Good afternoon. This is Emilio Casalicchio.
FRIDAY CHEAT SHEET
— David Lammy was heckled by furious members of the Jewish community at a vigil following the Manchester terror attack.
— Ministers, police and the Israeli government are urging pro-Palestinian protesters to cancel weekend demos.
— Nigel Farage said Keir Starmer had “emboldened” protesters and anti-Israeli sentiment in Britain.
— Michelle Mone went tonto at Kemi Badenoch.
— Green leader Zack Polanski sought to show a clear divide with Labour.
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TOP OF THE NEWSLIST
TENSION GOING NOWHERE: A Cabinet minister was heckled at a Jewish vigil following the Manchester terror attack, while police and the government are locked in a standoff with pro-Palestinian protesters about planned demonstrations this weekend.
Not the best look: David Lammy faced boos and shouts from furious attendees at the Manchester service this afternoon, amid criticism about the government’s approach to the war in Gaza and the growing anti-Israel sentiment at home. It was meant to be a somber event after two people were killed when Jihad Al-Shamie went on a rampage at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue. But it got political.
This was not meant to be the line: “You have blood on your hands!” one member in the crowd shouted at the DPM and justice secretary, while others yelled “stop the marches” and “we don’t want you here.” Others cried “go to Palestine, leave us alone” and “you’ve allowed it to grow on the campuses.” He was booed and heckled when he was introduced as a speaker, and had to pause during his speech numerous times while the crowd vented anger.
What he had wanted to get across: Lammy said communities “must stand together” in grief for the “senseless murders” that were carried out on Yom Kippur. He announced this morning that victims, as well as close friends and family members, will have access to the Independent Public Advocate to make sure they understand their rights and can access emotional and practical support.
This is what the crowd appeared to be echoing: Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis told the Beeb this morning the government should be “mindful” about attacks on Israel leading to extremism. “We have witnessed an unrelenting wave of hatred against Jews being expressed on our streets, on campuses, right across social media and some of the media,” he said. “And in addition to that, when there is the unjustified demonization of Israel, that feeds directly into an anti-Jewish sentiment within the tone of Britain, and that then encourages extremism. Our government needs to be mindful of that.”
Also tension going nowhere: The Met Police, Greater Manchester Police and ministers have been begging pro-Palestine Action protesters to cancel their demonstrations this weekend against the ban on the group. “By deliberately choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, [organizers] are drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most,” Met Commissioner Mark Rowley said this afternoon.
Please give it a rest: Manchester Police Chief Stephen Watson meanwhile said he was “directly appealing to all those who might be intending to protest this weekend to consider whether this is really the right time. You could do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting in a manner which is likely to add to the trauma currently being experienced by our Jewish community.”
But but but: The Defend Our Juries group, which is organizing the London demo, sounds unwilling to budge, arguing canceling their plans at Trafalgar Square “lets terror win.” A statement added that postponement would “risk conflating the actions of state of Israel with Jewish people … who bear no responsibility for Israel’s crimes, which could fuel antisemitic hatred and prejudice.”
Is more banning the answer? Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation Jonathan Hall told the Guardian: “If there is an urgent case where police need resources to deal with the aftermath of a terrorist attack, I am surprised there is no power to ban a march or assembly in these specific circumstances.”
No doubt the protesters will listen to Rob: “Do the decent thing, go home,” Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick implored on Times Radio. He said elements of the protest on Whitehall last night were “deeply disrespectful and anti-British.” He was echoing Home Sec Shabana Mahmood who told the same station “the behavior that we’ve seen last night is fundamentally un-British” and “disgraceful.” She urged protesters to “take a step back and to show some humanity and some love towards a community that is grieving.”
Pressure from abroad: In the last hour, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar posted that he’d spoken to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, asking her to clamp down on pro-Palestinian marches which he said “at times include explicit support for terror.”
Never saw a row he did not want to pour petrol on: Reform leader Nigel Farage meanwhile posted a social media video arguing Keir Starmer “emboldened” protesters last night with his recognition of Palestinian statehood and condemned the “hate march” planned for Saturday. He pretended Mahmood had said just that she was “disappointed” about the protests, urging viewers: “I hope all of you watching this video are outraged. Outraged and frankly frightened.”
Of course … his attack over the Palestinian recognition isn’t far from the Israeli government suggestion the move from Starmer was somehow linked to a terrorist going on a stabbing spree in Manchester. But Mahmood told Times Radio: “The only person responsible for this devastating attack on our Jewish community is the attacker himself.”
