London Playbook PM: Another evening Rwanda

19 mins read

April 17, 2024 6:11 pm CET

Good afternoon.

WEDNESDAY CHEAT SHEET

— The final Rwanda showdown is inching closer.

— PMQs saw attacks about Liz Truss and capital gains tax dodging. But a member of the public cried tears of relief when her case was raised.

— Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been talking to POLITICO about Russian asset freezing, defense spending and … the London marathon.

— David Cameron felt the burn after his meeting with the Israeli PM.

— The reviews are in for the Liz Truss book.

**A message from Lloyds Banking Group: Lloyds Banking Group has supported the social housing sector for decades. Providing finance and support to more than 340 housing associations across the UK to help people find a place to call home. It is one of the ways we are helping Britain prosper. Find out more.**

TOP OF THE NEWSLIST

RWANDA OUR EVENING: The controversial Rwanda Bill is lumbering over its final hurdles in parliament and could even pass tonight — although the chances of that appear increasingly slim.

Ping pong in action: MPs in the last hour or two voted to remove the four amendments peers threw into the bill last night and the legislation was heading straight back to the upper chamber as this email went to pixel. The Lords debate is expected to start around 6 p.m. before two votes at 7.30 p.m. (peers want to have their dins at a reasonable time, of course.)

What the two votes will be on: The same two issues as last night: protection for Afghan interpreters and independent monitoring of whether Rwanda is in fact a safe nation to send possible refugees to. Downing Street said the government is still not countenancing concessions.

Chances are … the Lords bung both amendments into the bill and send it back to the Commons, according to multiple people Playbook PM has been speaking to. There was an outside chance it might pass tonight but expectations were fading through the afternoon.

And so … expect the bill to return to the Commons at the start of next week. There had been no call out to sit late tonight as Playbook PM landed in inboxes and it wouldn’t be popular to stop the flow of MPs back to their seats tomorrow. There’s time for it to happen Monday, one observer noted. Expectations are the next round will be the final one.

Not backing down: “We have no evidence that Rwanda is safe. All the evidence that is put before us demonstrates that at the moment it is not,” crossbench peer and former terror law reviewer David Anderson told Radio 4 this morning of the bid to have an independent monitor to decide whether Rwanda is safe (instead of a decision via effective government diktat.) “All this amendment would say is that, instead of us in parliament in London being expected to assert in legislation that Rwanda is safe … the government would invite the monitoring committee to certify that Rwanda is safe. And when it is safe, the flights can begin.” Clip here.

Hmm … Downing Street struggled to explain what the problem with such a mechanism would be when Playbook PM asked during a briefing this afternoon. Some argue though that the amendment could wreck the bill, seeing as organizing a monitoring panel and waiting for it to come to a verdict would take too long to see flights get off the ground any time soon.

The other question is … what’s the problem with protecting Afghan interpreters from deportation to Rwanda? Sunak’s spokesperson said safe and legal asylum routes already exist for such people. And Sky’s Sam Coates told the Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast at the weekend ministers are worried allowing one exemption could open the floodgates to other requests that would be difficult to dismiss.

HIGH (TRANSLATION: LOW) POLITICS

SORRY YOU HAD TO WITNESS THAT: The wronged sub postmasters watching PMQs from the VIP galleries this afternoon will have grasped another reason their plight took so long to be addressed: the Westminster political squabbling that distracts from real issues.

Indeed: Keir Starmer opened his six questions with a jibe about Liz Truss and her new book, prompting smiles from his backbenchers. Those smiles didn’t last long. “He ought to spend a bit less time reading that book and a bit more time reading the deputy leader’s tax advice,” Rishi Sunak shot back to shrill cheers from the Conservative benches. Chief Whip Simon Hart rocked back and forth in his seat with glee.

Knew it was coming: Starmer offered a retort about the “billionaire prime minister” whose wife was listed as a non dom “smearing a working-class woman.”

It went on from there: Starmer made jibes about the Liz Truss lettuce (Conservative MP Paul Holmes covered his face with his Commons order paper as he squealed with laughter) and pushed Sunak to rule out cutting the NHS or pensions to fund his “ambition” to abolish National Insurance contributions. Sunak lobbed returns about Labour NHS woes in Wales and Starmer backing Jeremy Corbyn to become prime minister, among other things.

The one interesting moment … was when Sunak praised Truss for the trade deals she brokered (despite noting he warned against her economic plans during the 2022 Conservative leadership race.) Strange that, because during that same race Sunak slammed the deals as rushed and “one-sided.” Downing Street struggled to explain what has changed in the PM’s view when Playbook PM asked during a briefing for hacks afterwards.

The best moment in PMQs … was when Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, one of the last-ditch supporters of Boris Johnson, rose to ask a question about transparency in public life.

