![\"London](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/nl-header_politico_london-playbook.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\nBy ANDREW MCDONALD<\/strong><\/p>\n with BETHANY DAWSON<\/strong><\/p>\n MEA CULPA: <\/strong>Thanks and huge apologies to all who pointed out your Playbook author\u2019s blunder in referring to \u201cGrimsby FC\u201d in Wednesday morning\u2019s email \u2014 the mighty Mariners are of course Grimsby Town FC. I promise to do better in future.<\/p>\n Good Thursday morning<\/strong>. This is Andrew McDonald.<\/p>\n DRIVING THE DAY<\/p>\n COW HERD: <\/strong>It\u2019s another day in SW1 when Keir Starmer\u2019s thoughts will be squarely focused on the conflict in Ukraine. After meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and co. in Downing Street Monday \u2026 the U.S. ambo on Tuesday \u2026 and an apparently tricky call between European leaders and Trump on Wednesday \u2026 the PM will today co-chair the latest \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d call with Zelenskyy and the rest of his Euro pals as the diplomatic whirlwind continues.<\/p>\n Cameras on please, folks: <\/strong>The latest video call was (as of last night, with the usual caveats) slated to take place from 2 p.m., <\/strong>with Starmer, Zelenskyy, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and leaders and officials from around 30 countries. The usual readouts will follow.<\/p>\n **A message from Microsoft:<\/strong> Microsoft is investing \u00a322 billion\u202fin the UK\u2019s AI future.\u202fThe investment includes new datacentres, advanced AI infrastructure and nationwide skills training, helping the UK lead responsibly in the global AI era. Learn how this commitment strengthens Britain\u2019s digital economy.\u202fRead more<\/a>.**<\/strong><\/p>\n Which comes at \u2026 <\/strong>the latest \u201ccritical moment,\u201d as described by No. 10 Wednesday \u2014 though it would be hard to point to any moment in 2025 which could not be described as a critical moment in peace talks for Ukraine. But things are still moving fast on two key fronts that will be front and center today.\u00a0<\/p>\n Revision divisions: <\/strong>Zelenskyy last night submitted a revised version of the peace plan to U.S. negotiators, drawn up in part following his London meeting Monday. His plan whittled down Trump\u2019s initial 28 points to 20, and the call today gives the Ukrainian president the chance to strategize with his allies about how they sell it to Trump \u2014 and feed back any instant reaction they\u2019ve already received.<\/p>\n In the draft: <\/strong>CNN has some detail<\/a>. Crucially, according to the broadcaster, it removes language from the first proposal barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO \u2014 opting for the approach of not mentioning it at all. It proposes a demilitarized zone along the line of contact \u2026 security guarantees in line with Article 5 \u2026 EU membership by 2027 \u2026 raises the level of the cap on Ukraine\u2019s military \u2026 and calls for elections in Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n And on territory: <\/strong>CNN reckons the new Ukrainian draft contains an acceptance of formal U.S. recognition of Russian-occupied territory. That bit, if true \u2014 given Zelenskyy has repeatedly said he won\u2019t make any territorial concessions \u2014 will raise concerns among Ukrainians and their allies. The extent of that concern will be depend on which territories, and whether it goes further than recognition of the long-annexed Crimea. <\/p>\n All of which is \u2026 <\/strong>unlikely to be all that palatable to Russia and Vladimir Putin \u2014 and it isn\u2019t even clear if Putin actually wants peace, of course. As always, what Trump himself thinks is the first hurdle to overcome.<\/p>\n The whirlwind continues? <\/strong>The sales-pitch moment for European leaders might come quicker than expected. Trump revealed last night that Starmer, Macron and Merz had invited him to Europe for a meeting over the weekend \u2026 though he didn\u2019t sound overly keen to commit. \u201cBefore we go to a meeting, we want to know some things,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be wasting time.