Bang goes the summer holiday (2024)

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: The leaders of the U.K., France and Germany warned Iran against attacking Israel, saying Tehran “will bear responsibility” for actions that imperil an “opportunity for peace and stability” in the Middle East. A joint statement released an hour ago agreed with the U.S., Egypt and Qatar that there “can be no further delay” in resuming negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire and hostage release.

Rising tension: It’s nearly two weeks since Iran warned of “painful” retaliation for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Axios reported last night that Israeli intelligence believes an Iranian attack is likely within days. Some 310 days since October 7, as Gaza’s reported death toll nears 40,000, U.K. officials will be hoping an already calamitous situation does not escalate further.

Good Monday morning. This is Dan Bloom.

DRIVING THE DAY

NO REST FOR THE WICKED: These are the dog days of summer, and Keir Starmer was meant to be on a sun lounger in Europe this week — but the far-right riots have put paid to that. The prime minister’s first major crisis has forced him to delay his long-planned summer break to show everyone he’s working extremely hard and is very much on top of things. Still — it’s baking hot, deep in recess … so at least he’ll get to WFH at Chequers a bit (Whitehall types will be pleased). No word yet on whether he’ll slip away to the pool.

Not silly season yet, but … The government diary looks fairly recessy today. Playbook had not caught wind of any public-facing plans from ministers when we went to pixel — with no one on the broadcast round, no public appearances in the diary for the PM (No. 10 wouldn’t say if he’s at Downing Street or Chequers today), and with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper locked in meetings with officials and police. We don’t even have the Olympics to keep us occupied now, and the Premier League season only restarts on Friday night.

**A message from Goldman Sachs: Private equity is expected to be a key driver in the 2024 market. An unprecedented $1.2 trillion in private equity dry powder coupled with macro drivers could cause a robust ripple effect of M&A and financing opportunities. Goldman Sachs’ latest whitepaper dives into how private equity activity could catalyse opportunity in 2024. Learn more.**

That said: Political hacks wondering what to write about have the weekly Lobby briefing this morning to keep them occupied … plus monthly employment stats on Tuesday … inflation stats on Wednesday, with the CPI projected to tick up again … and quarterly GDP figures and A-level results on Thursday. And who knows — ministers/Starmer could pop up by the time today is out too.

AND BREATHE: The past weekend was notable for what *wasn’t* in the headlines. The Guardian reports that planned far-right action in Newcastle, Liverpool, Basildon, Wakefield and Shrewsbury did not happen, while the i’s Hugo Gye hears ministers are “quietly confident” the large-scale rioting is over (for now). COBR meetings in the coming days are likely to be at an official and policing level only. Government officials Playbook spoke to were much less keen to jinx it, but for the time being all seems relatively calm.

This might’ve helped: In a bumper analysis, the BBC’s Joe Pike reports that police chiefs and prosecutors have been “wheeled out to land core messages with authority,” like scientists during Covid-19. And lo, Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson told the Sunday Times people could be charged with rioting, which carries up to 10 years’ jail. The Mail splashes on Sunday’s funeral of 9-year-old Southport victim Alice da Silva Aguiar, where Merseyside Police’s chief constable said rioters should “hang their heads in shame.”

That deterrent in full: The National Police Chiefs Council told Playbook 927 people have now been arrested in connection with the disorder — up 150-ish in a day — with 466 charges so far. Expect a drip-drip of sentencings all day. Lucy Connolly, the wife of a Tory councillor, is due at Northampton Crown Court (she has not yet entered a plea).

BUT BUT BUT … Starmer will likely be waking up Tuesday morning to a new headache that you can only get from two messy billionaires who live for drama. X owner Elon Musk is planning a “live conversation” with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump tonight, at 1 a.m. U.K. time. It seems highly likely the riots in Britain (and Starmer’s handling of it all) will come up.

From Stalin to Mr Bean: Musk has been continuing his verbal volleys against “messed up” heavy-handed riot sentences — including here, here, here and, er, retweeting Rowan Atkinson talking about free speech. And Starmer’s next big move won’t impress him either. As Bloomberg reported on Friday, government officials are mulling whether to close “gaps” in regulation — which could include reviving curbs on “legal but harmful” content that were looked at in the passage of the Online Safety Act. One official tells Playbook: “That’s the work that we will move to now that the immediate moment has passed.”