No, wait … the actual best moment was when Conservative MP Jo Gideon paid tribute to her constituent Claire Massey, who along with one of her kids almost died in a fire at their home and was then chased by “aggressive claims handlers.” Massey was in the public galleries too and burst into tears, crying and laughing at hearing her name in the Commons and seeing such a significant step forward in what must be a draining campaign after such a trauma. Her hands were shaking and she giggled and wiped tears from her eyes, putting her hands together in thanks when the PM said he will get a minister to look into the case.

All in all: POLITICO’s Andrew McDonald gave Sunak 8/10 for the session, Starmer 7/10 and Truss 1/10. His full scorecard is here.

The attacks continued afterwards: Labour frontbencher Pat McFadden issued a statement attacking Sunak for not ruling out cuts to the NHS or pensions or hiking income taxes to fund his national insurance pledge. Conservative Chair Richard Holden said Starmer was “still refusing to deal with the serious ethics scandal engulfing Angela Rayner because he is too weak to lead.” Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Radio 4’s World at One the Conservative attacks on Rayner were an “attempt to distract” from their “unfunded commitments” on national insurance. Downing Street refused to put a timeline on their ambitions to abolish national insurance — which means the Office for Budget Responsibility probably can’t cost it up at the next Budget.

Oh … and one more on Rayner: Conservative MP James Daly still doesn’t seem to remember what his complaint about Rayner to the police was. See the clip here. Conservatives said there’s no legal reason for him not to state the complaints. Rayner insists the allegations she dodged capital gains tax on the sale of her former council home and broke electoral law are false. Labour said she has received legal advice about both issues and has been told she is clear on both — although Starmer still hasn’t seen the advice.

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IT’S THE STUPID ECONOMY

RUSSIAN REALITY: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told POLITICO “nothing is off the table” when it comes to seizing Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine — but he admitted the law is complicated so it might never happen. He made the comments during his visit to Washington for IMF meetings, in the same week POLITICO’s excellent financial services reporter Eleanor Myers set out how despite all the big talk, London is set to be Londongrad forever.

More Hunt: The chancellor also told my U.S. colleagues European nations must spend more on defense — which could raise hackles at home where lots of his colleagues believe he’s not spending enough himself. Some even told PoliticsHome’s Adam Payne a big spending boost should be central to the Conservative election campaign.

Doing the rounds: Hunt is appearing at a Semafor event at 8 p.m. U.K. time (livestream here) and footage from his broadcast interviews this afternoon should be peppering news bulletins throughout the evening.

What to expect: Hunt will no doubt blurt out “the plan is working” at all opportunities when asked about the economic picture in the U.K. He said it in response to inflation dropping to 3.2 percent this morning. In his POLITICO interview he was asked how the direction of travel compared to running the London marathon, which he plans to do this weekend. “The the last six miles from Canary Wharf to Buckingham Palace are always the hardest,” he said. “And I think we’re just entering that last six miles at the moment. So we’re doing the hard yards but we can get over the finish line with great results.”

Less sure: Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said “working people are worse off” after almost a decade and a half under the Conservatives. “Prices are still high in the shops, monthly mortgage bills are going up and inflation is still higher than the Bank of England’s target,” she argued.

Also out and about: Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey is at an Institute of International Finance event in Washington from 5 p.m. U.K. time (not streamed.)

DRIVETIME DEBRIEF

THAT WENT WELL (NOT): Benjamin Netanyahu told Britain the Israelis “will make our own decisions” on how to respond to the Iranian rocket attack last weekend. Foreign Secretary David Cameron met Netanyahu this morning to urge him not to retaliate, but left conceding the U.K. had accepted there will be further armed action. “It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” Cameron said in a pooled clip after the meeting.

Indeed: Netanyahu said “we will make our own decisions, and the state of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.” Cameron said he hoped Israel would respond “in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible.” Good luck, as they say, with that. Full writeup here from POLITICO’s Andrew McDonald, and pics of the pow wow here. Cameron is expected to return to the U.K. before heading to G7 meetings in Capri Thursday.

(NOT) CALLED TO THE BAR: Talking of Cameron, the government rejected the Procedure Committee’s proposal for the foreign secretary to be scrutinized by MPs at the bar of the Commons chamber, a decision committee Chair Karen Bradley called “disappointing.” The government argued parliamentary scrutiny of the Foreign Office was not diminished by Cameron sitting in the Lords and he plans to continue cooperating with committee evidence sessions.

STILL TO COME I: Former Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick is on the Sun’s YouTube show “Never Mind the Ballots.” He told Harry Cole the Tories should pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. More on that here, and clip here. The interview will air at 7 p.m. on the Sun’s website and YouTube.

Before watching it: Check out the decade-old version of Cole interviewing Jenrick here.

STILL TO COME II: Liz Truss continues her book tour of the broadcasters with an interview on the Robert Peston show tonight on ITV at 10.45 p.m. on on Twitter at 9 p.m.