\u201d Playbook hears the Europeans would want Zelenskyy to be involved in such a meeting, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t on the No. 10 readout: <\/strong>Trump also said he had some \u201clittle disputes\u201d and \u201cstrong words\u201d about Ukraine in his call with the European leaders. No word on whether he called them \u201cweak\u201d to their faces. Still staying above the fray on that stuff, Defence Secretary John Healey told the Sun\u2019s Harry Cole in D.C. last night<\/a> that Trump, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff continue to have Britain\u2019s full backing \u2014 and that Trump didn\u2019t have the U.K. in mind with the \u201cweak\u201d comment anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n On that very note \u2026 <\/strong>Europeans kind of agree with Trump\u2019s assessment of European leaders, new polling for POLITICO<\/a> has found. By strong margins in Germany, France and the U.K. respondents reckoned Trump is more \u201cstrong and decisive\u201d than their own leader. <\/p>\n To be fair: <\/strong>Starmer gets a pretty decent verdict from Brits on how he has handled Trump \u2014 especially considering every other poll verdict on the PM finds his popularity to be somewhere between that of Liz Truss and (former Prince) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Twenty-nine percent thought he was handling Trump well, with the same proportion thinking he was doing badly. Take the win, PM.\u00a0<\/p>\n WILLING TO USE ASSETS: <\/strong>The other moving feast is on the use of Russian frozen assets, which Starmer and co. are hoping will move quickly. Today\u2019s call may offer the big three Europeans an opportunity to try and convince any holdouts \u2014 and, helpfully, chief holdout Bart De Wever of Belgium is in London Friday. His main concern is that Belgium could be left financially exposed if the money needs to be repaid.<\/p>\n Less helpfully \u2026 <\/strong>De Wever doesn\u2019t seem to be shifting. In an interview with Belgian media Wednesday<\/a> he even refused to rule out legal action against the EU \u2014 which is retaliating with a strategy of warning Belgium it could end up being treated like EU outcasts Hungary, my colleague Zoya Sheftalovich writes<\/a>. If Starmer gets involved in that EU bickering, maybe we\u2019ll get some more strong words.<\/p>\n LORDS AND LADIES<\/p>\n PEER PRESSURE: <\/strong>Expect plenty of awkward questions for the PM\u2019s spokesperson at the usual briefing for hacks at 11.30 a.m.<\/strong>, after No. 10 snuck out 25 new Labour peers Wednesday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n Obvious criticisms include \u2026 <\/strong>further enlarging the Lords to the point that Labour plans to bin off hereditary peers won\u2019t make a lick of difference to the second chamber\u2019s bloated size \u2026 giving donor Richard Walker a peerage after he defected to the party last year \u2026 not letting Reform UK or the Greens appoint any peers (or any more, in the latter\u2019s case), despite polling well \u2026 and the question of whatever happened to this explicit promise<\/a> from Starmer to abolish the Lords.\u00a0<\/p>\n Everyone does it! <\/strong>The defense is that the second chamber\u2019s current composition has led to the will of the popular government (don\u2019t laugh) being defied \u2014 and that since the Tories chucked out loads of peers in the Lords, there\u2019s an imbalance they needed to correct to get legislation through.<\/p>\n But still \u2026 <\/strong>in elevating no fewer than nine former or current party aides, Starmer has opened himself up to the exact same criticisms his party used to make of Boris Johnson\u2019s appointments to the chamber. As recently as 2023, multiple shadow ministers were describing<\/a> Johnson\u2019s resignation honors\u2019 list \u2014 which included the likes of former aide Ross Kempsell \u2014 as a \u201ccarousel of cronies.\u201d<\/p>\n That attack line<\/strong> was presumably OK\u2019d by the Labour spinner big-wigs at the time, including Director of Communications Matthew Doyle \u2026 who is now set to become Lord Doyle, following Wednesday\u2019s announcement. Funny how things work out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also getting new lords and ladies: <\/strong>The Lib Dems picked up five new peerages, including two hereditary peers, who will be able to stay in the chamber after their impending abolishment \u2026 and the Tories got three in columnist Simon Heffer, former MP John Redwood and swimmer-turned-gender-critic Sharron Davies. The first two are current Telegraph columnists while the third used to be \u2014 so go to this page<\/a> if you want to predict Kemi Badenoch\u2019s next appointments.\u00a0<\/p>\n And another word for \u2026 <\/strong>the Earl of Kinnoull, Charles Hay, a current hereditary peer given a life peerage as a crossbencher. He commands the only private army left in Europe.