A taste of how it might go: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage popped up on Fox News last night to say Starmer “chose to take the knee” during the Black Lives Matter protests, but now that it’s “white working-class British people protesting,” the “boot is on the other foot.” Starmer, he added, “poses I think the biggest threat to free speech in our history.”

ICYMI: “Stand Up to Racism” protesters massed outside Reform UK’s London HQ on Saturday — video from the Skycopter here.

In the meantime … Hacks can look forward to the spectacle of Starmer’s civil service spokesperson — who rebuked Musk last week — trying his best not to worsen the spat at this morning’s Lobby briefing. Good luck, as they say, with that.

Even Jess is sick of it (ish): Home Office minister and self-confessed tweeting addict Jess Phillips told a Fringe audience X is now a “place of misery” and “I’m just not going to use it very much” in future — via PA. Phillips has, naturally, tweeted the story link here.

AS FOR PRISONS: Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was unable to guarantee to Sky that rioters won’t be released early, under Labour plans to make space in jails. Now Playbook is told some rioters will indeed be released after 40 percent of their sentences — because the rules for them are the same as for other criminals. Reminder: The rule is that people sentenced to less than four years (with a few exceptions) will be out of jail 40 percent of the way through.

Brace for disruption: Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has already been out rolling the pitch, writing in the Observer that the impact “will be felt for months and years to come.”

Plans for policing: As the Sun on Sunday’s Sophia Sleigh first reported, ministers are working on a wider ban on face coverings at protests.

And schools: Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told the Sunday Telegraph’s Nick Gutteridge that her curriculum review — to report back next year — will include “critical thinking” lessons for school children as young as 5 to learn how to spot misinformation.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wary of giving the rioters any excuse, Downing Street and the Home Office aren’t keen to move on to talk about wider community tensions that may lie behind some of this disorder. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has an op-ed (it splashes the Telegraph) that tries to keep the focus firmly on swift justice: “Those who try to suggest that this violence is about protest and grievance are making excuses for criminals and thugs.”

But but but … That hasn’t stopped the Guardian splashing on an op-ed by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who says the “lies and misinformation” that fueled the rioting “flourished in fertile ground cultivated by years of rhetoric from some of our press and politicians.” He joins a hit parade of other voices giving their two penn’orth over the weekend — including Labour’s veteran of battles against the far right Margaret Hodge, who told the Observer “we’ve always been too frightened to talk about immigration.”

But sometimes it’s not about anything: Stacey Vint was jailed after pushing a flaming wheelie bin into police and falling over in a viral clip. The judge found she had no racist motivation — she’d just been smoking cannabis and leaned into all the chaos. Via Lizzy Dearden.

Meanwhile in immigration: Two people died while trying to cross the Channel in a small boat on Sunday, after Dina Al Shammari, 21, died similarly on July 28. Home Office officials are concerned there is a trend of people-smugglers overloading boats more heavily — Al Shammari’s was so rammed, her mother said she “wasn’t able to breathe.”

RUH-ROH: Ex-spy Christopher Steele told Times Radio “I think it’s clear there is some Russian involvement” in the initial disinformation … andthe security services “will be looking very carefully” at people like Tommy Robinson and “even conceivably Nigel Farage”for their social media posts.The Guardian writes it up.

Speaking of Robinson: It’s worth checking out the deep dives by Saturday’s Times and the Sunday Times’ Gabriel Pogrund into his finances.

Tiers for Keir: Directors of defense think tank RUSI have an article in the Guardian saying the U.K. has a “two-tier approach” to Islamist and far-right extremism … while the Mail has picked up on new Labour MP Dan Norris saying eco-protesters who organized a shutdown of the M25 “were punished far too severely.”

THE REAL VICTIM IN ALL THIS? A couple of polls over the weekend suggested Starmer’s personal approval rating is starting to dip, including this Savanta survey.

But silver lining! At least Starmer’s not in the position of then-London Mayor Boris Johnson during the 2011 riots. His sister Rachel told her LBC show that his slow response was because he was in an RV in Canada with four of his children and wife Marina — who is 5ft 2in and couldn’t reach the pedals. “He had to drive the RV to an international airport,” she said. Yeah … you can sorta see why he didn’t wheel that excuse out at the time.