One person who won’t be watching … is Labour MP Sarah Owen, who told the BBC Politics Live show she wouldn’t be buying Truss’s book because she already has “plenty of toilet roll.” Clip here.

Indeed: Truss’ book “Ten Years to Save the West” has faced, shall we say, patchy reviews reviews — the Guardian described it as “shamelessly unrepentant, petulant, politically and economically jejune and cliche-ridden” … the Times described it as “whingey, wooden and baffling” and “as readable as a crisp packet” … the Telegraph said the tome was a “riotous romp of a memoir” … the i said the book contained “no apologies, no awareness, and no ideas” … the Independent said it “shows just how unsuited to, and unworthy of, office she was” … the New Statesman argued it “shows why she was so poorly equipped to be prime minister” … and the Reaction website said the book was “Spare for Truss supporters: overly emotional, self-regarding, tin-eared and delusional.”

SOCIAL (MEDIA) AFFAIRS

MURS LANDING: Conservative MP Priti Patel posted an amusing photo of herself with pop star Olly Murs as she offered “Witham’s most famous resident” best wishes after the birth of his child.

AROUND THE WORLD

IN BRUSSELS I: The second day of the National Conservatism Conference featuring speakers including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was allowed to take place after a Belgian court sided against authorities attempting to shut the event down — my POLITICO colleagues have further details.

IN BRUSSELS II: EU leaders are attending a European Council meeting today and Thursday which Council President Charles Michel said would focus heavily on competitiveness and foreign policy — POLITICO has you on this one too.

UKRAINE UPDATE:A Russian missile attack killed 15 people and injured more than 60 others in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv — the BBC has a writeup.

IN MYANMAR: Jailed former leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi was moved from prison to house arrest — her son Kim Aris said he believed she could be used as a human shield against attacks by pro-democracy resistance fighters — the Independent has more.

**A message from Lloyds Banking Group: A safe home provides a sense of stability, belonging and emotional wellbeing. Yet the reality is that there is a chronic lack of affordable housing in the UK. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless or are forced to live in unsafe conditions due to a severe lack of quality, affordable homes. That’s why we’re calling for one million more homes to be made available for social rent over the next decade, with a focus on providing homes to those who are most in need. Find out more about why this is so important, and how it contributes to our commitment to helping Britain prosper here.**

TONIGHT’S MEDIA ROUND

LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.) leads on Sussex Police apologizing to the families of two murdered schoolgirls … BBC News at Six focuses on falling inflation … Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) leads Israel’s response to the Iranian attack.

Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 6 p.m.): Freedom from Torture Associate Director of Advocacy Natasha Tsangarides (5.05 p.m.).

BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Treasury Committee Chair Harriett Baldwin … Labour MP Margaret Hodge.

News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel James B. Cunningham (5.30 p.m.) … former Government Legal Department Permanent Secretary Jonathan Jones (5.45 p.m.) … Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Chair Robert Buckland (6.45 p.m.).

Drive with John Pienaar (Times Radio, 5 p.m.): Tory MP Kevin Foster (5 p.m.) … Labour MP Rosie Duffield (5.35 p.m.) … the Sun on Sunday’s Kate Ferguson and Playbook’s own Emilio Casalicchio (from 7 p.m.).

The News Agents (Podcast, drops at 5 p.m.): Former Labour adviser John McTernan … former British Ambassador to Lebanon Thomas Fletcher.

Sky News Daily (Podcast, drops at 5 p.m.): AJ Bell’s Investment Director Russ Mould.

Tonight With Andrew Marr (LBC, 6 p.m.): Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami … Institute of Export and International Trade Director General Marco Forgione … UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.

Farage (GB News, 7 p.m.): Alliance Defending Freedom International’s Lorcán Price.

Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (Sky News, 7 p.m.): Tory MP Rehman Chishti … Labour Together’s Josh Simons … Tory peer Stuart Rose.

Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC, 8 p.m.): Deputy Tory Chair Rachel Maclean … Labour MP Stella Creasy … Lib Dem peer Tim Razzall … More in Common’s Luke Tryl.

Peston (9 p.m. on Twitter, 10.45 p.m. on ITV): Former Prime Minister Liz Truss … Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell … SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn … Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey … Robert Buckland.

TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Jack Surfleet.

REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): TalkTV’s Peter Cardwell and former Tory MP Julie Kirkbride … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire and LBC’s Ali Miraj.

WHERE TO FIND BOOZE IN WESTMINSTER TONIGHT

SO LONG, FAREWELL: Outgoing SpAds Steph Schwarz and Cameron Brown are holding leaving drinks at the Clarence on Whitehall from 6 p.m.