<\/p>\n TODAY IN WESTMINSTER<\/p>\n WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: <\/strong>Its new national plan to tackle homelessness, with levels currently at record highs. MHCLG said it was committing \u00a33.5 billion in investment over three years, aimed at halving the number of long-term rough sleepers and preventing households from becoming homeless in the first place. Although the charity Crisis pointed out<\/a> that \u00a33.4 billion of that sum was already committed by the government in the spending review earlier this year. Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern has the morning round, as well as an interview in today\u2019s Guardian<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n What it won\u2019t want to talk about: <\/strong>Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham popped up in an ITV interview last night<\/a> to say the strategy isn\u2019t radical enough, as he called for a return of the \u201ceveryone in\u201d policy from the pandemic. Ever helpful to the government, Burnham also criticized the chancellor\u2019s decision to freeze housing benefit levels and the Home Office\u2019s policy of evicting asylum-seekers from accommodation once given status to remain as \u201cpolicies that actually create\u201d homelessness.\u00a0<\/p>\n In other leadership contender news: <\/strong>In his interview with Harry Cole, Defence Secretary John Healey leaned in<\/a> and said he wasn\u2019t running for the leadership and that the crown \u201cwouldn\u2019t be thrust on me.\u201d Which he had to say, of course.\u00a0<\/p>\n BRADLEY BAGGED: <\/strong>Reform nabbed another defection from the ranks of Tory MPs who lost their seats last year, this time in the form of Ben Bradley \u2014 the former leader of Nottinghamshire Council and MP for Mansfield. He\u2019s been given a job helping Richard Tice cut council spending, the Telegraph\u2019s Tony Diver reports<\/a>. One Tory official said this defection surprised them like other recent ones hadn\u2019t, as Bradley had been up to now \u201cvery loyal to Kemi.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Not currently being offered a Reform gig: <\/strong>The adult star Bonnie Blue has also endorsed Reform, in the pages of today\u2019s Spectator<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n QUESTION OF THE DAY: <\/strong>Is the PM a \u201cmiddle of the road politician\u201d playing into the hands of the far right? The Council of Europe appears to be hitting back at Starmer\u2019s efforts to reform the ECHR, which were endorsed by 27 of the 46 CoE members Wednesday (as covered in Playbook PM). The Council\u2019s commissioner for human rights claims in a Guardian interview<\/a> that for \u201cevery inch yielded, there\u2019s going to be another inch demanded.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n WES VS. THE BMA: <\/strong>Ministers made a new offer to the British Medical Association in an effort to avert next week\u2019s resident doctor strike \u2014 though it didn\u2019t include any offer of extra pay. The union has agreed to put the deal to its members. More from the Beeb here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the Tories want to press Streeting on \u2026<\/strong> the puberty blocker trial. The Tories\u2019 equalities spokesperson Claire Coutinho, out in broadcast studios this morning, has an op-ed which splashes the Mail <\/a>describing the trial as \u201cstate-sanctioned chemical castration of children.\u201d Remember that the drugs were banned after the Cass review came out \u2014 the same review which recommended a clinical trial to provide more evidence on whether the drugs are beneficial.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also expect opposition parties to leap on \u2026 <\/strong>a report from the National Energy System Operator which says the U.K. could save an average of \u00a314 billion a year if it ditched its legally binding target to reach net zero. The report splashes the Times<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n CALIFORNIA DREAMIN<\/strong>\u2019:<\/strong> Tech Secretary Liz Kendall is headed to California for a two-day visit where she\u2019ll be doing the rounds bigging-up the U.K.\u2019s tech partnership with the U.S., our tech colleagues write in. While she\u2019s there, Kendall will be taking part in a fireside chat with Business Secretary Peter Kyle and Google President Ruth Porat at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.<\/p>\n Deep stuff<\/strong>: In other tech news, Google DeepMind has signed an MoU with the government, a deal Keir Starmer described as \u201cnational renewal in action.\u201d<\/p>\n Last night, not in Westminster: <\/strong>Business Secretary Kyle met Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer and \u201ccelebrated the success of the recent pharma deal.