An interesting media strategy from No10 as it demands footage of Starmer tripping over at the G20 is taken down. Taken by a regular broadcast cameraman…
Downing Street is upset that the footage went to broadcast and is asking for it to be taken down/not shown again. This is the video in question:
And again:
It’s not North Korea yet lads…
Nearly half of all Labour voters want Starmer to leave Downing Street before the next general election, according to new YouGov polling in the Times. Just wait until they see next week’s Winter Budget…
The survey, conducted last week, found that 23 percent of Labour voters want Starmer to resign immediately, with another 22 percent saying he should throw in the towel before the next election. Only 34% think he should even bother leading Labour into that election, whenever it is…
At the time of going to pixel, Morgan McSweeney still has a job. But yesterday Starmer gave him the ‘full confidence’ kiss of death, and today all fingers point towards Morgan for starting the anti-Streeting briefing war. So Guido is just doing the Prime Minister a favour by getting this out of the way early…
Tim Allan – The ringleader of the anti-Morgan cabal and currently No10’s Executive Director of Communications. Could Allan take Downing Street to infinity and beyond?
Tom Baldwin – Starmer’s Hagiographer. Said to be hungry for a comms job in No10, with the likes of Alastair Campbell thought to be lobbying for him. Known for writing the Observer puff piece which blew up Starmer’s messaging on immigration…
Jill Cuthbertson – Currently Morgan’s loyal deputy. Spent three years working for Starmer as Director of LOTO’s Office. Previously worked for Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband. So if Starmer also falls, she could stay in post for the Miliband administration…
Ben Nunn – Rachel Reeves’ new Chief of Staff. Would be a big promotion but is said to be ambitious…
Darren Jones – Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. Would save on the wage bill if they folded the role into his current remit…
Alastair Campbell – Podcaster and Twitter addict. Spent today screaming about Robbie Gibb and the BBC, so clearly needs a new hobby. Back to Number 10 to atone for last time?
The News Agents – Why not? It would make little difference to their output. Although it may make Sopel’s return to Bluesky even less likely…
Emilio Casalicchio – Playbook PM author. Produces material for the morning Playbook’s ‘mea culpa’ section…
Others can still throw their hat in the ring, but time is clearly short. Refresh those CVs now – don’t worry too much about Starmer checking them closely…
Downing Street is continuing to spin over the appointment of David Kogan as chair of the football regulator. At today’s Lobby briefing the Number 10 spokesman insisted the PM had been “transparent” in writing to ethics adviser Laurie Magnus last night, despite taking several months to fess up to rubber-stamping Kogan’s appointment. Earlier this week Number 10 was still insisting it was a matter for DCMS. Asked if the Prime Minister had simply forgotten he was supposed to recuse himself from matters relating to football, the No10 spokesman said hacks should refer to Starmer’s letter…
The spokesman could not explain why it has taken this long for Starmer to apologise for the breach because the answer would be too embarrassing: it was Guido’s revelation on Monday that the PM a) is actually recused from football matters and b) accidentally signed off on the appointment. D’oh…
Starmer called the sign-off an “unfortunate error” in his letter, which is obviously not quite the same thing as confessing to a lapse in memory. There is now an ‘internal review’ underway to examine ‘how recusals are managed’. Whether that involves giving the Prime Minister a memory exam is an open question. In any case, Starmer still has total confidence of Kogan, and is certain he did not break the ministerial code. Play on…
Ed Miliband has insisted he isn’t angling for the top job if Keir Starmer resigns. Speaking on the Today programme, Miliband gave Starmer his backing and claimed he’d already had his leadership ambitions flushed out by his last attempt:
“No, no, no… I support Keir. But I’ve had the, if you like, the inoculation technique against wanting to be Leader of the Labour Party because I was the Leader of the Labour Party, and that was a very successful inoculation.”
He also called for the sacking of those responsible for starting yesterday’s No10 briefing war. He must’ve been furious when his allies were blamed for starting the last anti-Starmer briefing war, then…
Number 10 is now insisting Starmer does in fact have ‘full confidence’ in Morgan McSweeney, despite him failing to do so in the Commons half an hour earlier. Although apparently his mealy-mouthed words in the House – “my team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for this country” – were supposedly evidence of that already…
Asked if McSweeney would still have a job by the end of the week, a Number 10 political spokesman added that while Downing Street won’t get into staffing matters, the PM has confidence in his Chief of Staff and he will remain in place. And Morgan thought he’d avoided the ‘full confidence’ kiss of death…
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”