There are rumours in Whitehall that Jonathan Powell will visit China again imminently. Labour can’t get enough…
Sky News’ Beth Rigby reported this afternoon that Starmer is set to go to China at the end of January. Guido hears from insider sources there is a “live discussion” under way with planning meetings going on but that no trip has yet been fully agreed with the Chinese…
Nor is there a decision on the China Embassy as the government begins a series of events around the threat from the Chinese state ahead of the 10th December. The Chinese prefer to have conversations in back channels away from the public eye – hence the secret unannounced visits of several UK officials over the past year. A government source tells Guido “Whitehall is planning for a possible National Security Adviser visit in the very near future.” Powell would likely try go as quietly as possible…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”