\u201d And according to a readout of the meeting, the U.S. committed to implement its new beef tariff quota for British farmers in time for the agreed Jan. 1 deadline.<\/p>\n WHISKY DIPLOMACY: <\/strong>Anne McElvoy interviews EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds on Politics at Sam and Anne\u2019s this morning<\/a>, as he visits Brussels to advance Britain\u2019s reconnection with the EU. He took a bottle of whisky to give to EU Trade Commissioner Maro\u0161 \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d to help smooth the way to agreement on youth mobility and other issues. Anne also pushes the minister on why the government\u2019s promise to get British travelers out of the \u201cother passports\u201d naughty queue has been so slow \u2014 after she spent 90 minutes last week waiting in line to get into Germany.<\/p>\n LIB LAND:<\/strong> Lib Dem MP Al Pinkerton, who forced the customs union vote, told the Telegraph<\/a> there are around a dozen more Labour MPs who could rebel on the issue who are \u201csitting on their hands\u201d because of Labour\u2019s whipping operation. Leader Ed Davey\u2019s Thursday is a bit more festive than customs union chats, though \u2014 he\u2019ll be spending it in Surrey making festive baked goods, decorating cakes and talking about Britain\u2019s high streets. Expect a pool clip around 1 p.m. <\/strong><\/p>\n TODAY AT THE COVID INQUIRY: <\/strong>Former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King and incumbent Andrew Bailey give evidence from 10 a.m.<\/p>\n CAN THEY GET MORE EXPENSIVE? <\/strong>A Home Office policy paper seen by the Times recommends making football clubs and music festivals pay the entire cost of policing the \u201cvicinity\u201d of their events \u2014 which would obviously lead to higher ticket prices. More here<\/a>.<\/p>\n SW1 EVENTS: <\/strong>The U.K. Children\u2019s Parliament, a charity set up by the late Conservative MP David Amess to teach kids about democracy, is holding an event to lobby MPs to suspend the business of the House of Commons for one day to allow primary-aged children to occupy the chamber (4.30 p.m.).<\/p>\n REPORTS OUT TODAY: <\/strong>Residents of buildings waiting for remediation of dangerous cladding are experiencing \u201cunacceptable\u201d delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator\u2019s approval processes, according to Lords\u2019 Industry and Regulators Committee<\/a> \u2026 the Commons should prioritize accessibility and embed it in its culture, says the Modernisation Committee<\/a> \u2026 and the government should get its fair pay agreement for care workers off the ground quickly and set high enforcement standards, says the Resolution Foundation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOUSE OF COMMONS: <\/strong>Sits from 9.30 a.m. with business and trade questions \u2026 business questions to the Leader of the House Alan Campbell<\/strong> \u2026 a debate on St. Andrew\u2019s Day and Scottish affairs \u2026 and a general debate on the impact of foreign interference on security, trade and democracy. An adjournment debate on historic interim development orders.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOUSE OF LORDS:<\/strong> Sits from 11 a.m. with questions on intelligence sharing with the U.S., the role of social media platforms in enabling scam adverts and fraudulent content, and the evidence West Midlands police relied on to make decisions relating to the Aston Villa-Maccabi Tel Aviv match \u2026 a statement on safeguarding \u2026 Infected Blood Compensation Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025 \u2026 a short debate on plans to publish a strategy for a wheelchair provision by NHS and social care services \u2026 and a debate on the Common Good Foundation and Centre for Policy Studies report: \u201cDon\u2019t stop thinking about tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n BEYOND THE M25<\/p>\n GUNNING FOR IT: <\/strong>Big news out of South America, where Argentinian President Javier Milei told the Telegraph<\/a> that his country is in negotiations with the U.K. to overhaul a Falklands-era weapons ban that could allow it to purchase state-of-the-art military technology. The paper reports that Milei is also set to become the first Argentinian president to visit Britain since 1998, likely in April or May. He wants to meet Keir Starmer and opposition leaders including Nigel Farage while he\u2019s here. Chainsaw photo-ops incoming. <\/p>\n NOT HOW THE SAUSAGE IS MADE: <\/strong>Brussels\u2019 battle over whether plant-based foods can be sold as \u201cveggie burgers\u201d and \u201cvegan sausages\u201d ended the year in stalemate on Wednesday, after talks between EU countries and the European Parliament collapsed, my POLITICO colleagues report<\/a>.