Simon says … have a no-confidence vote

Press play to listen to this article
Voiced by artificial intelligence.
What’s driving the day in London.
By DAN BLOOM
Send tips here | Subscribe for free | Listen to Playbook and view in your browser
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary on the road to the Republican nomination for president — with 91 percent of votes counted, the ex-president had 54.8 percent to rival Nikki Haley’s 43.2 percent. The ex-U.N. ambassador will now face pressure to end her campaign, but Haley told backers: “This race is far from over.”
Over here: Expect U.K. ministers to carry on doing their utmost not to pass comment. It’s a tricky spot. Savanta put out polling on Tuesday night that says 72 percent of the U.K. public think Trump is “irresponsible,” 68 percent “dishonest” and 64 percent “incompetent.” On the other hand, if he’d stayed, we might have got a trade deal … right?
Good Wednesday morning. This is Dan Bloom.
CHARGE OF THE RIGHT BRIGADE: At last — Andrea Jenkyns is alone no more. Rishi Sunak faces PMQs at a moment of extreme crisis today after the number of Tory MPs publicly demanding he quit doubled to *checks notes* two.
Simon says, go away! Ex-Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Liz Truss pal Simon Clarke’s Telegraph op-ed goes so hard, it’s no wonder Tory MPs have lined up to call it a playground wheeze (and dumped playground insults on him in revenge). “Massacre” … “sleepwalking towards an avoidable annihilation” … Sunak “does not get what Britain needs” … and a leadership contest “need only take a week.”
It doesn’t say … if Clarke will *cough* withdraw then re-submit his no-confidence letter like he did in 2018.
THE KEY QUESTION: Is whether other MPs follow Clarke. It should be obvious that an ex-minister calling for your head is sub-optimal … many, many Tory MPs are privately glum about the election … and every campaign of no-confidence letters has to start somewhere before hitting the magic 53.
But … the vitriol from Tories unconvinced by a *third* change of leader on the trot suggests plotters, err, aren’t all queuing in the aisles.
Blowing up: Nuclear Minister Andrew Bowie WhatsApped “get a f*cking grip” (via Aubrey Allegretti) … Andrew Percy added “FFS!” (via James Heale) … Priti Patel called it “facile and divisive” … David Davis said “silly” MPs are “putting their own leadership ambitions” first … a Tory MP tells Playbook Clarke is a “self-indulgent tosser” … and there’s a quote so eye-popping to ITV’s Kieron Clarke that Playbook chickened out of repeating it. It starts with the words “self-fellating” and gets worse from there.
Not even her! As PA’s Nina Lloyd reports, ex-PM Liz Truss has made clear she doesn’t back Clarke’s intervention.
Not even them! The Telegraph doesn’t actually splash the story — though that’s thanks to Defense Editor Danielle Sheridan’s different scoop, that head of the army Patrick Sanders will say the public could be called up to fight if Britain goes to war. Sanders is speaking at the International Armoured Vehicles expo at 10.15 a.m.
ON THE OTHER HAND: On the 10 O’Clock news, BBC Pol Ed Chris Mason argued it’s “entirely possible” more MPs join Clarke. “Amongst some there is such a deep gloom that they think anything is worth a go,” he said.
Enormous if true: GB News’ Christopher Hope was also “picking up speculation from two Conservative MPs that a serving Cabinet minister could be on the verge of quitting.” Which is … caveated.
SAY UNEASE! All this is the perfect build-up for tonight’s planned “family photo” of Tory MPs in the Commons chamber — to mark the centenary of the 1922 committee (founded in 1923). After about five cancelations, MPs have been asked to turn up after business ends, which could be 7.30 p.m. or earlier. 
Who’ll stand next to whom? Clarke’s piece appears just as the leadership maneuvers rumor mill has been cranking a little faster. Two MPs complained Clarke would support Kemi Badenoch if (as most predict) she runs when the time comes. The Telegraph has a runners and riders piece putting the business and trade secretary at the top.
