Good afternoon. This is Emilio Casalicchio.
WEDNESDAY CHEAT SHEET
— Keir Starmer is backing embattled deputy Angela Rayner after she revealed she swerved a big tax bill.
— The DPM said it was a mistake and promised to stump up whatever she owes.
— Rayner’s referred herself to the ethics watchdog — as clips of her previous attacks on the Tories do the rounds.
— Rachel Reeves confirmed the date of her second budget, and got a bit of a gift from Andrew Bailey.
— There’s chat about changing hate speech laws to stop people being arrested for tweets.
— A Democrat gave both barrels to Nigel Farage in Washington, as he likened Britain to North Korea.
**A message from Google: Our Be Internet Legends programme has already helped millions of children learn online safety skills and to be confident digital explorers. On Thursday 11th September, you’re invited to join thousands of parents/carers, teachers and students for our annual ‘Back to School’ assembly, in partnership with Parent Zone. Learn more: parentzone.org.uk/beinternetlegends.**
TOP OF THE NEWSLIST
RAYNER ON THE ROPES: Keir Starmer is tonight standing firm with Angela Rayner — despite multiple unanswered questions after she admitted swerving a massive tax bill and shopped herself to the ministerial watchdog.
It was true all along: All credit to the dogged reporting from the Mail and Telegraph, which this morning prompted a tell-all (well, almost all) statement from the housing sec and deputy prime minister to the Guardian, confirming she “did not pay the appropriate stamp duty” on the flat she bought in Hove last spring. She managed to avoid a max £40,000 tax bill on the £800,000 flat.
Bear in mind: Rayner insists the dodged bill was inadvertent. She said her legal advice at the time of purchase was that she was not liable due to her (complex) financial circumstances. Read the full statement to understand quite how complex. She said that after the Tele and Mail stories appeared, she “sought further advice from a leading tax counsel” who concluded a trust for her disabled son means she was in fact liable for “additional stamp duty liabilities.” Yep, we said it’s complicated.
A short-ish explanation … according to the Times, could be that putting funds from her former house sale into a trust for her teenage son means her name remains on the deeds — hence making the Hove purchase that of a second home rather than a first and leaving her liable for stamp duty on a second property.
Bear in mind: This is the first time she has given so much information about her family situation — after securing permission to have a court order lifted which the government said had prevented her revealing the full details. She did so in order to respond to the tax accusations.
What happens now: Ministerial standards adviser Laurie Magnus will investigate the case and decide whether Rayner is telling the truth and whether she did enough to determine her tax liabilities. At least … we hope he will. What Magnus decides to investigate and how long it might take is like a black box — one of the least transparent processes in government. We might hear nothing until he concludes his probe, but they’ve been swift and pretty brutal before.
Here are some questions: Tax pro (and Labour supporter) Dan Neidle has been offering suggested questions on social media such as whether Rayner was clear about her financial setup to the original legal team … whether she should have sought more expert advice during the purchase if her arrangements were so complex … and where she sits on the scale between tax avoidance and evasion.
The PM appears to have drawn his own conclusions first: During PMQs, Starmer said Rayner had “gone over and above in setting out the details” and insisted he was “very proud to sit alongside” her after she came from “a working class background” to end up in government. “So?!” asked Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty MP from the backbenches, about the working class comment. Downing Street said the PM has confidence in his number two.
Stand with Ange: Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also been out batting for Rayner, insisting to Radio 5 Live she acted “in good faith” on her tax liabilities. He told Channel 4 News (in an interview to be broadcast after 7 p.m.) she “has made a mistake but it’s an honest mistake.” Conservative former MP Miriam Cates and Lib Dem boss Ed Davey agree. Yep, you read that right. The latter said as a fellow parent of a disabled child he could “completely understand” how Rayner will have been most worried about her son’s care.
Not the best look: Labour MPs are watching the whole thing through their fingers. One told Playbook PM the scandal is worse since Rayner is in charge of housing and sleaze. But the assumption is that No.10 wants her to keep going. “If anyone can survive, she can,” the person said. “Her statement was powerful and helped a lot, I think.”
