Review · BBC Stocks
Presented by L’Oréal Groupe By SAM FRANCIS with ISABEL LOUBSER Good Friday morning . This is Sam Francis in London and Andrew McDonald roaming around Aberdeen for the SNP conference. DRIVING THE DAY HIGHLAND FLING: Andy Burnham is gatecrashing the SNP’s three-day conference in Aberdeen, albeit from 150 miles away.
The PM will deliver a major speech on devolution in Lanarkshire at midday . Better still for hacks, he is fronting up to a rare on-camera Q&A afterward. It turns out crossing Hadrian’s Wall is all it takes to get Burnham on camera in front of a full press pack.
Sadly, all the biggest questions swirling around Westminster this morning are the ones the PM is least likely to answer, including ... Question 1 — the budget: Will there be a tax on banks? No prime minister will discuss tax policy less than two weeks out from a budget.
But some well-informed briefing across today’s papers suggests John Healey is increasingly likely to raise the surcharge on bank profits above £100 million from 3% back up to 8% — worth an estimated £2 billion a year. The move would come despite intense lobbying against it from the banks, UK Finance and sometime Burnham adviser Jim O’Neill. The Guardian’s Heather Stewart, Jessica Elgot and Kalyeena Makortoff got the exclusive, but the story has been stood up by the Telegraph (which splashes it on the front page), Bloomberg and the FT.
Banks claim it’ll cost the economy £20 billion. Question 2 — Ukraine: Was the U.S. government behind the throttling of Starlink internet access in Ukraine and what has the U.K. done about it? Wes Streeting told the BBC last night he had “unsurprisingly” discussed the disruption with Pete Hegseth and said the U.S. war secretary personally reassured him the service had been restored.
Which sounds a little like the Pentagon confirming the U.S. government was behind a private company’s decision to slow down Ukraine’s drone defense system. Streeting admitted it’s “not yet clear to us” why it happened and wouldn’t say whether Hegseth explained. **A message from L’Oréal Groupe & The British Beauty Council: Reading Playbook and taking a moment for our beauty rituals are essential morning anchors.This British Beauty Week we are celebrating the economic and social impact of beauty which is felt in every postcode across the UK. ** Question 3 — welfare: The papers are full of welfare chatter the PM may be asked to confirm or deny. The FT’s Chris Smyth hears Alan Milburn will recommend a separate benefits system for under-25s who have never worked, with less cash and more compulsory support, when his delayed review lands after the budget.
The Sun’s Jack Elsom says the planned ban on under-22s claiming incapacity benefit has been axed , after a left-wing backlash. Question 4 — Europe: If Burnham thinks the public deserves another say on Britain’s place in Europe, why should Scots not get another say on Scotland’s place in the U.K.? Burnham’s Brexit stance has given John Swinney fresh ammunition.
The SNP leader argued on Wednesday that Burnham’s decision to reopen the Brexit debate made the case for a second independence referendum “undeniable.” The government line remains that another vote is “off limits,” so Burnham can expect questions about how he squares the two. Balls to Brexit: Even ultimate Labour insiders such as Ed Balls seem uneasy about reopening old Brexit wounds. Balls told his Political Currency podcast that Burnham’s rethink was “fraught with danger,” warning that if Labour was serious about “putting free movement on the ballot at the next general election,” then he was “really quite worried.” IndyRef and roll: Kemi Badenoch is also in Scotland and has challenged Burnham to rule out a second Scottish independence referendum for the duration of his premiership (the Telegraph has the write-up ).
Her deputy leader and the shadow ministers for Scotland and Wales pile in alongside her, warning in a Telegraph op-ed that Burnham’s devolution push could put the union itself at risk while “separatist leaders” are in power across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. WHAT BURNHAM WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Devolution, natch — and not the kind the SNP has in mind. In his speech today, the PM will invite Swinney and the Scottish government to help him push power out of Holyrood, calling the Scottish government “one of the most centralized devolved administrations in Europe.” Burnham is flipping the usual independence argument back on the SNP and asking why a party dedicated to taking power from Westminster has been so reluctant to give any away from Edinburgh.
Responding to the speech trail, Scotland Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth said the SNP “welcomed” chat about further devolution of powers. Head (further) North: Labour clearly sees an opening north of the border. A government official confirmed to Playbook that Burnham’s visit is part of a concerted push to win over Scottish voters, with decisions on Jackdaw and Rosebank still to come and a national devolution summit to follow.