No plot here: Clarke denied he was “positioning myself or on behalf of another,” adding: “Personal insults don’t change the facts. I have no further comment to make.”
REGARDLESS: It won’t have gone unnoticed in No. 10 that the Telegraph ties Clarke’s op-ed to last week’s YouGov poll, funded by the mysterious Conservative Britain Alliance of donors (who are clearly hostile to Sunak). Is it orchestrated?
Proper Kremlinology: The Times reports Clarke sent his letter to Graham Brady “several weeks ago” … but ex-Labour staffer Tom Hamilton spotted that the Telegraph op-ed twice uses the phrase “in January” instead of “this month.” Was it being saved, then brought forward?
She might know: Nadine Dorries certainly seems to think there’ll be more letters. Does she think there’s a … plot?
We’ve tried this one before: One MP grumbles to Playbook that the plotters “won’t have the numbers. Getting those letters in is no easy task. There are people who will stand up in the chamber and call for a PM to go, but they wouldn’t put a letter in. All Simon is doing is helping fulfill his own prophecy.”
LOVING ALL THIS: It took 22 minutes for the Lib Dems to issue a quote calling it all “utterly ludicrous,” and Labour’s Pat McFadden soon followed to dump on the “circular firing squad.”
NOT SO FRIENDLY: The Telegraph’s latest poll question asks if voters prefer Labour leader Keir Starmer or — *deep breath* — a “new Tory leader who was stronger on crime and migration, who cut taxes and got NHS waiting lists down.” Apparently this hypothetical super-leader is preferred to Sunak, for some reason. YouGov is due to publish the exact results breakdown and question wording later today.
Speaking of which: The New Statesman’s Andrew Marr has a cover story on the Telegraph’s frayed relationship with Sunak — despite it wanting government intervention to block an Abu Dhabi-linked takeover (Ofcom and CMA reports are due this Friday). Marr argues the “hacking of a protective arm” is down to the un-clubbable personality of Editor Chris Evans.
IN THE COMMONS: A “general debate on the situation in the Red Sea” — following Monday’s second round of U.K.-U.S. airstrikes on Houthi rebel sites in Yemen — will start mid-to-late afternoon and run until 7 p.m. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps is set to open and Foreign Minister Andrew Mitchell to wind up.
Escalation: The Foreign Office hit back overnight after Houthi authorities asked British and U.S. aid workers to leave Yemen. A spokesperson said the country is facing “one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises. Nothing should be done that hinders their ability to deliver.”
More escalation? Sunak’s warning that the second round of strikes may not be the last makes page 1 of the Guardian and Times. A joint statement from 24 nations on Tuesday night backed the action so far.
This won’t help: The Mail has a spread on the Navy’s two aircraft carriers still “idling in tranquil waters off the Solent.”
NEXT MOVE? The i’s Jane Merrick and Hugo Gye hear (as does Playbook) that the U.K. is considering whether to proscribe the Houthis as a terror group, now that the U.S. has done so. As the i points out, proscription would make it a crime to express support. Remember those chants of “Yemen, Yemen make us proud, turn another ship around”?
One thing to note: Sunak was asked about this in the Commons on Tuesday, and said “just to clarify,” the U.S. hasn’t put the Houthis under full proscription. Is that a nuance the U.K. could ape? As ever, the government refuses to comment on proscription in advance.
CAM AIR: Foreign Secretary David Cameron lands in Israel in a few hours to meet PM Benjamin Netanyahu — who has been somewhat testing Britain’s vow to stand steadfastly by the nation’s side in its war with Hamas. Cameron is expected to raise the importance of the two-state solution, which Netanyahu publicly rejected in recent days.
Grim picture in Gaza: Cameron said in an overnight press release: “An immediate pause is now necessary to get aid in and hostages out. The situation is desperate.”