Also on team-Ange: Another MP said Rayner appeared to have been let down by professional advisers and is doing “everything possible to make it right” including giving painful information about her disabled son. Indeed, in an interview with Sky News Rayner looked upset and spoke about difficult the situation has been for her family. The same MP said: “In the age of decent politics you would hope people would understand — but sadly the Tories are so desperate for relevance they are playing the woman not the ball.”
Although … the Tories didn’t do the best job of playing the woman or the ball at PMQs. Kemi Badenoch did ask what Rayner was still doing in post at the start of the session but then moved onto questions about economics. One Conservative official griped to my Playbook colleague Andrew McDonald: “Not only did she miss an open goal handed to her on a plate, she didn’t even know where the goal was — inept, incompetent, and out of her depth.”
Not so fast: A Badenoch spokesman argued the economy is the more immediate issue for voters and that the Tories have made the running on the Rayner tax issue in recent days. Badenoch did head out of PMQs straight into a TV clip to attack Rayner — almost as if she missed her big chance in the Commons. Our Noah Keate has his usual PMQs scorecard here.
What she could have said: Badenoch might have mentioned the time Rayner said Rishi Sunak shouldn’t need his ethics adviser to investigate Nadhim Zahawi over his tax affairs. The DPM even did her own little vid on the Zahawi scandal at the time.
And what she could have asked: When did Rayner tell the PM she should have stumped up much more tax? And did her aides mislead the press with denials about the issue? “The deputy prime minister paid the correct duty owed on the purchase, entirely properly and in line with all relevant requirements,” a spokesperson told the Tele last week. “Any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.”
But now we know … that turns out not to be true. Rayner aides were not picking up the phone this afternoon.
Is Starmer implicated in a cover-up? During a tense briefing with No.10 spokespeople after PMQs, hacks were eager to know whether the press had been lied to. Downing Street would not be clear about who knew what and when and insisted Rayner could not give details about her tax affairs while the court order was in place — a claim reporters were disputing. A spokesperson insisted Starmer did not mislead voters this week when he complained to Radio 5 Live about Rayner being briefed against.
Although … Starmer appeared to be speaking in general terms — despite being asked about the housing issue — so there is wiggle room for No.10. “Angela has had people briefing against her and talking her down over and over again,” he said earlier this week. “It’s a big mistake, by the way.”
More burning questions: Downing Street would not disclose whether Rayner had offered to resign over the issue or whether she will be expected to quit if found to have broken the ministerial code. Asked by Playbook PM why the public should not conclude Labour are as bad as the Tories on standards, the PM’s press secretary said Rayner had referred herself to the standards watchdog and the government had strengthened his powers. “Contrast that with the Tories who refused to take responsibility time and time again,” she added.
IT’S THE STUPID ECONOMY
REEVES THE MOMENT: Rachel Reeves confirmed her second budget will indeed happen on November 26 — late enough for the OBR to score the big planning bill going through parliament and the recent trade deal with India, in the hope both nudge the growth dial.
More plan for change, on planning: Reeves aides say she believes even more can be done on planning reform to boost growth. POLITICO’s Dan Bloom hears the chancellor reiterated to a bunch of soft-left think tanks last night she wants another infrastructure bill. Reeves is also expected to announce measures aimed at tackling poor British productivity in the run-up to the fiscal event. And on the tax front, the government has of course launched its consultation on a new gambling tax, and will no doubt be looking at other tax tweaks.
Check out the intonation: Reeves put out a social media video framing her budget as part of the mission to help working families and fix public services. It has the innuendo-laden “growth people can feel in their pockets” vibe about it. Check out the casual intonation and little emotive stresses on the wording.
Rach and pains: Despite the optimistic framing, the outlook for the public finances is not expected to be great, not least because the famous fiscal rules are still boxing Reeves in. And despite what Keir Starmer’s new economics guru might think, HMT minister in the Lords Spencer Livermore said six times in 15 minutes this week that the fiscal rules are non-negotiable, as Lib Dem Mark Pack pointed out. Meanwhile, the rising cost of government borrowing continues giving the markets the willies.
Although … X is not the real world, latest: Despite the online rush to predict Labour-induced economic crash that could bring down the government and see us hurtling towards a world where we eat each others’ flesh, it’s not all that bad, Sky economics supremo Ed Conway pointed out this morning.
Indeed: He posted a useful thread explaing how, “while growth IS quite weak, inflation quite high and the deficit still pretty high — the precise cocktail of factors that usually get people worried — they are nowhere near panic levels.” He argues the current market situation is “not 1976. It’s not 2008. It’s not 2022 either.” Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey was making similarly sanguine noises at the Treasury Committee, too, saying ministers should not be “overly focused” on the rise in long-term borrowing costs.
DRIVETIME DEBRIEF
HATE, THE LAW: Noises in and around Westminster suggest the law could be tweaked to stop sitcom writers being arrested for posting unpleasant tweets. Following outrage about Graham Linehan’s arrest, both the Met Police and a senior Cabinet minister have suggested the law as it is could be the problem — while (natch) avoiding commenting on the specifics of the Father Ted-writer-turned-non-stop-poster’s case.
Police are gonna police: Met boss Mark Rowley said police have been left “between a rock and a hard place” in cases where intent and harm is ambiguous, because successive governments have made confusing hate crime laws. “I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position,” he said.
I agree with Mark: Health Secretary Wes Streeting agreed in an interview with Times Radio that police “enforce the laws of the land that we as legislators provide” and should focus on “streets not tweets.” He added: “If the police are enforcing things that we think are a waste of time or a distraction from more important things, that’s on us to sort out.” He admitted on Radio 4 that sometimes parliament passes law with good intentions which end up with “unintended consequences.” Listen here.
But does the PM agree with Mark? At PMQs, Starmer agreed the police should be focusing on more pressing issues like knife crime, but he avoided being drawn on the Linehan case direct. His spokesperson said the government will “work closely” with the police if legal clarity is needed.
One person who will be loving all this is … Reform boss Nigel Farage, who has been giving evidence this afternoon to the House Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C. about free speech in Britain. He was torn a new one right at the start by Democrat Jamie Raskin, who argued Farage was “not a human rights leader like Navalny, but a far-right pro-[Vladimir] Putin politician who leads the U.K. Reform Party — a party that has four members out of 650 members in the parliament. He calls England an authoritarian regime, while saying that Vladimir Putin is the world leader he admires the most.” Oof.
Giving as good as he got: Farage in turn asked of Britain: “At what point did we become North Korea?” Sporting a fetching GB News pin, the Reform boss told the U.S. politicos: “I come from the land of Magna Carta, I come from a land that gave us the mother of parliaments so it doesn’t give me any great joy to be sitting in America and describing the really awful authoritarian situation that we have now sunk into.” Full writeup here from POLITICO tech bro Tom Bristow.
Speaking of Nige and free speech: Reform has blocked James Ball from the New World magazine from attending its conference this week. “What is Nigel Farage so afraid of?” Ball wrote in an article about the move, questioning whether Reform UK boss is a party for “snowflakes.” Keir Starmer told PMQs that Farage’s overseas jaunt was a bid to “badmouth and talk down our country.”
STILL TO COME: Starmer has been meeting his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez, with a readout still to land. Tech Sec Peter Kyle will deliver a speech about artificial intelligence to Mansion House at 9 p.m. tonight.
ONE MAN’S TERRORIST, ETC: Private Eye obtained documents under Freedom of Information showing that Police Scotland concluded a Palestine Action protest at a Thales site in Govan in 2022 did not meet the bar of terrorism — despite the Home Office referring to the incident among its reasons for proscribing the group. It’s on page 14 of the mag.
More Private Eye … the magazine also notes limited activity by No.10 economics brain Minouche Shafik in the Lords, despite insisting when forced to quit Columbia Uni that she was returning to the chamber to “re-engage with the important legislative agenda” … On a similar note it reports that Conservative peer and donor Ranbir Suri claimed £52,345 for turning up to Parliament between April 2024 and March 2025 despite speaking in no debates, sitting on no committees and voting just twice … and it reports how News of the World staff were in 2009 ordered to “mount an attack” on MPs who were asking questions about phone hacking.
THE LORD (AND MP) PROTECTORS
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE: Left-wing MPs bolstered the picket line outside Parliament this morning in support of the striking heavies who protect us weaklings who work inside. Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell gave a speech backing security staff who have walked out over pay and conditions, while fellow Labour veteran Diane Abbott and a few SNP MPs turned up, too.
Harvey’s bitter: Gary Harvey, who has been a security guard in the Palace of Westminster for more than two decades, criticized the “disheartening” treatment from management. “You do your best, and you think you’d be appreciated, but we don’t feel appreciated, and that’s the problem,” he told Playbook PM.
Details, details: Hundreds of guards voted to strike over the removal of six annual leave days from their contracts, plus wage stagnation, according to the PCS union that represents them. The walkout, for 24 hours since 7 a.m. (and due to be repeated in the same slot next week) means non-passholders are restricted on access to the Palace.
Chocolate sprinkles with that protection? “We’re now paid the same as people in the coffee shop,” said Harvey, in his red PCS cap and florescent jacket. “Yet we’re expected to come in, wear body armor and put our lives on the line.” He recalled the murder of police officer Keith Palmer in the 2017 Westminster Bridge attack: “Tragically, people who came into this building and lost their lives did exactly what we do every single day.”
The official line: “Parliamentary security staff are valued colleagues,” a Parliament spokesperson said, lamenting the “disappointing” decision to strike. “We remain committed to working closely with staff and unions to address the issues raised and to reach a resolution.” The union is also running an overtime ban and a work-to-rule until Sept. 12.
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SOCIAL (MEDIA) AFFAIRS
GET ON WITH IT, LADS: 2024 intake MP (and PPS) Josh Simons posted a damning Twitter thread to go with his FT piece about newbies who are shocked about our “sclerotic, evasive bureaucracies.” He details various local failures MPs have struggled to fix due to impotent government agencies and endless buck-passing, and notes that urgent state reform is required. Over to you, Keir.
NOT HOLDING BACK: Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch was pulling out all the insult stops this morning, branding Keir Starmer the “gaslighter in chief” on Twitter.
BEYOND THE M25
BY ELECTION INCOMING: A Senedd by-election will take place on October 23 in Caerphilly, following Hefin David’s death last month. Both Plaid (second last time) and Reform will fancy their chances of nicking the seat from Labour.
MUMPING AND MOANING: The Scottish government ain’t happy about the (late) Rachel Reeves budget date, with Finance Secretary Shona Robison putting out a statement about how “deeply disappointing” it is that the Treasury didn’t let them know in advance — since the timing will make it more difficult for the SNP to hold a pre-Christmas budget of their own. Full thing here.
BEST BUDDIES: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang would do “everything we can” to assist Moscow during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China. Elsewhere, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were captured privately talking about … living to 150. My POLITICO colleagues have more on that horror-show.
Sense check: Asked about Donald Trump’s assertion China is “conspiring” against America with North Korea and Russia, Putin said the U.S. president has a “good sense of humor.” Sky has a live blog.
MEANWHILE IN ISRAEL: Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said it foiled a Hamas plot to assassinate far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir through a drone strike, arresting Hamas operatives in the West Bank. Bloomberg has the deets.
**A message from Google: Children today are growing up in a digital world, so giving them the tools and knowledge to make good decisions online is essential. Google’s Be Internet Legends programme helps children learn key online safety skills and offers fun interactive materials to help them become confident online. Research by IPSOS Mori found that kids are twice as likely to show a better understanding of internet safety after taking part in the programme. The curriculum also helps children understand the impact of AI, and how to use it safely. On Thursday 11th September, join thousands of parents/carers, teachers and students for our annual Back to School assembly, in partnership with Parent Zone. Learn more at: parentzone.org.uk/beinternetlegends.**
TONIGHT’S MEDIA ROUND
LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.), BBC News at Six and ITV Evening News (6.30 p.m.) all lead on Angela Rayner … as does Channel 4 News (7 p.m.), which has an interview with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 6 p.m.): Former Labour PPC Kevin Craig (5.05 p.m.).
Drive with John Pienaar (Times Radio, until 7 p.m.): Labour MP Catherine Atkinson … former Met Police Detective Chief Inspector David McKelvey … former U.S. Ambassador to Poland Daniel Fried … Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health President Steve Turner … former Labour adviser Matthew Torbitt … the Sun on Sunday’s Kate Ferguson and the Mirror’s Mikey Smith (both 6 p.m.).
BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Chancellor Rachel Reeves … Labour peer Thangam Debbonaire.
News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood (5.45 p.m.) … Daniel Fried (6.45 p.m.).
