Press play to listen to this article
By ELENI COUREA
PRESENTED BY
Send tips here | Subscribe for free | Listen to Playbook and view in your browser
Good Monday morning from Birmingham, where the Tory conference is entering its second day. This is Eleni Courea, with you today and tomorrow.
DRIVING THE DAY
RUDE AWAKENING: Downing Street is poised to rip up its plan to axe the 45p tax rate for the highest earners today in a humiliating climb-down that is set to throw the Tory party conference into complete disarray.
As you read this: The chancellor’s aides will be taking a black marker pen to his conference speech, with which he had planned to face down Tory rebels by launching a defense of his beleaguered budget. Kwasi Kwarteng is addressing the party faithful (ish) just after 4 p.m. this afternoon, and newspapers were briefed yesterday that he was going to declare “we must stay the course” and that he is “confident our plan is the right one.”
But … In a story that broke at just after midnight last night, the Sun’s Harry Cole, Ryan Sabey and Jack Elsom revealed that Liz Truss had called in Kwarteng for crisis talks and that the pair had drawn up plans to scrap the 45p rate cut. An insider confirmed the story to Playbook.
Fittingly: Today is economy day on the government/conference media grid.
**A message from NatWest Group: As the UK’s biggest lender for business, we understand businesses and can help them achieve their growth ambitions. Our high growth hub provides specialist support, insight and details of practical workshops that can guide businesses towards transformational long-term growth.**
Where we are: As the second day of the Tories’ gathering in Birmingham dawns, Truss’ first budget is in tatters with its central policy about to be ditched, her first party conference as prime minister is descending into chaos, and her position is considerably weaker.
How we got here: A Tory rebellion against the decision to scrap the 45p income tax rate — paid by those earning £150,000 or more — rapidly picked up steam on Sunday, with more than a dozen backbenchers breaking rank during the day (the Spectator started a tally). Quite a few more were known to be privately opposed.
Rebels assemble: One Tory rebel told Playbook: “They don’t have the votes to pass it, not even close,” and suggested that up to 50 MPs were ready to vote down the budget. Another Tory rebel expressed disbelief at “the determination to force MPs to support a toxic policy against their wishes and their constituents’ interests.”
The counteroffensive: In their initial bid to quell the uprising, government sources indicated that MPs wouldn’t be asked to vote on the measure until after they had learnt how it will be paid for on November 23. The Telegraph splash said the vote might not come until December — while the BBC, Sky and others said it could be delayed until the spring. Tory rebels were bullish in response, with one who spoke to Playbook saying that this “completely misses the point — unless 45p is axed there will be a sword of Damocles raised over Tory MPs by their constituents and their opponents.”
Leading the charge against the government have been … Cabinet cast-outs Michael Gove and Grant Shapps, whose warnings against the 45p rate cut splash today’s Times. Shapps has a blistering op-ed for the paper, describing the move as “an unforced error that is harming the government’s economic credibility,” while Gove — king of the conference fringe — said it demonstrates “the wrong values.”
The alternative view: Asked earlier yesterday whether Truss would be forced to U-turn, one loyalist minister told Playbook: “She can’t. If she backtracks, she will look weak — in office but not in power.” Oof. In its speedily drawn-up second edition splash, the Mail has a senior Whitehall insider lamenting that “the 45p row is becoming a massive distraction which is drowning out all the other vital and urgent things in the budget.”
The coming battle: The Guardian’s lobby team note that it’s not just the abolition of the 45p rate that has angered Tory MPs, but also the spending cuts ministers have suggested they need to pay for tax cuts (after leveling up sec Simon Clarke told the Times on Saturday that the U.K. had been living in a “fool’s paradise”). The Sun’s Harry Cole and Ryan Sabey report that ministers are considering a sizeable cut to the promised universal credit uplift next year.
The bigger picture: The Conservative party looks deeply divided in a way that is reminiscent of the Brexit years, after party chiefs were threatening to kick out MPs who refused to toe the line and rebels suggesting in turn that it’s a price they were willing to pay. Last night, Lewes MP Maria Caulfield effectively challenged her party — whose chairman Jake Berry suggested the budget would be treated as a confidence vote — to strip her of the whip, tweeting that if they “don’t want this working class MP, fair enough” and (in a since deleted post) that “it’s not Tory at any cost.” One of the Tory MPs who spoke to Playbook said: “Many MPs would rather detach from this toxic party than stay in through to the dismal end — so if they lose the whip, it will probably cause by-elections and therefore more problems for the government.”
Tough talk: There’s not much to cheer up Tory strategists reading the papers over breakfast in Birmingham this morning. The Mirror’s John Stevens has a former Cabinet minister saying Truss is a “dead woman walking” who wouldn’t last until Christmas if she didn’t U-turn on the 45p rate. George Osborne told Channel 4’s Andrew Neil it was “touch and go” whether Kwarteng would survive in his job. Bloomberg’s Kitty Donaldson has the first unnamed MP to claim they have submitted a no-confidence letter in Truss to Graham Brady, chairman of the Tories’ backbench 1922 committee. In his analysis, the Mail’s Jason Groves quotes a Cabinet minister who gives Truss a 5 percent chance of winning the election and says: “Things have gone downhill so fast. It’s very hard to see a way back.”
Safety in numbers: The lesson from the series of record-setting parliamentary rebellions in the last few years is that the more MPs declare publicly that they are opposed to a policy, the lower the risk for colleagues who want to roll in behind the rebellion … and the clearer the inevitability of the government U-turn.
What Playbook wants to know is … whose idea the toxic 45p rate cut actually was. Truss raised eyebrows when she told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg the decision had been Kwarteng’s. In response, Nadine Dorries (one of her most vocal backers during the leadership contest) accused her of throwing the chancellor under the bus. A source close to Kwarteng echoed Truss in saying that “the 45p rate raises very little and makes our tax system more complicated. While the chancellor obviously makes all tax decisions, the prime minister and Kwasi are in lockstep on this.”
But no word on … The rumor Playbook heard over the weekend that Kwarteng actually pushed back against the decision to abolish the 45p rate in the budget because he thought it was a step too far. His spokesman wouldn’t comment.
Timing’s everything: Kwarteng is due on the conference stage at 4.10 p.m and is set to speak for around 20 minutes. If you were hoping for a full hour, you’ll have to wait for his sit-down with the Institute of Economic Affairs and the TaxPayers’ Alliance on Tuesday.
POLL POSITION
CAN TRUSS RECOVER? Playbook has been given advance sight of two sets of research that are being unveiled on the fringes of Tory conference today and, put together, suggest that although the Tories are in a difficult position, not all is lost.
THE BAD NEWS: Labour is 13 points ahead of the Tories in the Red Wall and four points ahead in the Blue Wall, according to a poll by Kekst CNC, whose findings have been shared exclusively with Playbook.
The fieldwork: Voters in 45 Red Wall seats in the north and Midlands, which were won by the Tories in 2019, and the 45 most marginal Tory-held Blue Wall seats in the south, were polled between September 14 and 27. Given that the fieldwork ended before the start of this week, pollsters believe support for the Tories has since cratered further.
For context: In the last election, the Tories were ahead in these Red Wall seats by nine points and the Blue Wall ones by 12 points. The survey suggested there has since been a high level of direct Tory-to-Labour switchers in both areas.
Leaders’ board: Labour leader Keir Starmer beat Truss on who would make the better PM by 11 points among Red Wall swing voters and 25 points among Liberal Democrat supporters in the Blue Wall. Starmer was seen by those polled as more credible, truthful and more aligned with their values, but Truss beat him on seeming determined and patriotic.
Gender gap: Men were likelier to have a positive view of Truss than women.
Notably: The top three priorities cited by voters in the Red and Blue Wall were exactly the same — the cost of living, energy prices and economy.
For more on all that: The findings will be presented at 10.30 a.m. in the Hyatt.
THE GOOD NEWS: Eight focus groups conducted over the last four weeks by More in Common suggest there is still a narrow albeit rapidly shrinking window for Truss to make her case with the public. In findings unveiled today, the think tank promises the deepest analysis published so far of how the PM is viewed by voters.
Initial views: Mona, an office manager from Don Valley who switched from Labour to Tory in 2019, conceded that “no decisions are going to be easy” for Truss with the country in “a mess” while Janet in Altrincham and Sale West said: “She’s just taken the stage, hasn’t she? And I’m being fair about it … I mean, obviously, the pound’s in dire straits today and interest rates are going to go up again. I’m prepared to give her a chance and see what happens.”
Insurgent threat: However, More in Common also drew up a mock populist party manifesto and found that a new UKIP-style right-wing party could peel away 20 Tory-held Red Wall seats.
For more on that: The findings will be presented at 3.30 p.m. at the Jury’s Inn, with the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto author Rachel Wolf among those on the panel.
DONOR DEFECTION: Gareth Quarry, a multimillionaire Tory donor, has defected to Labour after calling Truss and Kwarteng “zealots” attempting to implement “GCSE economics” in government. The Times’ Henry Zeffman has the scoop. Quarry — who hobnobbed with shadow Cabinet ministers at the Labour conference in Liverpool last week — has handed Starmer’s party £100,000 and says there is more to come.
CURTICE VERDICT: Polling guru John Curtice told a fringe event yesterday that the collapse in the Tories’ popularity has been quicker than Black Wednesday and could hand Labour a three-figure majority at the next election. The Mirror’s Dan Bloom has a write-up.
 |
TODAY AT CONFERENCE
BIRMINGHAM WEATHER: 🌥🌥🌥 Pretty sunny, in spells. Highs of 18C.
Main stage lineup: Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will address the Tory conference at 4.10 p.m. Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan, International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith, Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena and Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg are also among the speakers on the main stage between 4.30 and 6 p.m.
Best of the fringe: PolHome’s Alain Tolhurst will grill Health Secretary Therese Coffey on behalf of the Health & Care Forum (10 a.m.) … Backbench MP Michael Gove is back again and due to speak at Policy Exchange on leveling up (12.45 p.m.) … Tories pining for the EU can find solace at a European Movement fringe with former Cabinet ministers Michael Heseltine and David Gauke (1 p.m.) … The Tele’s Christopher Hope will record his podcast live with Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg (1 p.m.) … Defense Secretary Ben Wallace will speak about the integrated review at Policy Exchange (2 p.m) … Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen is over at Conservative Home half an hour later (2.30 pm.) … Ben Wallace has another interview with Sky’s Tamara Cohen (4.30 p.m.) … The Centre for Brexit Policy host MPs Iain Duncan Smith and John Redwood plus Truss-adjacent economist Patrick Minford (4 p.m.) … The CBI and director Tony Danker have a debate on growth with Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker (6 p.m.) … and then Michael Gove is back in the evening for a Tony Blair Institute panel on housing (6 p.m.).
NOT FOR TURNING: My colleague Esther Webber has written a piece tracing the fingers-in-ears approach Truss has taken in Downing Street back to the Brexit vote, when Gove famously suggested the country has had enough of experts. “It’s a very similar mindset to Brexit, which is the belief that we could be doing so much better if we only pursued this particular agenda, which is all terribly simple, [and] which ignores both economic and political realities,” former Treasury minister David Gauke tells Esther.
Institutional memory: Party figures who are critical of the prime minister make the point that Margaret Thatcher, Truss’ political idol, was radical too — but bound by an essential conservative respect for institutions that has now apparently been jettisoned. Truss and Kwarteng have of course been less than reverent toward the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility since taking office. A former government aide who worked with Truss said: “She’s not a radical, she’s a revolutionary. She wants to smash it all up. Revolution is a surprise, right? And you saw that with the markets’ reaction.”
PINING FOR MR. PARTYGATE: Absence is said to make the heart grow fonder — which could explain Boris Johnson giving the conference a miss this time. My POLITICO colleague Emilio Casalicchio has written a piece looking at whether the former PM could someday stage a Downing Street comeback, and how he’ll want to keep the public guessing regardless. “The one thing you always know with Boris is that no one knows what Boris thinks — including Boris,” said a close observer of Johnson on the prospect of a return.
On the other hand: Others who know the darling of the Conservative grassroots well insisted the chances of a second stint in the top job are slim. “I think he knows a comeback is never going to happen,” Johnson’s former right-hand man in London Will Walden told Emilio. “He knows the public has moved on. He knows the Conservative Party is ruthless. I think it would be a pretty odd experience to go back to him.”
**Web Summit 2022 will bring together 70,000+ people, and the companies redefining the tech industry. Find out more about our event and join us in Lisbon this November.**
CONFERENCE DAY TWO
MATCH REPORT: The Lobby team secured a conference double with a 3-2 win over a battling Conservative side, having beaten Labour 1-0 in Liverpool last week. In a first, the match was played on the hallowed Villa Park pitch, home of Aston Villa — extra satisfaction for Times man and Birmingham City fanatic Matt Dathan, who scored two. On the Tory team were MPs Brendan Clarke-Smith, Saqib Bhatti, Louie French, Mark Logan, Ben Bradley, Karl McCartney, Robin Millar and Jonathan Gullis and SpAds Hudson Roe and Corey Edwards. Some 10 minutes into the game, the linesman told Gullis at left back that his shorts were the wrong way round (“you can’t even dress yourself,” were apparently his words). Midfielder and veteran skipper Rob Merrick was crowned man of the match, who was delighted to be told by Premier League and FIFA ref Andre Marriner that he had “rolled back the years.” (Thanks to the three people who kindly sent info to Playbook, whose author today is totally clueless about football.)
FROM THE FRINGES: Commons leader Penny Mordaunt raised eyebrows by calling for the Tories to “modernize our mandate” in a late-night speech to Conservatives yesterday, interpreted by some as a call for a general election. The Guardian’s Aubrey Allegretti has the clip. Mordaunt also joked that the first day of the Tory conference taught attendees that “our policy is great but our comms is shit” — a line she’s now going to have to revise.
MALT IN THE HOUSE: At a Center for Policy Studies reception, Education Secretary Kit Malthouse sailed close to the wind as he referred to his installation as the fourth person to hold the role this year, joking that he was looking forward to seeing what he could achieve in office “over the next few weeks.” He was full of praise for Gove’s achievements in the department, which isn’t exactly the party line.
SORRY, STEVE: Former ERG Chairman, Brexit hardman and newly appointed Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker apologized to the EU during a main stage panel yesterday. Baker said that during the Brexit negotiations, he and others “did not always behave in a way with encouraged Ireland and European Union to trust us” as he acknowledged the poor state of Britain’s relations with Brussels and Dublin. The Telegraph’s Dominic Penna has his words.
SPOTTED IN BIRMINGHAM
COCKTAIL MASTERCLASS: Playbook got to judge three fledgling mixologists at the inHouse lounge alongside the Telegraph’s Whitehall correspondent Tony Diver yesterday. First up was former Gove SpAd Charlie Rowley with his attempt at a negroni, which had an odd pink hue and a medicinal aftertaste but Playbook nevertheless enjoyed enough to score it 5 out of 10 (believing that it killed off a good number of the cold virus cells your author picked up at the Labour conference). Next came Sunday Express editor Dave Wooding, who whipped up a summer fruit spritzer, which was a bit too sweet but somehow very moreish and which Playbook would score 6 out of 10. Finally, inHouse’s own Rhys Jones made a negroni with a twist — the twist seemingly being an inordinate amount of booze — and which Playbook gave a 5.5 out of 10 points (feeling pretty generous by that point).
SPOTTED: At a triumphant drinks event hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs, where director Mark Littlewood closed off speeches by telling guests to “drink up, because the world isn’t about to end” … Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and junior minister Conor Burns … Badenoch’s chief of staff Daniel El-Gamry … Broadcasters Andy Bell, Tom Harwood, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Darren McCaffrey and Carole Walker … Newspaper hacks Martin Beckford, Kate Andrews, Stephen Bush, Ed Malnick, Latika Bourke, Andy Grice, Matt Holehouse, plus the Spectator’s James Heale and Guido’s Christian Calgie … Former Priti Patel aide Jonathan Isaby … Former SpAd Steph Lis … Competere CEO Shanker Singham … MP Matt Warman … The Institute for Government’s Catherine Haddon, Sam Macrory and Tom Pope.
Overheard in the queue: “I don’t remember ever having to queue for an IEA event before.”
Also spotted: At a 1922 committee reception in Birmingham’s Cube jointly hosted with ConservativeHome … Prime Minister Liz Truss, who told the room that “frankly we haven’t made enough Conservative arguments for the past few years” … Cabinet ministers Tom Tugendhat and Jake Berry… No. 10’s Sophie Jarvis… 1922 Chairman Graham Brady and committee member Gary Sambrook … Economist Gerard Lyons … Tory donor and biographer Michael Ashcroft … Conservative Home editor Paul Goodman, chief exec Mark Wallace and founder Tim Montgomerie … CBI director Tony Danker … CPS director Robert Colvile … Onward’s Will Tanner … Broadcasters and hacks Sophy Ridge, Jon Craig, Chris Smyth, Claire Ellicott, Ben Glaze, Kate McCann, Chris Hope, Seb Payne, Gordon Rayner, Luke McGee, Gordon Rayner, Charlotte Ivers and Natasha Clark.
Also spotted: At the 5654 & Co annual curry club over champagne and coconut mocktails … co-founders James Starkie and Ben Thornton … No. 10’s Alex Wild, Michael Stott, Reuben Solomon, Mac Chapwell, Hugh Bennett and Alice Berry … SpAds Hebe Trotter, Hannah Guerin, Ed Winfield and Lucy Harris… Tory MPs Jonathan Gullis and Saqib Bhatti … hacks Gordon Rayner, Chris Hope, Aubrey Allegretti and Natasha Clark … broadcasters Kate McCann and Lucy Fisher.
Also spotted: At YouTube’s conference drinks: Education Secretary Kit Malthouse and Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan … Tory MPs Nus Ghani, Ben Bradley, Mike Wood and Matt Warman … Hacks Fraser Nelson, Aletha Adu, Pippa Crerar, Paul Waugh and many more.
Also spotted: At the Conservative Friends of Ukraine reception, where an absent Boris Johnson was announced as the group’s new president: Cabinet ministers Tom Tugendhat and Anne-Marie Trevelyan … Minister Felicity Buchan … MPs Jack Brereton, Richard Holden, Mark Francois, John Whittingdale, Nus Ghani, Grant Shapps, Gagan Mohindra, Bob Seely and Greg Hands.
Also spotted: At the Centre for Policy Studies reception, with Education Secretary Kit Malthouse as the main speaker: Cabinet ministers Chloe Smith and Michelle Donelan … Tory peer and CPS Chair Michael Spencer … 1922 Chairman Graham Brady … 2019 campaign chief Isaac Levido … CBI director Tony Danker … New Zealand High Commissioner Shannon Austin … CCHQ’s Alex Wild … No. 10 SpAds Katie Harrison and Guy Miscampbell … Other govt SpAds including Callum Price, Robyn Staveley and Rory Gribbell … Former No. 10 spinner Jack Doyle … Former SpAds Nick King and Jennifer Powers … Hacks including the Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, Marie Le Conte, Christian Calgie, Charlotte Ivers, Peter Cardwell and Hugo Gye … Former Vote Leave chief Matthew Elliott … and BBC board member Robbie Gibb.
Also spotted: Raucous scenes at the Northern Tories’ reception, where young attendees clambered on top of each other’s shoulders while clutching wine bottles. Exactly the sort of thing the party was hoping to avoid this year …
**Save the date – POLITICO Live’s Spotlight “Plugging holes in the internet: Europe’s government and industry responses to spyware” will take place on October 25 at 2:00 p.m. CEST. Register now!**
TODAY IN WESTMINSTER
PARLIAMENT: In recess.
BAPTISM OF FIRE: There are growing expectation is that Ministry of Justice Permanent Secretary Antonia Romeo will get the top job at the Treasury, with an announcement on Tom Scholar’s replacement expected as soon as this week. The FT’s George Parker has a write-up.