On the ground: Israel and Hamas now broadly agree an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners could take place during a month-long cease-fire — but it’s being held up by differences over the long-term future, reports Reuters.
What’s next: Cameron will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas before flying to Qatar tonight, then Turkey, for further talks.
SPEAKING OF CAMERON: Neither No. 10, the Cabinet Office nor the Foreign Office have said if David Cameron will willingly start coming to the bar of the Commons to face questions from MPs — a widely trailed move suggested in a Procedure Committee report today. 
Meanwhile … the report has managed to spark a stats ding-dong after Labour said the Foreign Office has only made two Commons statements (excluding UQs) on foreign affairs since Cameron took his job on November 13, despite the many crises. Shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell accused the government of “running scared.”
Two can play at that: Team Cameron hit back by totting up 299 minutes of parliamentary scrutiny for him since November 13 (including committees and the Lords) — plus 828 minutes for his junior Andrew Mitchell … 491 for Anne-Marie Trevelyan … and 619 for Leo Docherty. Researchers get all the best jobs … 
CRIME WEEK: Keir Starmer is due to start his second fortnightly “missions tour” after PMQs — this time on crime, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, somewhere in the South East until Friday. The Labour leader has a 9 p.m. interview with ITV’s Peston, and chats with print newspapers should appear soon after.
To the point: Starmer kicks it off by telling the Sun and the Mirror he would extend plans (promised by Sunak last August) to tighten the law on “zombie” knives, saying they are “still too weak.” Though actor Idris Elba did help push things along last week, and the government is reported to be announcing legislation this week.
SCOOP — KING’S SPEECH PREP: Labour has a “future legislation committee” drawing up tentative plans for Starmer’s first King’s Speech (if he wins the election), four party figures say. The i hears the same.
The logic … insiders tell Playbook, is that a first King’s Speech would be needed within weeks of the election. So a longlist of possible legislation — and the sequencing — is part of that process. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ “fiscal lock” could be fairly straightforward, but Deputy Leader Angela Rayner’s workers’ rights laws (which she said she would bring forward in the first 100 days) are more complex.
Playing down: Those Playbook spoke to stressed it is only one part of preparations for government — including a “unit” in Labour’s Southwark HQ, and civil service access talks which Starmer requested last week. The future legislation committee appears to mirror the government’s Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, as members are said to include the Lords and Commons chief whips, the shadow attorney general, shadow Lords and Commons leaders, and Chief of Staff Sue Gray.
Meanwhile: The February 8 deadline for manifesto policies inches closer. Yet not all frontbenchers are gloomy about the relentless “bomb-proofing” of their ideas. One enthuses “the Sue Gray effect is amazing” — more than in previous elections, it’s been drilled into people that “anything you say as a shadow minister could be used against you in literally a few weeks’ time.” Sounds like a hoot!
IN ROCHDALE: Still no confirmation or denial on whether lobby hack Paul Waugh has applied for selection to be a Labour candidate, after the death of veteran incumbent Tony Lloyd. Will all be revealed soon? Michael Crick reckons the deadline to apply was midnight, and Playbook hears interviews were being scheduled for today.
Eyes emoji: Starmer gave a speech to lobby hacks (more below) on Tuesday night that, surely by coincidence, had an awful lot in common with one of Waugh’s most recent columns. The Labour leader joked that TV show The Traitors is “sort of like the 1922 committee — they all get together in a crumbling historic building, they take lumps out of each other, before regular, secretive votes.” 
TRICKY JOB: Meanwhile, Playbook hears new MP Alistair Strathern has joined Labour’s front bench … as a PPS to both Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Shadow Climate Secretary Ed Miliband. Let’s hope he’s swotted up on the £28 billion question.
BREAKING THIS MORNING: Regulator Ofcom has just published its review of the universal postal service — which included the vexed question of Saturday deliveries. This has that tingly feeling of one of those issues that could rapidly fill MPs’ postbags in the days ahead. Or, y’know, not fill them. Depending what happens to the post.