PLANET TORY

SIX SUBMARINES: The Tory leadership contest will keep simmering with little fanfare this week, with contenders mainly talking to “friendly” media outlets and party members. The first hustings in Gloucestershire (via the Sun on Sunday and Mail on Sunday) saw Kemi Badenoch insist she was not “controlled” by Michael Gove.

Periscope up! The one candidate not holding back on policy is rank outsider Mel Stride. On GB News, the ex-work and pensions secretary floated the idea that the “first £5,000 of national insurance” paid in people’s first jobs should instead pay for a house deposit … basically said he’d cut the 12 percent rate of stamp duty on house prices over £1.5 million … backed a cap on immigration that “needs to be probably in the tens of thousands” … and told the Telegraph he would “end parachuting in parliamentary candidates from the center.” A policy splurge worked for his friend Rishi Sunak … right?

But the more interesting debate … is over whether candidates would leave the European Convention on Human Rights. Priti Patel, who is no wet, told Saturday’s Times: “It is a divisive policy at a time when we need to unite.” Allies tell Playbook she is alive to the reality of a shrunken parliamentary party that no longer leans as much to the right.

In other news: Stride has more interviews due out mid-week … James Cleverly was backed by former Scottish Conservative Party Leader Ruth Davidson … Robert Jenrick has a dozen engagements with local members this week in Wandsworth, Richmond, Westminster, Tewkesbury, Kent, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Berkshire, Windsor and Leicestershire … Badenoch is in Kent … Tugendhat is in the West Midlands … and Patel was in Swindon and Gloucestershire over the weekend, telling Saturday’s Times “there does seem to be a perception of two-tier policing.”

Spat of the day: Patel vs. the government, which has nixed Tory proposals to introduce a “U.K. connection test” in social housing applications. Today’s Telegraph reports that it’ll do away with a proposed ban on terrorists obtaining social housing too — which Patel says will “put the interests of violent criminals and terrorists ahead of decent, hard-working British families.” A Labour official hits back that the Tory plans were slammed by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation and “this desperate, failed former home secretary is debasing herself further by exploiting recent events for her own self-promotion.” Eep!

Bad news: Some 68 percent of people told Savanta the Tories are “unelectable” right now, while BMG found few of the contenders are well-recognized and two-thirds of voters don’t have a favorite to win.

TODAY IN WESTMINSTER

PARLIAMENT: Browsing duty free (unless you’re Keir Starmer).

SUE FOR PEACE: No. 10 may face more Lobby questions today on the Mail on Sunday’s splash from “sources” who claimed chief of staff Sue Gray is hindering access to the PM, even for security briefings. A Downing Street source told the paper it was “noises off from people who don’t know what they’re talking about.” Officials pushed back more forcefully to Playbook last night, with one saying it was “codswallop” and “nonsense” to suggest Gray had stood in the way of the PM getting security briefings.

But but but … Given hostile briefings can themselves be a sign of tension, you sense the long drip-drip of stories may continue. The Times’ Oliver Wright today reckons Gray suspects strategy chief Morgan McSweeney “of being behind briefings against her,” while Mail columnist Nadine Dorries helps by telling the Mail’s Martin Beckford: “She’s Dominic Cummings mark 2 and it will all end in tears.”

EYES DOWN: This Thursday’s A-level results will renew conversations about the funding crisis facing universities. “Senior education sources” tell the Telegraph’s Poppy Wood they expect more pupils than in previous years to be awarded their first-choice uni, even if they don’t get the grades.

GREEN LIGHT: The Labour government is set to give councils the power to compulsorily purchase green belt land for the first time — and at knock-down rates, reports Oliver Wright in the Times splash. If officially confirmed it will become a very interesting loyalty test for Labour’s new voter coalition in the south of England … not to mention its relationships with big-money investors.

YELLOW SIGNAL: The Lib Dems are playing to their new Home Counties constituencies with an FOI showing 988,419 minutes were lost to train delays because of signal failures since 2018/19. PA’s Helen Corbett writes it up.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: An eight-week consultation starts today on doubling the compensation water firms would have to pay to customers (which hasn’t changed since 2000) when key standards aren’t met. It would mean payments rise from £20 to £40 for many breaches (list here — don’t spend it all at once, etc), up to £2,000 if sewers back up and flood a property. Officials say the change doesn’t need legislation so could be done pretty swiftly. It gets write-ups including from the BBC.

FACING QUESTIONS: Hacks might also ask about The Mail on Sunday deep dive into the living arrangements of City Minister Tulip Siddiq. The question it raised was whether she was paying market rent, and if not, whether she should have declared her home as a benefit. “Labour sources” suggest to today’s Times that she was, but there has been no on-record comment.

GRIM READING: Hundreds of doctors and nurses are practising despite being accused of serious sexual assault and rape in the last six years, the Independent found via FOI requests.

CLIVE ISSUE: The Labour Against Antisemitism campaign group has called for Clive Lewis to have the Labour whip suspended over this tweet he sent on Saturday night about Israel’s strike on a Gaza school building. Via Sky News’ Alexandra Rogers.

CHECK THE RECEIPTS: HM Revenue and Customs is now owed £43 billion in unpaid tax and projects 45 percent of it will never be paid back. H/t the Times’ Max Kendix, who spotted the line in the small print of HMRC’s annual report.

SHOULDERING THE BLAME: Abandoning proposals for 14 smart motorways in April 2023 cost £62 million in planning and design costs, the i’s Ben Gartside found. Likewise, it’s from the small print of the DfT’s annual report.

OUR FRIENDS IN BRUSSELS: My POLITICO Pro colleagues have a good read on how the boring-sounding Product Safety and Metrology Bill — which will make it easier for the U.K. to align with EU product safety standards without needing primary legislation — could become a “major post-Brexit moment.” The bill hasn’t been published yet, but has already prompted sound and fury from Euroskeptics. Whether a Labour government with a huge majority listens to them is another question.

LAST ORDERS: Twenty-seven firms that received taxpayer-funded COVID start-up loans under Rishi Sunak’s Future Fund are going through a wind-up process in the courts — meaning the money may not be paid back, reports the FT’s Rafe Uddin.

PARTING GIFT: Departing ministers received more than £500,000 in severance pay under the last government, says data compiled by the Commons Library for the Lib Dems. The i’s Eleanor Langford has it.

BAD MEDICINE: The Express splashes on a leaked video of a British Medical Association employee telling doctors they should “’bank’ these initial gains” — aka a 22 percent pay rise over two years — then “go again in April 2025.” It’s seized on by Shadow Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, who says Labour is presiding over “the 1970s all over again.”

ALSO CHECKING THE RECEIPTS: The civil service spends £1.7 million a year on hundreds of Whitehall diversity networks, according to an internal report compiled under the last government that has found its way to the Mail. Former “common sense minister” Esther McVey tells the paper it’s “outrageous.”

ANOTHER ONE? Labour already started its 2025 local election campaigning at the weekend — sending supporters a color-coded map of Tory-held county councils that are “up for grabs.” LabourList did a write-up.

DOWNING STREET FLAT REVAMP KLAXON: Keir Starmer is trying to install a cat flap for family pet JoJo above No. 11, the Mail’s Andrew Pierce writes in his column. There’s just one hitch: a bombproof door.

BEYOND THE M25

UKRAINE UPDATE: Kyiv accused Moscow’s forces of starting a fire on the grounds of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is on Russian-held territory. It comes as Ukrainian troops continue to occupy Russian territory, with reports of fighting 15 to 18 miles inside the border in Kurskprovince.

IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Israel ordered more evacuations in large sections of Gaza’s second city Khan Younis as its troops return to heavily destroyed areas where they previously fought Hamas. It follows at least 80 people dying after an Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City over the weekend, as AP reports.

I’M FINE, HONEST: Joe Biden has insisted there was “no serious problem” with his health in his first big interview since stepping down as the Democratic nominee. Bu, the U.S. president told CBS News he had an “obligation” to stand aside to avoid questions over his age becoming a “real distraction.” Meanwhile there is more evidence of a bounce for Kamala Harris, who leads Trump (by 1 point) in a poll for the FT on who is more trusted on the economy.

MOVE AGAINST MADURO: The U.S. government is trying to persuade Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduroto give up power in exchange for an amnesty as evidence Maduro lost last month’s election continues to emerge. The Wall Street Journal has the exclusive.

A WISH CALLED RWANDA: President Paul Kagame promised to preserve peace and sovereignty after being sworn in for a fourth term in office. Speaking at his inauguration ceremony in Kigali’s Amahoro National Stadium on Sunday, Kagame promised to “never use the powers conferred upon me for personal interests.” He won last month’s election with, err, 99 percent of the vote. More from the BBC.

**A message from Goldman Sachs: What might the rest of the year hold? Expanding Possibilities in Sponsor M&A: As M&A volumes normalise and sponsor-backed activity rebalances, we anticipate greater opportunity for a “meeting of the minds” between buyers and sellers. Public Equity Markets as a Key Liquidity Alternative: As sponsors monetise via public equity markets, the next several quarters should see increased deal count, volume, and industry breadth. The Private Markets and the Mainstreaming of Secondaries: Despite an increasingly active IPO market, the mainstreaming of the secondaries market and a more muted exit environment have ushered in a new era for private markets, which we see remaining a viable option for corporates with pragmatic valuation outlooks. Leveraged Finance Open for Business: The leveraged loan market is strengthening, and we expect it to become increasingly supportive of M&A financing throughout 2024 and 2025 as normalised loan trading levels spur lenders to seek new opportunities and support more aggressive underwriting structures. Explore the insights.**

MEDIA ROUND

No government, Tory or Lib Dem round.

Times Radio Breakfast: Vladimir Putin’s former adviser Sergei Markov (7.05 a.m.) … former Royal United Services Institute Director General Michael Clarke (8.07 a.m.) … Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (9.35 a.m.).

Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: Labour adviser Matthew Torbitt(7.10 a.m.) … Institute for Strategic Dialogue Director of Disinformation Research Jennie King (8.20 a.m.).

Sky News Breakfast: Former Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor (7.15 a.m.) … former French diplomat François- Joseph Schichan (8.15 a.m.) … Institute for Strategic Dialogue Senior Fellow Julia Ebner and IPPR Associate Director Marley Morris (both 8.30 a.m.) … UK Health Security Agency Head of Immunization Mary Ramsay (9.20 a.m.).

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES

POLITICO UK: Brexit Britain creeps back into Brussels’ orbit under Labour.

Daily Express: Exposed! Junior doctors’ plot to cripple NHS again.

Daily Mail: No more rioting in the name of our little girl.

Daily Mirror: Mummy and Daddy will always, always love you.

Daily Star: The 35C French fry.

Financial Times: Harris leads Trump on economy in poll that marks sharp sentiment shift.

i: Hopes that worst of riots “at an end.”

Metro: “Dance to heaven little princess.”

The Daily Telegraph: Cooper — U.K. has lost respect for police.

The Guardian: Far-right use of Christian symbols an “offense to our faith,” says Welby.

The Independent: Doctors and nurses accused of rape left free to work in NHS.

The Times: Knockdown prices for green belt to build on.

LONDON CALLING

WESTMINSTER WEATHER:Temperatures reach 33C (who needs the Mediterranean?) and clear skies are predicted across much of the U.K. tonight — giving us another bite at seeing the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. More from the BBC’s Sky at Night mag here.

SHE’S RUNNING: And so, the Olympics are over; get some discreet crying done this morning with the BBC’s video montage. But it’s been more emotional than most for 5 News’ Political EditorAndy Bell— who watched his daughterGeorgia Bell, 30,storm tobronze in the Women’s 1500 meters on Saturday night (pic of the proud parentshere). Playbook asked him — how does a sports media frenzy compare to a political one? And what’s it like being on the other side of the lens?

The best bit is… “it’s a good news story — and that’s obviously not often the case” for political news, says Andy. “That’s definitely a positive.”But he admits his daughter is “pooped” after the media whirlwind — and awkwardly, his media contacts mean he’s received a flurry of interview requests forher too.“It’s quite strange to be on this end of it. I’m not saying I’m enjoying it hugely,” he says. “But it’s not about me. I’m obviously thrilled and when you’re in the news, that’s what goes with the territory.”

