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By ELENI COUREA
PRESENTED BY
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Good Tuesday morning. This is Eleni Courea.
DRIVING THE DAY
BACK TO EARTH: Liz Truss landed in New York City in the early hours of this morning for her first foreign trip as prime minister. Today brings an end to the U.K.’s national mourning period after the queen’s death and a return to politics as usual. Buckle up … we won’t be easing into it.
The weeks ahead: With a new government itching to make its mark and intent on squeezing in two weeks’ worth of activity into a few days, just before the annual party conference season kicks in, the pace is going to turn frenetic. Truss is spending the next two days at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where she will meet several world leaders one-to-one while her ministers set out a series of landmark policy packages in parliament.
Life comes at you fast: Yesterday Truss was reading verses from the Gospel of John at the queen’s funeral in Westminster Abbey … today she’s likely to be locked in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen over the Northern Ireland protocol on the other side of the Atlantic.
Wiring in from NYC: Esther Webber is part of the traveling Lobby pack and will bring Playbook readers all the news from the summit. On the plane last night the PM told reporters that the long-awaited trade deal with the U.S. is being kicked fully into the long grass, with no formal talks happening now or in “the short to medium term.”
Notes from the plane: The traveling press pack bravely rallied after discovering there were no biscuits to go with tea and coffee while they were waiting to depart, Esther texts in to say, and were rewarded with a decent onboard meal of chicken and roast veg with a mozzarella salad. One hack passed the time watching Welsh language drama, while his seat neighbor perused Jonathan Franzen. The journalist who immediately ordered a tequila shot on take-off shall remain nameless.
Plan for today: At around U.K. lunchtime today Truss will record interviews with broadcasters. She is due to have her first bilateral meeting in the afternoon with Macron (where she might want to clear up the question of whether France is a friend or foe — though she struck a more conciliatory note on the plane last night, saying she wanted “a constructive relationship” and that would mean “working together on the issue of migration,” energy security and standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.)
Back-to-back bilats: Through the afternoon and evening the PM is expected to have sit-downs with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Ursula von der Leyen and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda — although some timings are still up in the air.
‘Who’s that?’ Hopefully they’ll all do a quick Google Images search to avoid the embarrassing situation two Australian TV anchors found themselves in yesterday. “Who’s this?” one said as Truss walked out of the car with her husband Hugh O’Leary. “Hard to identify — maybe minor royals,” the other said. (In turn, BBC presenters fell silent when Aussie PM Anthony Albanese and his partner walked into the abbey, suggesting they didn’t recognize him, the Telegraph’s Nick Gutteridge notes).
LIZ’S RELAUNCH: As she swaps one high-level gathering of the great and good for another, Truss told the traveling press pack she was “honored” the queen had invited her to form a government as one of her last acts. She praised the way the nation had come together at a “difficult moment” to mourn the late monarch.
Turning the page: The two-week-old PM insisted her focus had been on the period of mourning since the death of the queen, but that she would now be looking outward as “we need to make sure we are doing all we can to continue to play our role in the world.” Ahead of her arrival, she announced the U.K. will meet or exceed the amount of military aid spent on Ukraine in 2022 next year. The U.K. put £2.3 billion toward support in 2022 and the offer for next year is TBC, but it is expected to include equipment such as rocket launchers. The Times’ Henry Zeffman has a write-up.
Liz <3 Ukraine: Truss is clearly aiming to demonstrate she is the heir to Boris Johnson on Ukraine, with one aide confirming that a show of strength was central to her time at the U.N. get-together. Against the backdrop of Ukraine’s continuing advances against Russian forces, she said: “My message to the people of Ukraine is this: the U.K. will continue to be right behind you every step of the way. Your security is our security.”
On the margins: James Cleverly has also flown to New York for UNGA and is due to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.
Warning shots: Ahead of Friday’s mini-budget — which will follow a business energy package on Wednesday and NHS announcement on Thursday — the Times writes up an IPPR analysis suggesting that cuts to corporation tax don’t stimulate growth. Meanwhile Labour has launched a pre-emptive attack questioning how the government’s policies will be paid for. Rowena Mason has the quotes from shadow chief sec to the Treasury Pat McFadden.