Trying to get ahead: Royal Mail Chair Keith Williams has a Times article arguing “nostalgia for a bygone era is not going to turn back the clock” … No. 10 has said it won’t “countenance” scrapping Saturday post … and posties’ union CWU said the report was “dead in the water” before it came out.
Let’s ask him: Postal Minister Kevin Hollinrake is on the morning round (to talk about plans to ban fake reviews and hidden fees as part of the Digital Markets Bill).
DEBATING NORTHERN IRELAND: All Commons stages of a bill to let Stormont meet for a few more weeks should pass in three hours (or less) this afternoon. The short extension has raised hopes that the DUP can finally be coaxed back into allowing the Northern Ireland Assembly to sit. Says one MP: “I think it’s nearly there. But they can still f*ck it up.”
NOT A GOOD LOOK: Labour peer Peter Goldsmith has declared earnings of more than £380,000 for legal work on behalf of Azerbaijan, despite its human rights record, TalkTV spotted.
BOMBSHELL: News that the new Hinkley Point nuclear plant could take until 2031 to build and cost up to £46 billion in today’s prices splashes the FT, two weeks after the government’s long-awaited “roadmap” to 2050.
FALLOUT: Prospect union members at the Atomic Weapons Establishment are on strike today.
NOT CHILD’S PLAY: April’s planned ramp-up of free childcare hours is back in the news. The Sutton Trust says it could widen inequality as only a fifth of parents earning under £20,000 will be eligible. Via PA.
THE IT CROWD: Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has a 9.10 a.m. speech at the Bett Conference about technology in education.
TRUSS WAS RIGHT! OBR chief Richard Hughes told peers his watchdog’s forecasts were “a work of fiction” last year (but blamed the government), via the Guardian.
Glass half full/empty: The FT picks up on Hughes telling peers that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has only “tiny” margin for error with the long-term debt target … but the Mail, i and Guardian lean into sunnier economists saying he has £20 billion of headroom for the March budget.
Budget lobbying … is already in full swing with calls (via the Sun) for the chancellor to launch a consultation on a court ruling that could add 20 percent VAT to private hire and minicab fares.
POOR WELFARE: The Mirror has FOI requests that show more than 100 self-harm or suicide incidents were recorded at “Jobcentres and other benefits providers” since 2014.
GONE MISSING: My colleague Charlie Cooper has a fun piece on the ​​London Energy Security Conference. What’s that, you ask? Good question — it was announced with great fanfare last August, but with supposedly weeks to go there is no confirmed venue, no clear agenda, and no invitations have gone out. 
STILL OFF TRACK: Transport Secretary Mark Harper seems to have set hares running by saying he’ll look at northern mayors’ HS2 revival plans with an “open mind” (via Sky). The DfT and No. 10 have since both dumped on suggestions the Birmingham-Manchester leg may be brought back.
BIG GROUP: More than 500 political staffers, activists and councilors have signed an open letter to the major parties by the Our Voice Matters campaign, urging changes to tackle sexual harassment.
SW1 EVENTS: The Council on Geostrategy talks Indo-Pacific with Shadow Foreign Office Minister Catherine West at 9 a.m. … Reform looks at the state of the state with speakers including former DfE Permanent Secretary Jonathan Slater from 9 a.m. … Ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel is at a Policy Exchange event on protest and policing from noon with ex-Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe and peer Alex Carlile … and Special Envoy for Girls’ Education Helen Grant is at an International Day of Education reception in the CPA Room, Westminster Hall at 6 p.m.
REPORTS OUT TODAY: Policy Exchange says the U.K. shouldn’t enter a global subsidy race … the Jo Cox Civility Commission argues the government should fund a central unit to address abuse of politicians … and Hospice U.K. and the APPG for Hospice and End of Life Care call for a national plan to ensure hospices receive the correct funding.
HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sits from 11.30 a.m. with Scotland questions … PMQs at noon … Tory MP Kit Malthouse‘s 10-minute rule bill on road traffic and street works … then the main business is a general debate on defense and international affairs. SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes has the adjournment debate on parliamentary scrutiny of nuclear defense infrastructure.
WESTMINSTER HALL: Debates from 9.30 a.m. on legal protection for hedgerows (led by Tory MP Selaine Saxby) … availability of books in primary schools (led by Labour’s Gill Furniss) … and implementation of the Shared Rural Network (led by Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan).
On Committee corridor: Auditor General Gareth Davies is probed by the Public Accounts Commission (9.20 a.m.) … Transport Minister Guy Opperman is at the Transport Committee on highways (11 a.m.) … DHSC Permanent Secretary Chris Wormald gives evidence to the Public Accounts Committee about reforming adult social care (1.30 p.m.) … Treasury Permanent Secretary James Bowler is questioned by the Treasury Committee (2.15 p.m.) … Children’s Commissioner for England Rachel de Souza is among those probed by the Women and Equalities Committee about STIs in young people (2.45 p.m.) … and Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation Martin Howe is quizzed by the Joint Committee on Human Rights about the Rwanda Bill (4.30 p.m.).
HOUSE OF LORDS: Sits from 3 p.m. with oral questions on changes to the East Coast Mainline timetable, absenteeism in schools and Post Office directors charged with breaches of statutory duties … then the main business is the first day at committee stage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill.
**POLITICO ist jetzt ein Berliner! Playbook is coming to Germany, and bringing its award-winning journalism with it. Expect the same daily digest of politics – but auf Deutsch! Berlin Playbook covers key institutions including the Bundestag, all the way to each of the Bundesländer – every morning. Register to read it here in German.** 
NOT BEYOND BUT: London Mayor Sadiq Khan has written to Thames Water about the “scandalous” five-fold rise in sewage flowing into London’s rivers between 2022 and 2023. PA has more.
Speaking of Khan: The eagle-eyed Playbook reader who spotted his 2021 manifesto had been taken offline informs us it still isn’t back up, three weeks later. City Hall officials insist it’ll be available to any Londoner … er, who asks. They have to e-mail in. Or just use the Wayback Machine.
OFF THE GRID: Scottish papers go big on Tuesday’s big Covid Inquiry revelation — that ex-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon shared her private e-mail with a Covid adviser saying “don’t worry about protocol.” It splashes the Daily Record.
Today at the inquiry: Advisers including Mark Woolhouse and Stephen Reicher are questioned from 10 a.m. ahead of Thursday’s blockbuster featuring current First Minister Humza Yousaf.
TURKISH DELIGHT: The Turkish parliament has ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO, leaving Hungary as the final alliance member still to approve the accession. My colleagues Stuart Lau and Leyla Aksu have more.
Enterprise and Markets Minister Kevin Hollinrake broadcast round: GB News (6.45 a.m.) … Times Radio (7 a.m.) … BBC Breakfast (7.30 a.m.) … LBC (7.50 a.m.) … Today program (8.15 a.m.) … GMB (8.30 a.m.).
Shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell broadcast round: Times Radio (7.50 a.m.) … Sky News (8.15 a.m.) … LBC News (8.50 a.m.) … GB News (9.05 a.m.).
Also on GB News Breakfast: Former Bank of England adviser Roger Gewolb and former U.S. Republican Congressman Joe Walsh (both 7 a.m.) … Labour MP Rupa Huq (8.20 a.m.).
Also on Times Radio Breakfast: Tory MP Tobias Ellwood (7.30 a.m.) … former Director of Communications for Donald Trump’s transition team Bryan Lanza (8.15 a.m.) … Ofcom Chief Executive Melanie Dawes (8.30 a.m.) … Labour peer and former Home Secretary David Blunkett (8.45 a.m.).
Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: Former U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland Mitchell B. Reiss (7.10 a.m.) … Melanie Dawes (9.35 a.m.).
Also on Sky News Breakfast: Tobias Ellwood (7.15 a.m.) … Melanie Dawes (8.45 a.m.).
Also on LBC News: Scottish Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden (7 a.m.) … Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko (8.25 a.m.).
TalkTV Breakfast: Former Downing Street Director of Communications Jonathan Haslam (9.15 a.m.).
Nicky Campbell’s political phone-in (BBC Radio 5 Live 10 a.m.): Tory peer Ed Vaizey … Shadow Environment Minister Emma Hardy … Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine.
Politics Live (BBC Two 11.15 a.m.): Tory MP Chris Clarkson … Shadow Defense Spokesperson Ruth Anderson … the Guardian’s George Monbiot … the IEA’s Reem Ibrahim … Paymaster General John Glen … Shadow Science Secretary Peter Kyle.
PMQs Live (GB News 12 p.m.): Science Minister Andrew Griffith … Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth.
POLITICO UK: The U.K.’s great disappearing energy summit.
Daily Express: Grace lost her life because she “would never leave a friend.”
Daily Mail: In God’s name, why wasn’t he stopped?
Daily Mirror: Grace died trying to protect her friend.
Daily Star: Exhume Pele to prove he’s my dad.
Financial Times: Hinkley Point nuclear plant delayed until 2029 as costs spiral to £46 billion.
i: U.K. prepares for prolonged battle with Yemen rebels.
Metro: Hero vs the timebomb.
The Daily Telegraph: Army chief — public face call-up if U.K. goes to war.
The Guardian: PM warns of more attacks in Yemen as crisis grows.
The Independent: Scandal of 30 staff suspended at one mental health unit.
The Sun: Monster & coward.
The Times: Grieving mother faces “monstrous” triple killer.
WESTMINSTER WEATHER: Sunny intervals and a fresh breeze. Highs of 12C.
SPOTTED … at the women’s lobby drinks in the Cholmondeley Room of the Lords: Labour leader Keir Starmer, who gave praiseworthy name-checks to some of 10 female pol eds — but omitted to mention any tabloid ones … and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, who revealed she was introduced to both the queen of Spain and Theresa May in the ladies’ toilets (not at the same time). Frazer joked of May: “Even then, she knew the best way to network to become leader was to get to know candidates and hang around the ladies’ loos.”
Also spotted … Health Secretary Victoria Atkins … Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves … Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson … Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall … Labour’s Deputy National Campaign Coordinator Ellie Reeves … Social Care Minister Helen Whately … Shadow Ministers Emma Hardy, Tulip Siddiq, Kerry McCarthy, Catherine McKinnell, Nick Smith, Judith Blake, Glenys Thornton and Gillian Merron … Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle … MPs Robert Goodwill, Julie Marson, Ian Levy, Mark Logan, Anna Firth, Damian Green, Matt Warman, Mark Francois, Thérèse Coffey, Gagan Mohindra, Judith Cummins, Carolyn Harris, Chris Elmore, Wendy Chamberlain, Sarah Olney and Joanna Cherry … Green peer Jenny Jones …
And more … No. 10’s Deputy Head of Broadcast Madeline Sibley … SpAds Alice Hopkin, Meg Powell-Chandler and Steph Schwarz … Labour’s Director of Media Comms Sophie Nazemi … Lib Dem media officials Ami Wyllie, Lily Carlse and Sarah Brown … the FT’s Lucy Fisher … the Telegraph’s Amy Gibbons, Genevieve Holl-Allen and Lauren Shirreff … City A.M.’s Jessica Frank-Keyes … the Guardian’s Pippa Crerar, Rowena Mason, Aletha Adu and Eleni Courea … the i’s Chloe Chaplain, Eleanor Langford and Poppy Wood … the Independent’s Kate Devlin … the Express’ Sam Lister and Steph Spyro … the Mail on Sunday’s Anna Mikhailova … the Sun’s Martina Bet … the Sun on Sunday’s Kate Ferguson … the Spectator’s Katy Balls … the House’s Harriet Symonds … Prospect’s Emily Lawford … the BBC’s Vicki Young, Helen Catt and Shelley Phelps … ITV’s Anushka Asthana … Sky’s Beth Rigby and Tamara Cohen … Times Radio’s Kate McCann and Ayesha Hazarika … LBC’s Natasha Clark … GB News’ Rebeca Newnes … AP’s Jill Lawless … PA’s Sophie Wingate and Rhiannon James … Bloomberg’s Kitty Donaldson and Lucy White … PoliticsHome’s Nadine Batchelor-Hunt … LabourList’s Katie Neame … and the iNHouse Communications team including Luciana Berger, Nick Raikes, Beth Robertson and Katie Perrior.