Speaking about Starmer: The PM turned up at the scene of the attack in Manchester this morning — and will be glad he did not appear at the vigil this afternoon to face the same anger as Lammy. He visited Greater Manchester Police HQ though to thank the emergency services for their fast response to the incident. “It’s a very humble thank you,” he told them.
And on the topic of the police response: The Manchester force revealed one of the victims of the attack died after police shot them accidentally while attempting to stop the perpetrator. Another member of the public was also shot and is being treated in hospital. Police chief Watson said it was “a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end.”
More political reaction: Attorney General Richard Hermer (the most senior Jewish cabinet minister) is speaking at his synagogue at around 7.15 p.m. tonight to offer his support to the Jewish community. There should be a livestream. He has written for Jewish News about his fears for his family in the wake of the attack. Meanwhile, Communities Secretary Steve Reed has continued his engagement to support national Jewish groups. And Green leader Zack Polanski said in his party conference speech in Bournemouth this afternoon “my heart is with our community.”
PLANET TORY
BARONESS BRA, BURNING: Covid contract scandal peer Michelle Mone threw a metaphorical Molotov cocktail at Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for suggesting she be stripped of her peerage. “I will not be silenced,” Mone insisted on social media. “I will not take the blame for their failures. And believe me, I will EXPOSE the lot of them.” Please do, Michelle! The PPE Medpro firm she clinched the contracts for was ordered to repay £122 million this week for supplying the government with substandard gowns during the pandemic.
Remember: Badenoch is doing her best to distance the Tories from Mone, attempting to claim she was not awarded contracts because she was a Conservative.
Speaking of Kemi: Her shadow Cabinet meeting to rubber-stamp her new position in favor of quitting the ECHR started at 4 p.m. so should be wrapping up around now. ConHome’s Tali Fraser hears the David Wolfson report, commissioned to excuse the pivot to a harder position after Badencoch and others (including Wolfson himself) argued against leaving the ECHR, concludes that failing to back withdrawal “would position the Conservative Party as defending the status quo.” And no one likes the status quo.
Not so Good Fri: Fraser also hears the report argues leaving the ECHR would not breach the Northern Ireland peace agreement — something critics insist is wrong. Labour officials argue the Belfast Agreement needs ECHR application via Northern Ireland law, and leaving would violate the deal. They also note that parts of the ECHR are threaded through U.K. law across the devolved nations. One Labour aide condemned “the brass neck of this, coming from the same party that brought you an oven-ready Brexit deal, with its next reheated, half-baked solution.”
More Kemi: The Badenoch interview with ConHome Editor Giles Dilnot includes a nice machine gunning of political commentators. She notes that no one penning bad reviews of her PMQs performances “could do what I’m doing. None of those people could stand in the arena and take that.” Playbook PM feels seen.
MEANWHILE, IN ECO-POPULISM
PLANTING HIS FLAG: Zack Polanski used his first conference speech as Green leader to carve firm dividing lines between the rich and the rest, as well as with Labour. Members lapped it up, Playbook PM’s Noah Keate writes in from the heaving Bournemouth International Centre, where more than 1,000 attendees packed into the Solent Hall. Queues stretched beneath the seafront overcast into the conference center, as the Greens cope with their membership surge to 80,000 sign-ups.
Strap in: The Green leader painted a dystopian picture in Britain of extreme poverty, insecure rent and rough sleeping, contrasting the 99 percent and the 1 percent. “We need to make sure every single person in this country knows there will be people who go to sleep, and without lifting a finger, when they wake up, they will be richer — much richer,” he said.
We are not Labour: Polanski said the Greens are “unafraid to say migration has helped make this country what we are today,” in a bid to contrast with the squeamish approach from Labour while faced with Reform. He also slammed Labour for “cracking down on our rights” by proscribing Palestine Action, revoking campaigner passes at conference and introducing digital ID. “The alarm bells of authoritarianism are ringing loud and clear,” he argued.
One-word slogan: “Everything we do between now and the next election must be bold,” Polanski said. “Bold Politics,” the lectern slogan read (which just happens to be the name of his podcast.) “Boldness means connecting right now with how hard it is for so many people,” Polanski said. Posters of Polanski and party figures pledging “bold plans” were plastered everywhere at the conference center.
Loadsa buzz: Photographers crowded around the leader and his predecessor Carla Denyer in a vibe more reminiscent of a Nigel Farage press conference. “It’s been phenomenal,” one long-standing party figure told Noah about the boost in interest, crediting Polanski’s viral videos. The person said part of the success is down to mirroring Reform’s campaign style, noting: “Reform know how to speak to people.” An elected Green said the leadership change has given the movement “a new lease of life.”