Tonight With Andrew Marr (LBC, 6 p.m.): Technology Secretary Peter Kyle … Green Party Leader Zack Polanski … tax lawyer Dan Neidle … former CIA Director John Brennan.
Dewbs and Co (GB News, 6 p.m.): Reform UK councilor Laila Cunningham.
Farage (GB News, 7 p.m.): Tory peer Toby Young … former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (Sky News, 7 p.m.): Keir Starmer’s former Political Director Luke Sullivan … unaffiliated peer Sayeeda Warsi.
Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC, 8 p.m.): Labour peer Harriet Harman … Tory peer Nicky Morgan … former FT Editor Lionel Barber … Novara Media’s Ash Sarkar.
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation (GB News, 8 p.m.): Labour MP Jake Richards … Tory peer Dominic Johnson … former Reform UK Director of Communications Gawain Towler.
Patrick Christys Tonight (GB News, 9 p.m.): Popular Conservatism Director Mark Littlewood … Reform UK councilor Jaymey McIvor.
Newsnight (BBC 2, 10.30 p.m.): Tory peer Mark Harper … SNP MP Kirsty Blackman.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Alfie Tobutt.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): The Sun’s Ryan Sabey and PoliticsHome’s Nadine Batchelor-Hunt … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire and former Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster.
WHERE TO FIND BOOZE IN WESTMINSTER TONIGHT
PLASTERED WITH PRs: Lobbyists Blakeney host a drinks reception at Miradora Rooftop from 6 p.m.
NEW LISA LIFE: Outgoing Lisa Nandy SpAd Rich Howarth is holding leaving drinks at Walkers of Whitehall from 6.30 p.m.
TOMORROW’S WORLD
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Shipbuilding, nurseries and universities.
READY, WILLING AND ABLE: Keir Starmer is expected to dial into the latest Coalition of the Willing meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
TEFLON TALK: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks at the IISS Prague Defense Summit at 9 a.m. U.K. time.
IN THE COMMONS: MPs swan in at 9.30 a.m. with environment and attorney general questions, then Commons Leader Lucy Powell’s business statement and Lords amendments to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.
JEZ WE CAN: Former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn holds the first day of his two-day Gaza Tribunal investigating Britain’s actions in the Middle East, from 10 a.m.
IN THE LORDS: Peers appear at 11 a.m. for questions, then the fourth session at committee stage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
VERY BEST WISHES: Tory MP George Freeman has been away from parliament, keeping vigil at his mother’s bedside at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. He praised the “wonderful nurses and staff … who deliver palliative care with such gentle love, dignity & respect.”
END OF AN ERA: Labour peer and broadcasting titan Melvyn Bragg stepped down from anchoring Radio 4’s In Our Time after presenting more than 1,000 episodes. Bragg will present a different show on the station next year while a replacement host is announced soon.
PACKED LUNCH OR PALACE LUNCH: Subject to change, here are the lunch menus on the estate tomorrow: Bellamy’s: Beef chili with rice, sour cream and chives; maple and paprika tofu with mediterranean vegetables, parsley and chive freekeh and toasted pumpkin seeds; lemon and oregano feta quesadilla with avocado and couscous tabbouleh … The Debate: Soy and honey pork belly with egg fried rice, spring onions and sweet chili sauce; cumin paneer with lentil aloo, raita and poppadum; hake, ricotta and spinach filo with pickled red cabbage, gherkin, capers and salad … Terrace Cafeteria: Cod, salmon and haddock fish pie with dill; turkey escalope with tagliatelle, tomato, mascarpone and olive sauce; veggie samosa with chana dal, spinach, coriander and tomato salad … River Restaurant: Sesame and soya tuna with pak choi fried rice, and chili, lime and sesame broth; tomato and olive pasta bake with salad and garlic bread; BBQ pulled beef burger with fries, coleslaw, grilled pineapple and mango salsa.
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: On Sept. 3, 1658, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland Oliver Cromwell died at the age of 59. On the same day in 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed between Great Britain and the U.S. to end the war of American independence. And in 1971, Qatar declared independence from Great Britain.
WRITING PLAYBOOK TOMORROW MORNING: Sam Blewett.
THANKS TO: My editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster, reporter Noah Keate and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.
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