Also spotted … at private members’ club 5 Hertford Street for the Adam Smith Institute’s back to school drinks: Former Tory leadership contender Nadhim Zahawi and his then-campaign manager Brandon Lewis … Ministers Andrew Griffith, Graham Stuart, Felicity Buchan, Chris Philp, Jacob Young, Jo Churchill, Mims Davies, Mike Wood and Esther McVey … No. 10’s Sheridan Westlake … MPs Gavin Williamson, Paul Scully, Bob Seely, Brendan Clarke-Smith, John Penrose, Katherine Fletcher and Andrew Percy … SpAds Victoria Hewson, Caroline Elsom, Dylan Sharpe and Macer Hall … Hacks James Heale, Ben Riley-Smith, Kate Andrews, Hugo Gye, Tom Scotson, Christian Calgie, Dominic Penna, Cindy Yu, Jack Elsom, Ellie Wheatley, Max Young and Paul Staines … and the ASI’s Emily Fielder, Maxwell Marlow, James Price, Mimi Yates and James Lawson.
WELCOME BACK: Lucy Dargahi has returned from maternity leave as Lord Speaker John McFall’s senior communications adviser … her maternity cover Andy Woodcock moves to do communications for parliament’s Restoration and Renewal project.
NEW GIG: Tom Fieldhouse has started as public affairs manager for Stansted Airport after working at UCL’s Constitution Unit.
JOB ADS: The Cabinet Office is recruiting a deputy head of news who will also be Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden’s press secretary.
TIME TO REMEMBER: Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, MPs can sign the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment, located between the members’ staircase and cloakroom, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. today and Thursday.
GOING, GOING, GONE: The late Betty Boothroyd’s estate raised £84,600 for six charities at auction on Tuesday, including the sale of … a set of board games and a complete series of Columbo on DVD for £550 … three commemorative enamel pill boxes for £90 … a variety of frog related items for £100 … a wooden silhouette cut out of Boothroyd for £210 … and a Fornasetti Milan wastepaper bin for £1,375. The Standard has a good write-up.
NOAH’S CULTURE FIX: Till the Stars Come Down opens at the Dorfman Theatre at 7.30 p.m. until March 16 — a 21-minute walk from Westminster.
NOW READ: In the i, Katy Balls highlights how Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s diplomatic role can make him appear more prime ministerial than Rishi Sunak.
WRITING PLAYBOOK PM: Emilio Casalicchio.
WRITING PLAYBOOK THURSDAY MORNING: Dan Bloom.
BIRTHDAYS: Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski … U.K. Statistics Authority Chair Robert Chote … Civitas founder David Green … Editor-at-large of the Wall Street Journal Gerard Baker.
PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editor Jack Lahart, reporter Noah Keate and producer Seb Starcevic.
SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | London Playbook PM | Playbook Paris | Global Playbook | POLITICO Confidential | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Watcher | Berlin Bulletin | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters