers and officials are
being warned off using the “disappearing message” option on WhatsApp. If
Playbook’s contact book is anything to go by, a lot of SpAds and MPs turned
that feature on post-Hancock and need to disable it again.
And the
rest: The Mirror has a decent roundup of more buried bits including … Cash from
Britain’s depleted foreign aid budget is still going to India … Government
departments responded to fewer than half of MPs’ letters on time … And a prison
pilot scheme had “no impact” on whether inmates would take drugs like Spice
COMING
ATTRACTIONS
WHAT THE
GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: The traditional raft of April 1 legal changes
is coming on Saturday but only one appears to be topping today’s “grid.”
Utility firms that do a rubbish job of patching roads back together will be
inspected more often under laws announced last year, and taking force on
Saturday. Transport Secretary Mark Harper has a Mail op-ed, which says highway
authorities can bill back inspections to the firms at £120 a pop.
More April
1 changes: Corporation tax surges from 19 to 25 percent … The new, less
generous Energy Bills Discount Scheme starts for businesses … The minimum wage
for over-22s rises 92p to £10.42 … Routine COVID tests end for asymptomatic
hospital patients, and care home staff and residents with symptoms … The 130
percent super-deduction for investment is replaced with 100 percent “full
expensing” … HRT will be cheaper under a pre-payment certificate … Air
Passenger Duty rises on international flights but is halved for domestic hops …
And the £2 bus fare cap is extended to June.
Not
changing on Saturday: The Income Tax personal allowance, 40p and 45p
thresholds, storing up what will eventually be a stealth tax of £29 billion per
year.
Coming next
week: Labour ex-Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt’s review of new-style
“integrated care systems” is being published on Tuesday, she told a Global
Counsel event. But we’re due to wait longer for the all-important NHS workforce
plan.
Still waiting:
Still no sign of the Dominic Raab bullying report or Boris Johnson’s
resignation honors, despite rumors that both may be all but wrapped up. We’re
told not to expect either of them today.
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TODAY IN
WESTMINSTER
DASH FOR
GROWTH: Revised GDP figures for the final three months of 2022 have been
released in the last few moments, and show U.K. gross domestic product is
estimated to have increased by 0.1 percent, revised up from a first estimate of
no growth. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is recording a clip shortly.
UNDER FIRE:
Days after a scalding report on Met Police culture, here’s some unpleasant
reading for firefighters. HM Inspectorate of Fire and Rescue Services found
every fire brigade has bullying, harassment and discrimination complaints, with
officials calling for drastic measures to clean up the service. The Guardian
highlights that it follows London Fire Brigade being placed in special measures
in December after a separate report revealed incidents of racism, misogyny and
bullying.
FRAUD
ISLAND: Fraud against businesses and individuals now accounts for 41 percent of
all crimes in England and Wales with 3.8 million incidents in the year to June
2022, a new public accounts committee report says. The Home Office, it argues,
is “sluggish and outmanoeuvred” with a lack of capacity, system failures and
diminishing public trust making the U.K. a “haven for fraudsters.” The FT’s
take is here.
SEX ED
OVERHAUL: Rishi Sunak is set to order an independent review of school sex education
after an outcry from some of his MPs. Priorities will include introducing
age-ratings, informed by an expert panel. An announcement is expected as soon
as today. The Telegraph has the story.
TRANS KIDS:
Several papers carry Rishi Sunak’s comments that schools will get guidance on
trans issues after Easter, in the wake of a Policy Exchange report. The Sun
says teachers will be forced to tell parents if their children are questioning
their gender identity.
EYES EMOJI:
Boris Johnson’s MP allies have been telling the Telegraph’s Chris Hope that he
would accept a finding that he “recklessly” (not “intentionally”) misled
parliament — to get a lesser punishment from the privileges committee and avoid
a by-election. Alas, unlike most Johnson stories his official team are actually
pushing back against this one. With friends like these …
Speaking of
Johnson: Much reading-into the three Tory MPs who’d have spared SNP
COVID-rule-breaker Margaret Ferrier a recall petition. Will they do the same
for Johnson? His old Partygate nemesis Pippa Crerar hears Johnson shouldn’t
rest easy — the MPs felt Ferrier had already “paid a high enough price” with
270 hours’ community service, she writes.
NOT ME GUV:
Rishi Sunak is continuing to insist he was right not to tell the liaison
committee about his wife’s shares in a childcare firm — even as it emerges the
firm went to an 11 Downing Street reception, writes the Guardian.
DOUBLE CHIN
AND TONIC? Shadow Health Minister Liz Kendall has told BBC Newscast “I’d like
to know how many calories there are in alcohol.” Could that mean calorie counts
on the pump? “I think that knowledge is power.” A Labour official tells your
author the party has no plans to introduce calorie counts on beer taps.
SHOW YOUR
WORKINGS: The Mail highlights Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves failing to match
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s (surprising) claim that doctors would
get a 35 percent pay rise “as quickly as we can.”
REMEMBER
COVID: Tory peer Nicky Morgan has recommended Sunak builds COVID memorials
after a 9-month consultation as U.K. Commission on COVID Commemoration Chair,
she tells John McFall’s “Lord Speaker’s Corner” podcast.