<\/p>\n FLAT NOTE: <\/strong>Iceland is boycotting next year\u2019s Eurovision<\/a> song contest over Israel\u2019s participation, saying the competition would \u201cneither be a source of joy nor peace.\u201d Iceland is the fifth country to withdraw from the 2026 competition, joining the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia.<\/p>\n TRUMP VS. MADURO LATEST: <\/strong>U.S. President Donald Trump said American forces seized a \u201cvery large\u201d oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a major escalation of the administration\u2019s efforts to punish the South American petrostate. Trump said it was seized for \u201ca very good reason,\u201d without elaborating. A person familiar with the matter told my Stateside colleagues<\/a> that the shipment was bound for Cuba, where the state company Cubametales was planning to sell it to Asian energy brokers.<\/p>\n **A message from Microsoft:<\/strong> Microsoft\u2019s\u202f\u00a322\u202fbillion investment will deliver advanced datacentres, grow AI infrastructure and support nationwide training to help the UK lead responsibly in AI. By deepening our partnerships with institutions and industry, Microsoft is backing the government\u2019s ambition to make the UK a global hub for trusted, transformative technology. This long-term commitment strengthens the UK\u2019s capacity for growth, fuels productivity and creates new opportunities across the economy, from research to real-world applications. Learn how Microsoft\u2019s investment supports Britain\u2019s growth\u202fin the age of AI.\u202fRead more<\/a>.**<\/strong><\/p>\n MEDIA ROUND<\/p>\n Local Government Minister Alison McGovern broadcast round: <\/strong>Times Radio (7.05 a.m.) \u2026 Sky News (7.15 a.m.) \u2026 LBC (7.50 a.m.) \u2026 GMB (8.30 a.m.) \u2026 GB News (9.05 a.m.).\u00a0<\/p>\n Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho broadcast round:<\/strong> Times Radio (7.45 a.m.) \u2026 GB News (8 a.m.) \u2026 Talk (8.15 a.m.) \u2026 LBC News (8.45 a.m.) \u2026 Sky News (9.15 a.m.).\u00a0<\/p>\n Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast:<\/strong> BMA\u2019s Resident Doctors Committee Deputy Co-Chair Arjan Singh<\/strong> (7.05 a.m.) \u2026 NHS Confederation Director of Policy Layla McCay<\/strong> (7.10 a.m.) \u2026 Green Party peer Natalie Bennett<\/strong> (9.05 a.m.).\u00a0<\/p>\n Also on Times Radio Breakfast: <\/strong>London Ambulance Service Chair Andy Trotter<\/strong> (7.35 a.m.) \u2026 BMA Resident Doctors Committee Deputy Chair Shivam Sharma<\/strong> (8.05 a.m.) \u2026 barrister and crossbench peer Alex Carlile<\/strong> (8.20 a.m.) \u2026 Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset<\/strong> (9.30 a.m.).<\/p>\n TODAY\u2019S FRONT PAGES<\/p>\n POLITICO UK<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Trump dominates in Europe, Europeans tell international POLITICO Poll.<\/p>\n Daily Express<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>They cannot be trusted with Brexit!<\/p>\n Daily Mail<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> Stop Labour\u2019s \u2018grotesque\u2019 puberty drug experiment on children.<\/p>\n Daily Mirror<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> \u00a33.5bn war on homelessness.<\/p>\n Daily Star<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Champ Luke\u2019s \u00a350-a-week pocket money.<\/p>\n Financial Times<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> Fed cuts rates to lowest in three years as weak jobs market eclipses inflation.<\/p>\n Metro<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Defensive trawl for World Cup fans.<\/p>\n The Daily Telegraph<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Falklands arms ban must end, says Milei.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> Visitors to US could have to reveal five years of social media activity.<\/p>\n The i Paper<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>UK set to turn back clock on Brexit and rejoin EU\u2019s student exchange scheme from January 2027.<\/p>\n The Independent<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Revealed: Britain\u2019s \u2018racist\u2019 system of stripping citizenship.<\/p>\n The Sun<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Davina weds in secret.<\/p>\n The Times<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Net zero plan to cost households \u00a3500 a year.<\/p>\n TODAY\u2019S NEWS MAGS<\/p>\n\n \n<\/tr>\n \n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FY26_OML_Microsoft__POLITICO_Ad_Banner_Layout_300x250.png\")
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