London Playbook PM: Don let me hear that name

 

London Playbook PM: Don let me hear that name

By Emilio Casalicchio

September 16, 2025 6:18 pm CET

https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/london-playbook-pm-don-let-me-hear-that-name/

 

London Playbook

By EMILIO CASALICCHIO

with NOAH KEATE

 

Good afternoon. This is Emilio Casalicchio.

 

TUESDAY CHEAT SHEET

— Donald Trump left one Epstein nightmare at home but is heading towards another.

 

— The U.S. president raised hopes on trade ahead of his U.K. visit despite a Conservative MP insisting he thinks Keir Starmer and co. are “plonkers.”

 

— Labour whips begged MPs to support the PM in the Commons over Mandelson. One did.

 

— Starmer did some “hard b*stard” talk about violence fans Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk.

 

— Scoop: Nigel Farage and pals appear to be in dispute with Commons clerks.

 

TOP OF THE NEWSLIST

DON LET ME HEAR THAT NAME: Donald Trump lands in the U.K. in less than four hours for a delicate state visit — and the last name he wants to hear is still in the headlines.

 

Nope, not Yvette Cooper: The Tories have been doing their best to keep Jeffrey Epstein and his friendship with former U.K. ambo Peter Mandelson at the top of the Westminster news agenda — which new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper might want to gloss over when she meets the Don off the plane at 8:50 p.m.

 

Remember: Trump has been fighting in recent weeks to kill conspiracies about the so-called “Epstein files” — conspiracies he used to fuel for his own political purposes. Having left the nagging furore at home, Trump won’t want to chat about the convicted sex offender causing headaches for Keir Starmer too.

 

Although … at least Trump had broken off his relations with Epstein by the time the financier was convicted for soliciting sex from a minor in 2008, unlike Mandelson.

 

Nevertheless: The whole Mandelson debacle could not have come at a worse time, with Trump heading for British soil, as Conservative MP Edward Leigh told the Commons this afternoon in the urgent debate the Tories secured. “He must think we in this country are complete plonkers for the way we’ve handled all this,” he said about the impending Trump arrival.

 

Indeed: Leigh detailed how Starmer sacked former U.S. ambo Karen Pierce — who had built up good relations with MAGA-land — in favor of a bloke who once branded Trump “little short of a white nationalist and racist” … before having to dump Mandelson too over Epstein. Leigh said the president “must be absolutely furious about what is going on, so this is a very serious moment for us.”

 

He doesn’t sound too furious, TBF: On the White House lawn before leaving for London, Trump sounded positive on trade and blathered on to the cameras about how King Charles is his “friend” and how he’s been told having all the pomp in Windsor Castle is the “ultimate” honor. In truth, it’s about avoiding all the protests in London, but let’s not burst his bubble. And the king won’t be best pleased about Trump’s USAID cuts gutting some of his favorite charities, as my POLITICO colleague Charlie Cooper reports. Some “friend”, eh.

 

Back in the Westminster bubble: Despite whips begging Labour MPs this morning to show support during the Mandelson debate and champion the PM’s “decisive action” in sacking his top mandarin, few backbenchers turned up to speak. “F*ck that,” one told Playbook PM after the message came through.

 

`In fact … an embarrassing three Labour MPs made speeches in the debate — although one of those was Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry, who criticized the government vetting process for missing the “glaring red flag” of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein. Conservative MP David Davis listed other red flags too, including Mandelson’s links with “gangster capitalist” Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and his enthusiasm about China.

 

Not us, guv: Foreign Sec Yvette Cooper said the Cabinet Office, not the Foreign Office, carried out the vetting on Mandelson before his ambassadorial appointment, in correspondence with Thornberry. Which sounded like some stellar buck-passing. Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty told the Commons he couldn’t go into detail about confidential vetting processes. Shock. Shadow Cabinet Minister James Cleverly was meanwhile obsessing about what Thornberry was wearing during the debate.

 

I’m helping: The one Labour backbencher who tried to be helpful to the government, John Slinger, ended up humiliated. See the clip here. Vauxhall MP Florence Eshalomi (expected to become the No.10 pick for London mayor) meanwhile gave a neutral speech about remembering Epstein’s victims. And after that, the Commons ran out of Labour MPs who wanted to speak. So the debate flipped between opposition figures condemning the government.

 

Such as … Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Lib Dem boss Ed Davey, who agreed Starmer should apologize to Epstein’s victims for appointing Mandelson. After asking what possessed the PM to back Mandelson last week despite knowing the Foreign Office was investigating the leaked correspondence between the Labour grandee and Epstein, Badenoch spat about Starmer: “Far from being the decisive man of conscience he promised to be, he has shrivelled from leadership.”

 

Want more of that? Tune into LBC from 8 p.m. to hear Badenoch submit to a phone-in.

 

I have not shrivelled, honest: Starmer went all “hard b*stard” at his Cabinet meeting this morning about the far-right “Tommy Robinson” march in London at the weekend, which saw lithium nut Elon Musk call for violence in Britain. The PM told his top team the scenes of police being attacked at a protest “led by a convicted criminal were not just shocking, but sent a chill through the spines of people around the country,” according to a Downing Street readout.

 

More where that came from: “He said we are in the fight of our times between patriotic national renewal and decline and toxic division,” the readout continued. “He said the government must heed the patriotic call of national renewal, and that this was a fight that has to be won.” A spokesperson for the PM added that people were understandably fearful when “a convicted criminal is being egged on by a foreign billionaire calling for violence.”

 

Lock ’em up latest: The Met said 50 more people are in line for arrest following the march at the weekend.

 

Despite all that … No.10 insisted free speech is alive and well in Britain. Tell that to the Don, who loves free speech (when it’s not negative reports about him). Will he love the protests, kicking off in the next hour or two, against his visit?

 

DRIVETIME DEBRIEF

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Keir Starmer met Hillsborough families at No.10 this morning to champion his new law forcing public officials to give truthful evidence during inquiries and providing legal support for those bereaved as a result of state failures. The PM has shared various social media posts about the law and told the Beeb it’s the result of families and campaigners who “never gave up on justice and truth,” while Attorney General Richard Hermer published a piece about it in the Independent.

 

Speaking of Hermer: “Trust in our institutions, in our courts, and in the rule of law … has made Britain a safe and reliable place to do business,” he will argue in a speech to the City of London at 6 p.m. “It is the reason why investors from across the globe, from Singapore, New York and Nairobi, choose London for their capital. It is why global firms settle their disputes in our courts. And it is why our markets continue to grow, to create jobs for families and apprenticeships for young people.”

 

ALSO IN LABOUR LAND: The Community Union backed Cabinet Minister Bridget Phillipson in the deputy leadership race, following Usdaw. Her team also said she is leading in the CLP nomination race 5-2.

 

And in the other leadership race: Labour MPs don’t think a challenge to Starmer in the coming months is realistic, according to Bloomberg’s Alex Wickham. FWIW, one Starmer-supportive MP told Playbook PM it would make more sense for the PM to step down around 12 months before an election and let someone with better powers of persuasion take over. It was noted that Health Secretary Wes Streeting was in the voting lobbies charming people last night, too.

 

All that could change, when … Paul Holden’s book “The Fraud” (where the leak that brought down No.10 aide Paul Ovenden came from) is published next month. The author told PA’s David Lynch more revelations about figures at the heart of government will feature.

 

WHAT KEMI BADENOCH DOESN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT: Former Conservative MP and health minister Maria Caulfield revealed she defected to Reform a month ago, Chris Hope from GB News revealed. It makes her the 13th ex-MP to make the switch to the upstart Nigel Farage movement. Tali Fraser reveals on ConHome the message Badenoch sent to her troops last night to dissuade further defectors. And Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride insisted to the BBC this morning that Reform’s tax and spending plans don’t add up (he should know, having served in multiple Conservative governments). He pledged to “shine a light” on their promises.

 

Speaking of Reform: Playbook PM had a puzzling experience with their press team, after asking what possessed Nigel Farage and co. to complain about the International Criminal Court in a proposed amendment to the Chagos Islands legislation. Reform said the amendment was meant to refer to the International Court of Justice and blamed Commons clerks for the misprint.