Embarrassing dad alert!“It was quite tense,” Andy recalls of the race — where his daughterleapedinto third in the final seconds, while he and wife Angela watched. “You’re just yelling your heart out. We had good seats right on the bend after the finish line, about 12 rows in. I have to say, by the time she finished, I was already down at the rail, I wasn’t in my seat anymore. It was some friendly altercation with the stewards. They kind of got it.”

All a bit surreal: After her medal finish Georgia came over to coaches Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows “and then saw us. Those moments you see happen at Wimbledon or something … it’s suddenly like, ‘oh, that’s us! With our daughter, who’s just won the bronze!’” Andy also told the BBC’s Westminster Hour: “It was incredibly moving … It’s your little girl that you’ve brought up all your life.”

Long run: Andysays the “parkrun-to-podium” narrative around Georgia— who was the English schools 800mchampion aged 14, became disillusioned at the University of California, Berkeley, then took up serious running again in lockdown — doesn’t quite tell the whole story.He and (mainly) Angela spent years ferrying her to high-level competition at school. Did he ever imagine her as an Olympic medallist? “I guess anyone dreams of that,” he said. “I probably did have that little dream at times, thinking wouldn’t that be amazing?”

But but but… “I can’t honestly say I’ve done a huge amount to get her there,” he adds. “She’s 30, she started this road again at 26, 27 … She hasn’t needed us. She’s very single-minded, she’s very disciplined, she’s had to decide that she was going to get back into this. And it’s very much her achievement.”

So what next?Andy is returning tothe day jobnext Monday, after enjoying some more of Paris and the French countryside. As for Georgia, who only took sabbatical from her full-time job in cybersecurityinMay,perhaps it’ll never happen. She told reporters: “I’ll probably have a chat with them, now things have changed slightly.” You can say that again.

NEW GIG: Sky News’ Sophie Morris has been promoted to an assistant editor leading the channel’s digital political coverage.

JOB ADS:Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich Connor Naismith is recruiting a parliamentary assistant (and aren’t they all) … the Commons is hiring a petitions communication manager … and DHSC is looking for a supply policy adviser.

IN MEMORIAM: Hereditary Tory peer Anthony Hamilton-Smith died aged 82 after sitting in the upper house from 1966 to 2022. He served as vice chair of the APPG on dentistry and co-chair of the group on jazz, playing at the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s private ruby wedding dance in 1987. The Telegraph has a good obituary.

BUSMAN’S HOLIDAY: One for your summer reading lists — Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has just finished Substacker Sam Freedman’s tome “Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It.”

NORTH OF THE BORDER: The Edinburgh Fringe continues, with broadcaster Steve Richards performing a different version of his one man Rock’n’Roll politics show in theSpace @ Symposium Hall at 11 a.m. every day until August 24 … former Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay giving a talk about social justice campaigns at Gladstone’s Land from 6.15 p.m. … and an Imperial College London a cappella group telling the story of Liz Truss‘ time as PM in the Gilded Balloon Patter House at 11.30 a.m. until August 26. She’s certainly boosted the uni am-dram piss-taking economy.

LISTEN TO: Radio 4’s Briefing Room looks at the international consequences of escalation in the Middle East at 8 p.m.

NOW READ: The Mill Media team in Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester has a fascinating, deeply reported piece trying to explain how so many people have been radicalized against the state. They draw a thread leading from Covid-19 lockdowns and vaccine skepticism to the disorder on display today.

WRITING PLAYBOOK PM: On a break until August 19.

WRITING PLAYBOOK TUESDAY MORNING: Dan Bloom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins … former Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood … former Bolton West MP Chris Green … former Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Alan Brown … former Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall … former French President François Hollande turns 70 … former U.K. Chief Scientific Adviser David King … U.K. Ambassador to China Caroline Wilson … former ITN Political Editor Michael Brunson.

PLAYBOOKCOULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT:My editors Zoya Sheftalovich and Jack Blanchard, diary reporter Noah Keate and producerCatherine Bouris.

SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | London Playbook PM | Playbook Paris | EU Election Playbook | Berlin Playbook | 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