HEALTHWATCH:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s ongoing policy of not
considering less serious health complaints — introduced due to COVID backlogs —
has been criticized in a new public administration and constitutional affairs
committee report.
MUSIC TO
HER EARS: Spice Girl and campaigner Mel B sat down with the Sun’s Natasha
Clark, to hail a £300,000 Home Office pot to help women fleeing domestic abuse.
Get your
questions in: Labour In Communications are having a Q&A with Shadow Future
of Work Minister Justin Madders at noon — watch virtually here.
PARLIAMENT:
In recess until April 17.
BEYOND THE
M25
MARK YOUR
DIARIES: Joe Biden’s visit to the island of Ireland will last five days and
start on April 11 in Northern Ireland, according to a draft itinerary. He’s due
to stay in Hillsborough Castle, visit a (non-sitting) Stormont and cut a ribbon
at Ulster University — my colleague Shawn Pogatchnik has more.
PUTIN THE
VULKAN: Software engineers at cybersecurity consultancy NTC Vulkan have worked
for Russian military and intelligence agencies to support hacking operations,
spread disinformation and control sections of the internet, according to leaked
secret documents dating from 2016 to 2021. The Guardian is one of 11 global
media outlets investigating the leak.
Food for
ammo: My POLITICO colleague Alexander Ward highlights that Putin would likely
send food to Pyongyang in exchange for more munitions from North Korea.
FINNS IN:
The Turkish parliament unanimously ratified Finland’s accession to NATO late on
Thursday, essentially allowing Helsinki to join the military alliance, POLITICO
reports. Sweden is still left out in the cold — though NATO Secretary-General
Jens Stoltenberg told my colleague Lili Bayer that it could still become a
member by the summer.
GREAT SCOT:
Protestors who disrupted Humza Yousaf’s debut First Minister’s Questions face a
six-month ban from Holyrood’s public gallery. The BBC reports FMQs was
suspended five times within the first 15 minutes, with Presiding Officer Alison
Johnstone saying there would be “more stringent measures” to identify those
responsible.
OVER IN THE
MEADOW: One hundred wildflower meadows are to be created or enhanced at
historic sites across England including Stonehenge and Westminster’s Jewel
Tower in celebration of the coronation. Yahoo has more.
TEA LEAVES
ROUND-UP: In council by-election land overnight … Labour held Heath in Barking
and Dagenham with 62 percent of votes … the Lib Dems gained Westgate in
Gloucester from the Tories with 43 percent … and Plaid Cymru held Aethwy in
Ynys Môn with 54 percent. With thanks to Andrew Teale as ever.
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MEDIA ROUND
Business
and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch broadcast round: Times Radio (7.40 a.m.) …
Today program (8.30 a.m.) … Sky News (8.30 a.m.) … CNBC (8.40 a.m.) … LBC (8.50
a.m.).
Shadow
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden broadcast round: Sky News (8.05
a.m.) … LBC News (8.30 a.m.) … Times Radio (8.40 a.m.).
Also on Sky
News Breakfast: HM’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Roy Wilsher (7.30
a.m.).
Also on
Times Radio Breakfast: Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul
Johnson (8.05 a.m.).
Also on
Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: Unite Regional Coordinating Officer Wayne King (7.40
a.m.) … Roy Wilsher (8.20 a.m.).
Also on LBC
News: Federation of Small Businesses National Chair Martin McTague (7.20 a.m.)
… Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney (7.40 a.m.).
GB News
Breakfast: Former Nadhim Zahawi SpAd Mark Lehain (6 a.m.) … Former Chief
Secretary to the Treasury David Mellor (8 a.m.) … International Trade Minister
Nigel Huddleston (9 a.m.).
TODAY’S
FRONT PAGES
(Click on
the publication’s name to see its front page):
POLITICO
UK: Why Britain’s Pacific trade deal is about more than just trade.
Daily
Express: Yes! Justice for Olivia.
Daily Mail:
Monster whose only tears were for himself, not little Olivia — the innocent he
murdered.
Daily
Mirror: Justice for Olivia.
Daily Star:
Psycho killer chatbots are befuddled by Wordle.
Financial
Times: China warns Europe not to follow U.S. call for trade curbs.
i: Pensions
blow for people in their 40s — work until age 70.
Metro: Olivia gun
killer guilty.
The Daily
Telegraph: ‘If you are buying drugs, you are responsible for Olivia’s death.’
The
Guardian: Families face £700 hit with wave of tax and price rises.
The
Independent: I was proud to fight with UK forces — so don’t send me to Rwanda.
The Sun: Lover
shopped Olivia killer.
The Times:
Retire early if you did not go to university.
TODAY’S
NEWS MAGS
The
Economist: America vs. China — It’s worse than you think.
THANK POD
IT’S FRIDAY
EU
Confidential: The POLITICO team discuss French President Emmanuel Macron’s
pension reforms and the transport strikes in Germany. The special guest is
Director-General of the Commission’s Legal services Daniel Calleja Crespo.
Westminster
Insider: POLITICO’s Aggie Chambre investigates how MPs are selected for their
constituencies.