Of course: There were the usual Green eccentricities the environmentalists will never quite shake off — and wouldn’t want to. Posters called for the abolition of landlords, a topic up for debate at the conference (which might not go down well with well-heeled, second home-owning Green voters.) And almost all the hot food in the exhibition hall was vegan. The Green Party shop is selling “Zacktavist” mugs for £7. Officials insist there’s no one-man-band-ism or cult of personality here.
STILL TO COME: The fringe chit chat continues with sessions on beating Reform, integrating refugees into Bristol and the rights of nature, all starting at 6.30 p.m. And there are parties, too: a “First Timers Mingle” from 6.30 p.m. … a Local Government Association Reception at 7.45 p.m. … and a Big Green Quiz kicking off at 8 p.m.
DRIVETIME DEBRIEF
WIN FOR WIND: Amid all the net-zero naysaying, green think tankers at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) show wholesale electricity prices were as much as a quarter cheaper last year than they would have been with less or no wind energy on the network. Write-up for Energy and Climate Pro subscribers from our Abby Wallace here.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Resuming talks on a deal with Greenland over seafood, critical minerals and more. Our POLITICO Pro Trade U.K. team have a writeup here.
And speaking of trade: My POLITICO colleagues Graham Lanktree and Tom Bristow have detail on what Keir Starmer wants from his meeting with Narendra Modi in India next week: trade, tech and security partnerships, with a big focus on critical minerals.
What else the government wants to talk about: Directing some £10 million in water firm fines to restore local water routes. Details here.
SOCIAL (MEDIA) AFFAIRS
MODERN POLITICS LATEST: Conservative MP Luke Evans posted a “gotcha bitch” meme on TikTok about his exchange on Question Time with Reform’s Richard Tice.
On which note: The latest John Oxley Substack, about how mainstream politics is going to have to board the TikTok train in a “post-literate” world, is well worth a read. “Labour, Lib Dems, and the Tories need to adapt to this new world,” he argues. “They need to find ways to convey their brand and their policies where the voters are, just as they did with social media and TV before that. It doesn’t mean getting into the populist gutter, but it does mean thinking about what these platforms need, and how it differs from current political communication.”
[Screams into pillow]: “The choice is stark: either embrace the grammar of the new platforms, or retreat into irrelevance while populists and opportunists dominate the feeds,” Oxley writes. “If the health of our democracy depends on informed consent, then the battle for attention on TikTok and its successors is not trivial — it is the frontline.”
TWITTER WAR: Campaigner Owen Jones accused Labour MP Luke Akehurst of having him banned from conference.
BEYOND THE M25
MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Donald Trump gave Hamas until Sunday at 11 p.m. U.K. time to reach an agreement on his plan for Gaza’s future. “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” the U.S. president wrote on Truth Social. Here’s the full story.
Watch this space: Bloomberg hears Gulf nations look intent on pushing ahead with the plan regardless of whether Hamas accepts. A senior Hamas official said the group would respond “very soon.”
On dry land: Israel intercepted the final boat of the 42 vessels in the Gaza humanitarian flotilla that overall carried about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists. The last vessel got around 42.5 nautical miles from the Gaza coast, the first time since Israel’s naval blockade that an unauthorized humanitarian mission got closer than 70 nautical miles to Gaza. The Guardian has a write-up. The Foreign Office said it was “very concerned” for their welfare as they’re set to be held in a desert prison. More from the Times.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Europe must grow stronger to defend against an “axis of autocratic states” targeting liberal democracies, stressing it was “no longer a given” other nations would follow Western values. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said “democratic debate is turning into a debate of hatred.” My POLITICO colleagues have the info.
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TONIGHT’S MEDIA ROUND
LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.), BBC News at Six and Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) all focus on the aftermath of the Manchester synagogue terrorist attack … as does ITV Evening News (6.30 p.m.), which has an interview with Rabbi Daniel Walker who was leading the service inside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue.
Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 7 p.m.): Former Cumbria Police Chief Constable Stuart Hyde (5.05 p.m.) … North Lambeth Rector Sally Hitchiner (5.35 p.m.).
BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Former Northumbria Police Chief Constable Sue Sim.
News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Greater Manchester Combined Authority councillor Arnold Saunders (5.30 p.m.) … former Ministry of Defence Head of Counter Terrorism Chip Chapman (6.30 p.m.).
Drive with Cathy Newman (Times Radio, 5 p.m.): Green Party Leader Zack Polanski … former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk … Bishop of Winchester Philip Mounstephen … former Met Police Firearms Officer Tony Long … former Commission for Countering Extremism Commissioner Robin Simcox … former Tory Cabinet Minister Penny Mordaunt … former Shadow Cabinet Minister Jonathan Ashworth.
Any Questions (Radio 4, 8 p.m.): Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds … Tory MP Aphra Brandreth … crossbench peer Alex Carlile … the Guardian’s George Monbiot.
Newsnight (BBC 2, 10.30 p.m.): Former Met Police Chief Superintendent Dal Babu.
Late Show Live (GB News, 12 a.m.): Former Tory MP Louise Mensch.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: George Mann.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): Broadcaster Carolyn Quinn and commentator Jonathan Lis … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): The Mirror’s Susie Boniface and commentator Benedict Spence.
YOUR WEEKEND IN POLITICS
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Electric vehicles.
GRAB THOSE SANDALS: Green conference continues in Bournemouth with speeches from co-Deputy Leaders Mothin Ali and Rachel Millward. One highlight will be leader Zack Polanski recording a live podcast with campaigner Owen Jones at 6.45 p.m. on Saturday.
TURNING DOWN THE HEAT: Another big protest against the ban on Palestine Action is planned at Trafalgar Square from 1 p.m. on Saturday, despite the police warning their resources might not be able to cope.
AND THE FOLLOWING DAY … there’s a Jewish community commemoration from 2 p.m. on Trafalgar Square, marking the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
FEELING BLUE: Tory conference gets underway in Manchester from Sunday. Full agenda here, and expect a rundown of the best Sunday afternoon events in our Sunday Crunch newsletter.
WEEKEND MEDIA ROUND
Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips (Sky News, 8.30 a.m. on Sunday): The FT’s Stephen Bush … Times Radio’s Anna Mikhailova … the Times’ Sebastian Payne.
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg (BBC One, 9 a.m. on Sunday): Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood … Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch.
The Camilla Tominey Show (GB News, 9.30 a.m. on Sunday): Kemi Badenoch … Labour MP Graham Stringer … Reform UK Chair David Bull.
Lewis Goodall (LBC, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Shabana Mahmood … Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp … Holocaust Educational Trust CEO Karen Pollock.
Sunday Morning with Adam Boulton (Times Radio, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Chris Philp … Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen.
Ayesha Hazarika with Times Radio Drive (Times Radio, 4 p.m. on Sunday): Shadow Home Office Minister Matt Vickers and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng (both 4.30 p.m.) … Labour MP Rachel Taylor … Tory MP Joe Robertson … independent MP Rosie Duffield … the i paper’s Kitty Donaldson.
Westminster Hour (Radio 4, 10 p.m. on Sunday): Labour MP Sarah Smith … Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp … Rud Pedersen’s Jo Tanner … the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith.
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ANY OTHER BUSINESS
NEW GIGS: We have our first female Archbishop of Canterbury: Sarah Mullally. Announcement here … Luke O’Reilly has started as news editor at the New Statesman, having departed LabourList this week … and Joanna Marchong announced she is leaving the Taxpayers’ Alliance to become head of comms at the Adam Smith Institute.
VERY BEST WISHES: Ex-Green Leader Adrian Ramsay won’t be in Bournemouth for conference as he’s attending his father’s funeral.
MEA CULPA: Former Labour MP John Woodcock is a crossbench peer.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: On his Substack, political academic Rob Ford sets out the grim polling picture Keir Starmer and Labour are facing, noting that “the most unpopular prime minister ever heads the most unpopular government ever, with voters already rating Labour worse than the Conservative government they evicted on every aspect of economic management, and rapidly losing faith in Labour on everything else.” Ouchies.
But but but: Ford argues there is “one silver lining” in the polls: the deficit between Labour and Reform is not all that big (around 10 points) due to the vote fragmenting between multiple other parties too. “Several earlier governments have overhauled larger midterm deficits than this and won again,” Ford writes.
Not helping: On PolHome, Matilda Martin meanwhile reports that Labour is struggling to get its own activists to knock on doors, amid the dire mood about the government.
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: On Oct. 3, 1932 Iraq gained its independence from Britain. On the same day in 1952, Britain became the world’s third nuclear nation with a test at Monte Bello Island, Australia. And in 2024, Britain announced it would give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
WRITING SUNDAY CRUNCH: Mason Boycott-Owen.
WRITING PLAYBOOK MONDAY MORNING: Sam Blewett.
THANKS TO: My editor Ali Walker, reporter Noah Keate and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.
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