TIPPLE AND TRANSPARENCY: The APPG on anti-corruption is hosting a reception to launch their updated economic crime manifesto, full of ideas to tackle illicit cash. It’s in the Churchill Room from 6.30 a.m. with Labour MPs Margaret Hodge and Rushanara Ali, Conservative MP Nigel Mills and others.

TOMORROW’S WORLD

CAM ON TOUR: David Cameron is on the Italian island of Capri for G7 meetings.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Tax issues, such as a consultation on taxi fare duties, and police searches.

WHAT LABOUR WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Green building.

IN THE COMMONS: Culture questions kicks things off from 9.30 a.m. before Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt sets out upcoming business.

KEMI HERE: Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch is set to speak at the City U.K. international conference from 10.15 a.m. Full lineup here.

OLIVE AND KICKING: Deputy PM Oliver Dowden delivers a speech at Chatham House from 11.30 a.m. about economic security vs foreign investment.

JEZ ON TOUR: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will still be in Washington, chairing a meeting of the “five finance ministers” (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and the United Kingdom) about global challenges.

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ANY OTHER BUSINESS

PACKED LUNCH OR PALACE LUNCH: Subject to change, here are the lunch menus on the estate tomorrow: Bellamy’s: Vietnamese grilled minute steak with rice noodles, carrot, cucumber, Chinese leaf salad, lime, coriander and soya dressing; potato, root vegetable and horseradish burger with macerated cucumber and chimichurri sauce; hoisin pork stir fry with mushrooms, beansprouts, mangetout and rice … The Debate: Chicken and chorizo burger with sweet pepper burger sauce; tandoori salmon on naan with red onion, carrot, and coriander yoghurt; miso sesame eggplant and smoky tofu with spring onion, brown rice, and maple soya sauce … Terrace Cafeteria: Breaded turkey escalope with pasta Milanese; BBQ pork belly with corn on the cob and sweet potato wedges; grilled paneer, spinach and red onion sag aloo with naan … River Restaurant: Goat’s cheese, butternut squash and pine nut quiche with beetroot and cucumber salad; grilled salmon with warm new potato salad and broccoli; pork schnitzel with potato wedges, sauerkraut and braised cabbage.

SPOTTED I: Conservative MP Robert Halfon chugging a fat cigar after voting for the smoking ban last night (h/t the Eye Spy MP Twitter account.) Halfon told Playbook PM he backed the bill “because I personally am fully aware of the addictive perils of nicotine and the harm it can do in all its forms. I believe we as a society owe it to the next generations to dissuade them from falling prey to these harms.” He said he also supports the measures to make vaping less appealing to children.

SPOTTED II: Reform Leader Richard Tice bombing it down Millbank on a rented electric bike.

SPOTTED III: Lobby hacks turned Labour MP wannabes Paul Waugh and Torcuil Crichton chatting at a reserved for members table in Portcullis House.

NEW GIG: Atlanta’s MacKenzie Horn is leaving for a new gig managing PR and comms at Ipsos, as the pollster ramps up towards the election.

NOW HIRING: The Spectator is running its annual internship scheme. Budding politicos should send in an application, but not a CV. Details here.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: The Global Counsel advice firm which New Labour grandee Peter Mandelson co-founded and chairs is entering a partnership with The Messina Group — a similar consulting firm founded and run by former Barack Obama aide Jim Messina. More here from the FT, which reports Global Counsel was valued at around £30 million.

GET WELL SOON: Mirror political correspondent Dave Burke, who has been in hospital with asthma-related issues. Pic here.

MEDIA NEWS: Actor Hugh Grant settled a case against News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Sun, in which he claimed hacks working for the paper used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house. The parties agreed a settlement without an admission of liability to avoid an expensive trial. More from the BBC here.

SIMPLE QUESTIONS PLAYBOOK PM CAN’T GET ANSWERS TO: When will Rishi Sunak fill his vacant anti-corruption adviser role? … Did Steve Tuckwell tell constituents, filmed signing a petition about fish and chips, that their data would be used for other campaign spam? … When will Boris Johnson start producing his own GB News content?

Quick note: The anti-corruption APPG has a line in its manifesto on appointing an anti-corruption adviser. The government said this week an updated anti-corruption strategy will be published, erm, “shortly.”

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Writing in the i newspaper, Times Radio Pol Ed Kate McCann argues the response to Liz Truss this week shows the Westminster lens for seeking solutions to problems has narrowed. She notes the desire to “shut down, cancel or drown out people whose ideas seem odd or different is also strangling new talent from entering a world which is crying out for it.”

ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: On April 17 2021 Downing Street staff nursed hangovers while a funeral was held for Prince Philip. The parties during Covid lockdown the night before went on until the small hours, the Telegraph revealed months later.

WRITING PLAYBOOK TOMORROW MORNING: Stefan Boscia.

THANKS TO: My editor Rosa Prince, reporters Noah Keate and Andrew McDonald, and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.