Plus 6 of
the best political podcasts to listen to this weekend:
Chopper’s
Politics: Chris Hope’s panel is Labour peer Peter Mandelson, former Defra czar
Henry Dimbleby and politics prof Tim Bale.
Inside
Briefing: Hannah White interviews Emily Maitlis about the role journalists play
in holding politicians to account.
Rock &
Roll Politics: Steve Richards is in conversation with economist David
Blanchflower about how to revive the U.K. economy.
The Bunker:
Ros Taylor speaks to Henry Dimbleby about why he quit.
The
Rundown: PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst is joined by Labour’s Shadow Scottish
Secretary Ian Murray, pollster John Curtice, and former SNP MP Stephen Gethins
to discuss what Humza Yousaf’s victory means for the SNP’s rivals.
Women with
Balls: Katy Balls’ guest is leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt.
LONDON
CALLING
WESTMINSTER
WEATHER: Heavy rain with a moderate breeze. Highs of 13C.
BASS AND
TREBLES ALL ROUND: Shout-outs to all those broadcasting types nominated for
glitzy ARIA awards last night including top Times Radio politicos John Pienaar
and Matt Chorley, Tortoise’s Sensemaker and Slow Newscast, the team behind the
Today prog’s “The Fall of Boris Johnson,” the Liz Truss BBC local radio
interviewers, and (grand bugle call) POLITICO’s own Aggie Chambre, who in her
former life at Sky News alongside ace reporter Liz Bates produced the “Open
Secret” podcast on abuse in Westminster. Aggie, of course, now makes POLITICO’s
own Westminster Insider podcast alongside Ailbhe Rea.
WEDDING
BELLS: Former Boris Johnson SpAd Chloe Westley got engaged on the weekend to
John Bull, an army veteran and management consultant. Congrats!
CONGRATS
ALSO … to London Playbook’s communal email inbox … which has hit the milestone
of 100,000 unread messages. Don’t worry, we still read the important ones —
most of them are out-of-office replies, honest.
NEW GIGS:
Freelance political journalist Martha Gill has been named a weekly columnist at
the Observer, replacing Nick Cohen … Renewable energy firm Fortescue Future
Industries has named Carlos Lange its president for Europe … and the RSA’s John
McMahon is moving to the Bradford City of Culture team.
MOVING ON:
Lowri Morgan departs GB News after nearly two years as a producer.
NOT GOING
ANYWHERE: Tory Cabinet Kinister Kemi Badenoch was reselected last night for
ultra-safe Saffron Walden.
WEEKEND
READING: Politics professor Tim Bale’s latest book — “The Conservative Party
After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation” — is published today by Polity. No
doubt plenty to chew over …
DON’T MISS:
Radio 4’s “Profile” of new Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf on Saturday at
7 p.m. and repeated on Sunday.
GREAT SCOT:
Reporter Allan Little explores how a radical theatrical event half a century
ago fueled a debate about devolution and independence in “What Kind of
Scotland?” on Saturday at 8 p.m. on Radio 4. How times change …
TIKTOK
WATCH: Tory MP Luke Evans described the relationship between the press,
politicians and the public, through a clip from classic comedy “Fawlty Towers.”
JOB ADS:
The BBC is looking for a social media journalist … CNN is hiring an associate
producer for the “Amanpour” show … and Reuters would like a vice president of
communications.
MEA CULPA:
Clodagh Bergin has been appointed as a comms chief for the Irish Labour Party …
not the U.K. one as Playbook PM wrote.
NOW READ
THIS: PressGazette’s William Turvill put together an essential guide for
cutting through all the journalistic jargon. TL;DR — the top of today’s email
is a “f*** me, Doris!”
BIRTHDAYS:
Grantham and Stamford MP Gareth Davies … Former Liberal Party leader David
Steel … Lib Dem peer Don Foster … Tory peer David Trefgarne … ITV News Deputy
Political Editor Anushka Asthana … Former Europe Minister Alan Duncan … Former
Lib Dem MP Bob Russell … Former Tory MP Nicholas Winterton … Appeal Court judge
Peter Coulson … Former British Ambassador to Russia Roderic Lyne … Former U.S.
Vice President Al Gore.
Celebrating
over the weekend: Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling … Treasury Minister John
Glen … Commons finance committee Chair Sharon Hodgson … Lib Dem peer Sal
Brinton … SNP MSP and Scottish Local Government Minister Joe FitzPatrick …
Former International Development Minister Stephen O’Brien … New Economics
Foundation’s Anna Coote … Plaid Cymru peer and former leader Dafydd Wigley
turns 80 … Senior researcher at the Institute for Government Jack Worlidge …
Ealing Central and Acton MP Rupa Huq … Tory peer Philippa Stroud … Former Tory
MP Graham Bright … Traditional Unionist Voice MLA and leader Jim Allister turns
70 … Welsh Labour MS Ken Skates … the BBC’s Adam Fleming … Former British
Ambassador to Kazakhstan Michael Gifford.
PLAYBOOK
COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editor Zoya Sheftalovich, reporter Noah Keate and
producer Grace Stranger.
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