 

But but but: Clerks do not offer a fact-checking service to MPs. Their advice is focused on following House rules and making sure amendments are within the scope of a bill. Clerks also do not disclose their dealings with MPs, so the Commons instead told Reform to give a fuller account to Playbook PM of how the mistake came about. But Reform has since ignored our attempts to chase this fuller account. Funny, that.

 

THERE’S NO MONEY LEFT LATEST: Rachel Reeves will have to hand at least £500 more to the oldies from April under the terms of the “triple lock,” according to wages data released this morning. The lock rule is that the annual pensions hike matches inflation, average earnings or 2.5 percent — whichever is highest. Wages in the three months to July rose 4.7 percent, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, so there’s little doubt that will be the pensions figure too.

 

Not least because … Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden this morning maintained Labour is “committed” to the triple lock for the rest of this parliament. The Beeb has a full writeup. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride meanwhile insisted to Radio 4 this morning that the Tories are not budging from their support for the triple lock, too.

 

On a related note: Some 9.3 million pensioners missed out on their fuel support last winter, before the government chickened out of its cut and restored the cash to almost all of them — having failed to convince the public of its arguments and having taken a hammering in the local elections as a result. The BBC has more.

 

THE NEW RWANDA? A second one-in-one-out deportation flight to France took off without a single illegal migrant on board, due to last-minute legal challenges. The Telegraph has the writeup. Home Office Minister Alex Davies-Jones told broadcasters this morning she will not give a “running commentary” on the process but insisted deportations will begin “as soon as possible.”

 

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana will hold a founding conference for their new movement in November, so supporters can “break bread and debate,” according to an email that went out to members. Delegates will be chosen via lottery, “to ensure a fair balance of gender, region and background.” A vote on the party’s name will also be held in October.

 

REPORTS PUBLISHED THIS AFTERNOON: Right-leaning think tank Britain Remade has a report out arguing a reduction in radiation regulations could see nuclear power stations built much faster … and left-leaning think tank Common Wealth has totted up how much shareholders have made from four crucial British industries since their privatization.

 

SPOOKS SPOOKED: The PM ordered Investigatory Powers Commissioner Brian Leveson to investigate how MI5 gave false evidence to three courts about conversations with the BBC. The, er, BBC has a writeup.

 

ONLINE WARS: Independent MP James McMurdock is under investigation by the standards commissioner over claims he used social media to “facilitate racial abuse.” The South Basildon and East Thurrock MP denied the allegations. The Times has more.

 

SOCIAL (MEDIA) AFFAIRS

ENDING THE DUOPOLY: Green Party leader Zack Polanski tapped into the cliché that politics is all just a game by, er, slapping it all on a Monopoly board. The Greens upped their social media output as three Labour councillors in East London defected to the Greens, forming the first political opposition to Labour on Barking and Dagenham Council in more than a decade. The Standard has a writeup.

 

BEYOND THE M25

MIDDLE EAST LATEST: A U.N. independent commission report ruled Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. The commission’s Chair Navi Pillay said Israeli authorities have “orchestrated a genocidal campaign …  with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza.” The Israeli foreign ministry immediately rejected the report as “fake and distorted” and based “entirely on Hamas falsehoods.” My colleague Ketrin Jochecová has more info.

 

Nothing to see here: Downing Street avoided engaging with the report, saying rulings about genocide were a “matter for the legal system.” But Labour MPs are pushing for No.10 to go further, with Rosena Allin-Khan, for example, urging ministers not to be “bystanders to a genocide.” She’s on LBC and Sky News tonight to make her case. Full timings below.

 

On the ground: Israel launched a major ground offensive on Gaza City, forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee to the center of the strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was on Hamas’ “last major stronghold” but Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the “utterly reckless and appalling assault” which would “only bring more bloodshed, kill more innocent civilians & endanger the remaining hostages.” The Beeb has a writeup.

 

IN SWEDEN: Stockholm announced a nationwide mobile phone ban in all schools from fall 2026 to try to improve security and study conditions for students. The Guardian has the deets.

 

CONTESTED CONTESTANTS: Spain warned it would boycott Eurovision next year if Israel was allowed to compete, making it the first of the “Big Five” nations to make its participation conditional on Israel’s removal. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also endorsed banning Israel, highlighting that Russia was expelled after invading Ukraine in 2022. Sky News has more.

 

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