ONLINE SAFETY: Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan pledged to strengthen measures to protect children’s safety in the Online Safety Bill and bring it back to parliament by Christmas in an interview with the Times’ Steve Swinford.
DEAL BY DIWALI: India is driving a hard bargain as Truss’ crisis-hit government tries to get a coveted trade deal over the line within weeks, Graham Lanktree reports. The PM has ordered Badenoch to hold fast to an October 24 Diwali deadline for the deal set by Johnson and India’s Narendra Modi. There’s a big symbolic win on Scotch whisky tariffs on the cards.
However: With weeks to go in talks to secure a post-Brexit win, some crucial sectors — think services — are spooked by what’s on the table. If the deal “doesn’t shift quite a lot,” said a senior business person briefed on the content of the talks, “it will be into the ‘a bad deal is worse than no deal’ territory.”
Govt line: A spokesperson for the Department for International Trade said it “cannot comment on live negotiations,” but added “we are clear that we won’t sacrifice quality for speed.” The U.K. will, they stressed, “only sign when we have a deal that meets the U.K.’s interests.”
BEYOND THE M25
TODAY IN SCOTLAND: Scottish Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison will today blame the “dreadful economic decision-making” of the U.K. government today in response to a new Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on poverty in Scotland, which shows that nearly one in five low income households in Scotland have gone hungry and cold this year. The report calls for Westminster to immediately uprate all means-tested benefits to match inflation — but also urges Nicola Sturgeon’s government to recommit to meeting the child poverty targets set by the Scottish Parliament as it calls for “action from all tiers of government”.
UKRAINE UPDATE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed at the weekend that Ukraine would retake more territory in the east, after his troops pushed Russia out of the key city of Lyman on Saturday. That retreat from Lyman represents a big setback for Vladimir Putin amid his efforts to hail the annexation of parts of Ukraine following last week’s sham referendums. POLITICO’s Jones Hayden has a write-up.
ET TU, MANU? French President Emmanuel Macron is under pressure over the lack of arms France has delivered to Ukraine, the BBC’s Hugh Schofield reports. France has contributed just 2 percent of the foreign arms that have been sent to Ukraine, lagging way behind Germany (9 percent) and Poland (22 percent).
LULA LEADS NARROW RACE IN BRAZIL: Sunday’s presidential election in Brazil returned a tighter result than expected, with far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and left-wing challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva set for a runoff vote at the end of the month. Lula, who had been crushing Bolsonaro in most pre-election polls, will still remain the clear favorite after winning about 48 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 43 percent. More from the AP here.
**A message from NatWest Group: As the UK’s biggest lender for business, we understand businesses and can help them achieve their growth ambitions. That’s why we’re helping thousands of innovative businesses to start and then scale up by growing sustainably. We’ve launched a new Green Loans proposition to help UK businesses finance their sustainability ambitions; dedicated around 40% of our 14 accelerator hubs to support businesses with sustainable activities; and launched a new Clean Transport Accelerator hub providing coaching, workspace and access to clean energy experts at Warwick Manufacturing Group. We also recently took part in Scale-up week, bringing awareness to scaling sustainably. To further support businesses, our high growth hub provides specialist support, insight and details of practical workshops to guide businesses towards long-term growth. To hear more about how we support SMEs to start and scale, join us for drinks at the NatWest Enterprise Lounge at Conservative party conference from 5pm – RSVP by emailing [email protected]**
MEDIA ROUND
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng mini-broadcast round: BBC Breakfast (7.30 a.m.) … LBC (7.50 a.m.) … Today program (8.10 a.m.). Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chris Philp will be filling in on talkTV (7.35 a.m.) … Good Morning Britain (8.30 a.m.).
Also on the Today program: Former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (7.10 a.m.) … Tony Danker, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, and Clare Moriarty, head of Citizens Advice (7.30 a.m.).
Also on Good Morning Britain: Former Bank of England deputy governor Charlie Bean and IEA director Mark Littlewood (7.20 a.m.).
Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast (LBC): Former Theresa May SpAd Charlie Rowley (7.05 a.m.) … Iceland managing director Richard Walker (7.10 a.m.) … The National Education Union’s Niamh Sweeney (8.05 a.m.) … CBI director Tony Danker (8.20 a.m.).
Times Radio breakfast: Former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (8.05 a.m.) … Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chris Philp (8.20 a.m.) … Jonathon Porritt, former sustainability adviser to King Charles (8.45 a.m.).
Also on Julia Hartley-Brewer breakfast (talkTV): Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith (7.05 a.m.) … Tory peer Robert Hayward (8.05 a.m.) … Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker (9.05 a.m.).
Politics Live (BBC Two 12.15 p.m.): The Guardian’s Helen Pidd, the Telegraph’s Tim Stanley and Tory MP Greg Stanley.
Politics Live special (BBC Two 4 p.m.): Iceland boss Richard Walker … Tory peer Camilla Cavendish … Tory MP Andrea Leadsom … Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen.
Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC 8 p.m.): Armed Forces Minister James Heappey … NFU President Minette Batters … Conservatives Against Racism for Equality co-founder Albie Amankona.
Reviewing the papers tonight: Sky News (10.30 and 11.30 p.m.): The Guardian’s Jessica Elgot and the Times’ Matt Dathan … talkTV (10.30 p.m.): Broadcasters Daisy McAndrew and Nigel Dacre.
TODAY’S FRONT PAGES
(Click on the publication’s name to see its front page.)
Daily Express: Kwasi — No more decline … We must stay the course.
Daily Mail: Fury as Gove stokes Tory 45p tax revolt.
Daily Mirror: Truss ‘is finished.’
Daily Star: Happy meal.
Financial Times: Kwarteng to defy mounting Tory rebellion with defense of tax cuts.
HuffPostUK: Truss fingers Kwarteng over tax cut for rich.
i: Tory rebellion builds against defiant PM.
Metro: Gove — This isn’t Tory.
POLITICO UK: Six years after Brexit, Britain has still had enough of experts
PoliticsHome: Tories admit they might not win the next election after mini-budget.
The Daily Telegraph: Truss delays vote on 45p tax cut after Tory revolt.
The Guardian: Tories threaten rebellion as Gove says tax plan is ‘not Conservative.’
The Independent: Gove calls on Truss to ditch tax cuts for the rich.
The Sun: Mel — How many more must die?
The Times: Gove and Shapps attack ‘tin-eared’ Tory tax cuts.
LONDON CALLING
WESTMINSTER WEATHER: 🌥🌥🌥 Sunny in spells and breezy. Highs of 19C.
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS … To everyone who participated in yesterday’s London Marathon, including Labour MPs Dan Jarvis (finished in 3 hours and 42 minutes) and Alex Norris … Tory MPs Duncan Baker (4 hours, 15 minutes), Alun Cairns (3hrs 29), James Duddridge, Jeremy Hunt (5hrs 12), David Simmonds, James Wild (3hrs 37) … SNP MP David Linden (5hrs 32) … Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron … BBC Scotland pol ed Glenn Campbell … Angela Rayner spinner Jack McKenna (2hrs 52) … Bloomberg’s Alex Morales … and former Iran detainee Anoosheh Ashoori, who ran the marathon in his prisoner’s uniform. He told Sky’s Kirsty Hickey that he would run for hours each day in his cell, hoping one day he would run the marathon.
BIRTHDAYS: Former No, 10 comms chief Lee Cain … Opposition whip Mark Tami … Justice Minister Rachel Maclean … Walsall North MP Eddie Hughes … BBC presenter Zeinab Badawi … Tory peer, and grandson of Clement, John Attlee … Former BBC and Sky News presenter Jeff Randall.
PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: Editor Emma Anderson, reporter Andrew McDonald and producer Fiona Lally.
SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | Playbook Paris | POLITICO Confidential | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Direct | Berlin Bulletin | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | Global Insider | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters
More from …
Eleni Courea
https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/good-morning-from-birmingham-screeching-45p-u-turn-kwasi-speaks/