DON’T MISS A BEAT: Get more from New York in POLITICO’s special daily pop-up U.N. Playbook, by Ryan Heath and Suzanne Lynch.
THE QUEEN’S FUNERAL
IN MEMORIAM: The breath-taking ceremonial spectacle of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral will be unforgettable to all those who witnessed it, from the several hundred foreign dignitaries who traveled to London to the millions of people who watched at home.
Who was there: POLITICO’s Annabelle Dickson has a roll-call of those who attended the service at Westminster Abbey. There were a few minor hiccups, with Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie stopped and forced to wait on the side for Theresa May and David Cameron to enter the abbey first under the correct order of process.
But that’s nothing compared to … The clip of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau belting out the words to “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the night before the funeral at what looks like an impromptu karaoke session with members of his delegation at the Corinthia. The footage found its way onto MailOnline.
What to read: There’s a lot of excellent writing around about the funeral, with expert color pieces filed by the Times’ Ben Macintyre and the FT’s Henry Mance and a lovely article by the Tel’s Ed Cumming about the crowds that came to see the queen. More than a million lined the streets of London to see the coffin be taken in procession from parliament to Westminster Abbey and onward to Wellington Arch after the service.
For something different: Playbook recommends this very witty and acerbic piece by Tanya Gold for POLITICO. “Elizabeth II was probably the last person to really believe in sacred monarchy which is why she was good at it: being conceited, or spoilt, is not the same thing as believing you are sanctified,” she writes. “It’s an idea we mourned, not a woman … The Windsors are very skilled at marketing. I fantasize that the young coffin bearers were chosen for their sublimely expressive faces: you could imagine them at Passchendaele or Agincourt.”
Something to take away: The FT’s Robert Shrimsley argues that the national response to both the queen’s death and her Platinum Jubilee demonstrate that the mainstream of British society is crying out for less division. “Politicians might do well to note how much the population seems to welcome the moments of national unification which many identified with the Queen,” he writes. “It is worth remembering that Boris Johnson’s promise to ‘get Brexit done’ was as much an appeal to end the fighting as it was to complete the process.”
And a look to the future: Ben Judah has an engaging op-ed for the Washington Post on King Charles III’s belief in multiculturalism, criticism of Western interventionism and long-term interest in Islam and what sort of king this might make him.
**On October 12 at 4:30 pm CEST, POLITICO will unveil its Green 28 list during an online event. The event will also feature a joint interview with T&E executive director William Todts and ACEA director-general Sigrid de Vries. Register here.**
TODAY IN WESTMINSTER
PARLIAMENT: Not sitting; back tomorrow. However both the Senedd and Scottish parliament sit today in the afternoon, the former from 1.30 p.m. and the latter half an hour later.
CAN’T AX SUGAR TAX: Liz Truss’ plan to scrap the sugar tax has run into legal and parliamentary difficulties, the Guardian’s Denis Campbell reports. Officials are said to have told Truss and Thérèse Coffey, the health secretary, that there is no clear parliamentary mechanism for repealing a tax that was introduced as a result of its inclusion in a broader 2017 finance act.
FROM TODAY: Around 6 million disabled people will receive a one-off payment of £150, as part of the government’s new cost-of-living support.
FOR BUDDING DOCUMENTARY-MAKERS: The IfG has an in-conversation event this evening on the art of political documentary-making with the master Michael Cockerell, who promises to share stories from the many politicians he has interviewed throughout his career. It’s at 6.30 p.m. — register to attend or watch online here.
TODAY IN STRASBOURG: The European Court of Human Rights is due to issue a ruling today on a case brought by Gerry and Kate McCann — parents of Madeleine — against Portugal, concerning statements made by former Portuguese detective inspector Gonçalo Amaral about their involvement in the disappearance of their daughter. The ruling is due at 9 a.m.