And tbf, trying to win over voters in most parts of the U.K. makes sense. But there is an obvious political incentive for Labour to lean into Scotland now. Polling by PF Global shared with Playbook finds the SNP’s lead has almost halved since Burnham took over, with Labour up to around 22% of the national vote.
Usual polling caveats apply, but the same Scottish Burnham bounce is showing up across several pollsters. Whether the honeymoon lasts is another question. For now, one senior Labour figure tells Playbook: “Politically, it just makes sense to go for the jugular.” EVEN FURTHER NORTH: Burnham’s arrival in Scotland was a major topic of conversation at the bars and receptions at the SNP’s conference last night, Andrew tells us.
But delegates were puzzled that the prime minister wasn’t punching the obvious bruise. “I assumed he was coming to announce [Jackdaw],” one Scottish government official said, a view many echoed. “That would have been more awkward,” another SNP aide admitted.
That decision is now widely expected next week. Jacked up: The North Sea is the one thing splitting an otherwise united SNP. At a More in Common fringe, former SNP adviser Fergus Mutch attacked the Scottish government’s failure to back the oil fields while Gilruth looked on, and Aberdeenshire MP Seamus Logan said relying on imports “doesn’t make any sense” when the product is “on our doorstep.” Watch for whether delegates turn on their own government’s fence-sitting when energy security is debated on the main stage from 2.20 p.m .
MAIN STAGE: Fraternal address by Plaid Deputy FM Sioned Williams (2 p.m.) ... Deputy FM Jenny Gilruth speech (4.10 p.m.). PICKS OF THE FRINGE: Minister in charge of public service reform Ivan McKee at an Electoral Reform Society Fringe on local democracy (9.15 a.m.) ... and former FM Humza Yousaf at a Justice for Palestine fringe (5 p.m.).
Much more in the conference agenda . MEANWHILE IN REFORM FARAGE’S FIREFIGHT: Reform UK is gearing up for a scrappy weekend after ITV pumped out its second mega-press release ahead of Sunday’s undercover documentary. While the first wave of clips focused on the grassroots, the second is about footage from party HQ — such as Nigel Farage discussing the future of Reform candidate Chris Parry , who had said David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean.
While Farage was recorded saying Parry must apologize, Reform’s comms chief Ed Sumner appears to say “you’re protecting him” and later suggest that if it were up to him, he would’ve kicked Parry out. There’s also ... the clip of Reform MP Sarah Pochin delighting in being introduced to a female press officer (or so she thought): “Oh thank f*ck for that!” she said. “They are so f***ing chauvinistic.
I go out on all the shows and go ‘Oh no, it’s lovely, oh they’re all so welcoming’ ... they just exclude you if you’re a woman.” Expect that one on all the opposition leaflets in future. Fightback: Farage stepped up his war of words with ITV last night, telling the Daily Express the whole enterprise is “the establishment trying to do everything they can to throw us out of the picture” and saying the ITV crew only “got me telling a joke” and a “press officer using a swear word.” He also complained that the worst “miscreant” in the first round of clips was “a long-term Tory councillor — but he was never followed undercover as a Tory councillor, was he?” Perfect fodder ... for Reform’s Treasury spokesperson and former Tory MP Robert Jenrick, who is due on the Today program at 7.30 a.m. The big question now ... will be how much more is still to come from ITV.
Reform clearly does not view any of the material so far as a smoking gun, but there are still two and a bit days to go until the show airs and the questions about the vetting process are still floating around. Jenrick may well be asked to explain this from a vetting officer who was filmed undercover: “The philosophy is generally like ‘are they a f*cking lunatic?’” Right of reply so far: Reform said it had “improved and prioritised its vetting procedures, but from time to time, a handful of individuals who do not share our values will initially make it through vetting. This is the same for all organisations.” TODAY IN WESTMINSTER BRACE!
Andy Burnham is readying himself for an awkwardly timed twist in the UAE saga today, via two 2024 reports into the (failed) bid to buy the Telegraph by Redbird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment vehicle. As Sky’s Mark Kleinman reported , an Ofcom assessment of the public interest tests — including freedom of expression — is likely to land at some point today. When it does, the DCMS is set to publish a Competition and Markets Authority report simultaneously.
Check the fine print: Two people with knowledge of the reports tell my colleague Dan Bloom they’re expecting to read criticism of the UAE — if it gets past the redaction process. The reports date back to long before the latest Manchester City row erupted, but this is tricky for Burnham all the same, given UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan backs both IMI and the club. “The timing is completely terrible” for the PM, one of the two people tells Dan.