TODAY IN BREXIT: The U.K. government’s plan to scrap EU financial regulations will lead to chaos, argues financial journalist James Fitzgerald in an op-ed for POLITICO.
UKRAINE UPDATE: A total of 146 bodies, including two children, were exhumed from a mass burial site near Izyum yesterday, according to Kharkiv’s Governor Oleh Synehubov. The burial site was found after Ukrainian troops liberated the city from Russian control last week — Sky News’ Siba Jackson has more.
MEDIA ROUND
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan broadcast round: Sky News (7.05 a.m.) … Times Radio (7.20 a.m.) … Today program (7.50 a.m.) … LBC (8.35 a.m.) … talkTV (9.20 a.m.) … GB News (9.40 a.m.).
Also on the Today program: Former Deputy Commander of NATO in Western Europe General Richard Shirreff (8.10 a.m.).
Also on Kay Burley at Breakfast: Shadow Treasury Minister James Murray (8.05 a.m.) … Former Justice Secretary David Gauke (8.20 a.m.).
Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast (LBC): Mail columnist Sarah Vine (7.05 a.m.) … James Murray (7.40 a.m.).
Also on Times Radio Breakfast: James Murray (7.05 a.m.) … Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute on the U.N. General Assembly Karin von Hippel (7.45 a.m.) … Economist Julian Jessop (8.05 a.m.).
Also on GB News breakfast: James Murray (8.50 a.m.).
Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC 8 p.m.): Tory MP Harriet Baldwin … Former Communities Secretary Hazel Blears … Lib Dem councillor Mathew Hulbert … Former editor of the Telegraph Charles Moore.
Reviewing the papers tonight: Sky News (10.30 and 11.30 p.m.): Historian Peter Frankopan and the Observer’s Sonia Sodha.
TODAY’S FRONT PAGES
(Click on the publication’s name to see its front page.)
Daily Express: God rest our queen.
Daily Mail: Her final journey.
Daily Mirror: … until we meet again.
Daily Star: Side by side, together, for ever.
Financial Times: ‘People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer.’
HuffPostUK: Queen Elizabeth II finally laid to rest.
i: The end of the Elizabethan era.
Metro: The queen’s state funeral.
POLITICO UK: With drummers, costumes and aging pomp, Britain mourned more than the queen.
PoliticsHome: Kwasi Kwarteng will hold a cost of living mini-budget on Friday before party conferences.
The Daily Telegraph: An outpouring of love.
The Guardian: The final farewell.
The Independent: The final farewell.
The Sun: We sent her victorious.
The Times: Carried to her rest.
LONDON CALLING
WESTMINSTER WEATHER: ☁️☁️☁️ Cloudy with light winds. Highs of 19C.
LOBBY MOVE: Lobby legend Torcuil Crichton is leaving the Daily Record at the end of this month after 12 years on the paper and nearly a decade between London and the Lobby with the Herald and Sunday Herald before that. A broadcaster and filmmaker, in 2019 he made a Gaelic BBC documentary tracing the Scottish roots of Donald Trump’s mother Mary Ann MacLeod, who was born on the Isle of Lewis. He’s still deciding what he wants to do next — and Playbook wishes him the best whatever that is.
OVER IN THE US JUSTICE SYSTEM: Last night a judge overturned the murder conviction of Adnan Syed — the subject of the hugely popular true crime podcast Serial, which cast doubt on his guilt in the 1999 murder of his high school classmate Hae Min Lee — and ordered his release. A year-long case review turned up two alternative suspects. Syed has been released into home detention pending a new trial. The New York Times has the details.
BIRTHDAYS: Former Labour MP Caroline Flint … The Daily Mirror’s Associate Editor Kevin Maguire … Former Evening Standard Political Editor Joe Murphy … Crossbench peer Robin Janvrin … Tory peer Anne McIntosh … High Court judge and Leveson Inquiry counsel Robert Jay … The Mail on Sunday’s Brendan Carlin … Brazilian Ambassador Fred Arruda.
PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: Editor Zoya Sheftalovich, reporter Andrew McDonald and producer Grace Stranger.
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