TEES OFF: Angela Rayner has ordered a “best value” inspection of Ben Houchen’s Tees Valley Combined Authority amid concerns over £500 million in loans made without written agreements and a further £128 million lent to Teesside Airport without full documentation. The process could eventually end with commissioners being sent in to run the authority. The FT’s Jennifer Williams and Jim Pickard have the details.
GREEN GRIND: The Greens are ready to take on the EHRC after the watchdog wrote to the party requesting “more information” about the implications of the controversial “Zionism is racism” motion ... Green officials told Playbook they were confident they could head off an investigation with strong answers to any questions posed. CAN YOU BE RACIST AGAINST YOURSELF?
Suella Braverman has accused critics of twisting her claim that she does not consider herself English, despite being born in north London, into an allegation that she is somehow “racist against myself.” Speaking on the Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast , the Reform MP accused the BBC, “lefty journalists” and her former Tory colleagues of whipping up “hysteria” around her remarks. IN IT TO WIN IT: Danny Kruger has insisted Reform would win another Brexit referendum in an interview with my colleague Sascha O’Sullivan on Westminster Insider this week. The Reform MP told the pod: “I’m sure if there were to be another referendum, we would win it.
There is nobody better at making the case for Brexit than Nigel Farage.” There is only the slight hiccup of public support, with the most recent YouGov polling putting support for staying outside the EU at 27%. TREADING WATER: My colleague Noah Keate has looked into why the Lib Dems pulled back from toppling party Leader Ed Davey earlier this week, but could still remove him if the temporary appearance of unity doesn’t hold. EARLY RELEASE: The mother of Henry Nowak’s killer, who removed the murder weapon from the scene, will be let out of jail after serving less than 18 months under the government’s prison scheme.
Kiran Kaur was sentenced to three years in jail. ITV got the exclusive . The government appears to be suggesting she could be deported “at the first opportunity,” per the BBC .
YOUTUBE TAX: License-fee dodgers who avoid the charge by watching TV on other streaming platforms will have to pay up under government proposals to expand the fee to cover YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and others. The Indy’s scoop coincides with a BBC announcement that its news programs will be available on YouTube . SOLVED IT!
The Foreign Affairs Committee has written to Ed Miliband to ask his department to “nominate a working group of officials to start a discussion to determine the details of a new process” for scrutinizing political appointments to ambassador-level roles, in response to the Mandelson scandal. Who said the government machine rolls slow? U-TURN: Welsh Labour Leader Ken Skates is calling on Plaid Cymru to build an M4 relief road, seven years after his own party axed the project when it was in government.
The BBC has more . HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sits from 9.30 a.m. with private members’ bills including on heritage public houses (Tory MP Mike Wood ) ... emergency and life-saving skills (Tory MP Neil Shastri-Hurst ) ... automated online software (Tory MP Damian Hinds ) ... and Lib Dem MP Al Pinkerton has the adjournment debate on critical transport infrastructure in his Surrey Heath constituency. AROUND THE WORLD SPECIAL GUEST: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is rocking up to Day 2 of the European Council summit in Brussels, where he’ll make a direct pitch to European leaders for more help.
But domestic politics and a drawn-out fight over the EU’s next long-term budget are distracting leaders from Ukraine’s fight for survival, my colleagues at the summit report . Satellite squeeze: The order to limit Ukraine’s use of the vital Starshield satellite service came from the White House, Reuters reported overnight , citing American and Western officials. PACT ME UP: Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez’s electoral fate is hanging in the balance, with political parties having until tonight to register formal electoral coalitions.
For Sánchez to have a hope of staying in power post the Nov. 29 election, he needs a vote-sharing agreement between an array of leftist parties. There’s just one problem: They’re all fighting. POLITICO’s Forecast breaks it down.
FIGHTER NOT A QUITTER: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the FT that he would not resign following his party’s significant electoral losses last month. DOMESTIC BLISS: Miriam González Durántez, the wife of former Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg, said that Gibraltar is Spanish rather than British while she was out on the campaign trail for her new party, Democracia 21. González Durántez said she steers clear of the topic of Gibraltar at home.
The Times has more . WAR CHAINS: A dispute between two top Trump appointees over diplomatic remit quickly descended into accusations of leaks and defamation threats. One of the feuding officials was fired overnight, just hours after my stateside colleague Daniel Lippman scooped the bizarre story. **A message from L’Oréal Groupe & The British Beauty Council: This British Beauty Week, the latest figures show beauty contributes £28.3 billion to UK GDP and supports 595,000 jobs across 191,200 businesses.
It generates £4.2 billion in exports too. Beauty's impact is felt in every postcode, from our homes to our high streets. At home, it builds confidence: three in four frequent users say it improves how they feel about themselves.
On the high street, it anchors town centres, driving footfall and human connection. L'Oréal Groupe has been part of the UK for 94 years. Today we are one of the largest players in the beauty industry, with 40 brands and around 3,000 employees across the country.
Independent analysis shows every direct job we create supports 11.4 more. View the report and discover more about the beauty industry’s impact. ** MEDIA ROUND Scotland Secretary Douglas Alexander broadcast round: Today (6.50 a.m.) ... BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast (7.05 a.m.) ...
Sky (7.15 a.m.) ... BBC Breakfast (7.30 a.m.) ... Good Morning Britain (7.50 a.m.).
Scotland Minister Melanie Ward broadcast round: Times Radio (7.05 a.m.) ... GB News (7.30 a.m.) ... LBC (7.50 a.m.) ...
BBC 5 Live (8.15 a.m.). Shadow Scotland Secretary Harriet Cross broadcast round: Times Radio (7.45 a.m.) ... GB News (8.05 a.m.) ...
Talk (8.20 a.m.) ... LBC (8.45 a.m.) ... Sky (9.15 a.m.).
Also on LBC News: Scottish Economy and Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn (7.25 a.m.) TODAY’S FRONT PAGES POLITICO UK : Britain’s Lib Dems are having a mini-meltdown. Here’s what’s going on. Daily Express : Farage’s fury at small boat sex attacker.
Daily Mail : Dumb and dumber. Daily Mirror : Brand made me take pic ... then he raped me. Daily Star : Topless ‘monster.’ Financial Times : Merz stands by welfare reform overhaul as he vows to fight on.
Metro : The axis of diesel. The Daily Telegraph : Healey plans tax raid on banks. The Guardian : Revealed: chancellor poised to raise taxes on banks in budget.
The Independent : License fee widened to web streaming to help struggling BBC. The i Paper : Energy bills set for double rise in the new year. The Times : Hospitals to place trans women on male wards.
The Sun : Brand made me take pic ... then raped me. NEWS MAGS The Economist : Not sorry. The New Statesman : Fool Britannia.
The Spectator : Battle for the Books. LONDON CALLING WESTMINSTER WEATHER: Rain during the morning commute, then sun. High 16C, low 7C.
JOB ADS: Lib Dem boss Ed Davey is on the hunt for a caseworker ... Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty is looking for a senior caseworker . NOW WATCH: Anything in the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square.
After a hard-fought battle with landlord Criterion Capital, it has secured a lease to keep the films rolling for the next 25 years. NOW READ: Mark McVitie ruminating on the old world order and how it doesn’t function anymore ... sparked by him reading a Cormac McCarthy novel. The Spectator has published the essay.
FRIDAY POD PICK: Former Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall talks welfare with Electoral Dysfunction’s Beth Rigby . Kendall suggests her lack of success on that matter signaled they weren’t going about it the right way — but says the current government is taking “the right approach.” WRITING PLAYBOOK PM: Emilio Casalicchio. WRITING SUNDAY CRUNCH: Noah Keate.
WRITING PLAYBOOK MONDAY MORNING: Sam Blewett. BIRTHDAYS: Conservative MP John Whittingdale ... Sky’s Sophy Ridge ...
Labour peer Kevin Brennan ... former Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick ... Northern Ireland SpAd Nicola Bartlett ... Labour peer Glenys Thornton ...
Conservative peer and former Scotland Secretary Michael Forsyth ... former Green co-Leader Jonathan Bartley ... Tory peer Emma Nicholson ... Tory peer Nicola Blackwood .
Celebrating over the weekend: SNP MSP Colin Beattie ... former Labour, Change UK and Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna ... former U.K. Permanent Representative to the EU John Grant ... Sky’s Mhari Aurora ... former U.K.
Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray ... Tory peer Michael Lord ... Tory peer Toby Young ... former James Hutton Institute Chair Ian Gambles ...
Fylde MP Andrew Snowden ... Ipswich MP Jack Abbott ... former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Armed Forces Nick Houghton ... former DExEU policy chief Tom Shinner ... and the BBC’s Hugh Pym . PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editors Dan Bloom , Alex Spence and James Panichi , reporter Isabel Loubser and producer Júlia Vadler .
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Source: politico.eu
