London Playbook PM: New York waiting game

Good afternoon. This is Andrew McDonald.
— Westminster waits for Keir Starmer’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly tonight, amid fears of all-out-war in Lebanon.
— The PM might also be meeting Donald Trump this evening. 
— Another story raises conflict of interest questions for Labour.
— The rebranded London Standard used AI to make its first front page. The results were … mixed.
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AND NOW, WE WAIT: Westminster is in a bit of a holding pattern this afternoon — as it waits for Keir Starmer’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly tonight … a possible meeting between Starmer and Donald Trump … and for the last, chaotic act of conference season to kick off in Birmingham Sunday. All of that comes as fears grow of an imminent Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, too.
The PM will speak … at around 10.15 p.m. U.K. time, subject to change. We know already that Starmer will call for cease-fires across the Middle East and in Sudan, and that he will talk of a return to “responsible global leadership.” 
But we don’t know: How strong Starmer’s language will get when it comes to that cease-fire push — after Britain joined the U.S. and 10 other allies in calling for a 21-day halt in hostilities between Lebanon and Israel. Those calls appear to have gone down like a bucket of cold sick with the Israeli PM.
Bibi bites back: Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue to “strike Hezbollah with full force,” and insisted that his forces will “not stop until we reach all our goals.” His office, via the Times of Israel, also swiftly denied reports from early this morning about a cease-fire being expected within hours (hours that have now passed with no white smoke).
And as such: The IDF has been carrying out strikes in Beirut, killing at least two people and injuring 15 others according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The IDF said Mohammad Hussein Surur, the head of one of Hezbollah’s air units, had been killed in the attack — while Lebanese minister Bassam Mawlawi said around 70,100 displaced people are crammed into 533 shelters. 
More on that theme: Netanyahu is due to speak at UNGA tomorrow, and his delegation arrived in New York about an hour ago — video here. 
Stark warning: Lloyd Austin, U.S. secretary of defense, again called on Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah to agree to the 21-day ceasefire deal to stop an “all-out war.” Speaking at the Royal Naval College in London to hacks including POLITICO’s Stefan Boscia, Austin said a “diplomatic solution is still viable” and warned that a “full scale war” could lead to a larger regional conflict. He added that America’s support for Israel to defend itself “won’t change in the future” amid speculation Netanyahu could order a ground invasion.
Stormy response: Also at the presser, Britain’s own Defence Secretary John Healey refused to be drawn on another thorny issue in a holding pattern — whether the U.K. and U.S. will allow Ukraine to fire western-made Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russian territory. “There is only one person who benefits from a public debate on specific capabilities and that is President Putin,” he said.
WAITING FOR DONALD: The eye of Westminster is also turning toward Trump Tower, where the Republican contender *might* meet Keir Starmer shortly. No. 10 officials were being tight-lipped about the whole thing as the entire U.K. press corps tried to confirm whether it’s actually happening or not. 
The meeting was first floated … in Bloomberg this morning. If it happens, it would mark the first tête-à-tête between the lads since Starmer came into power. Maybe they can compare notes on their favorite plush penthouses? 
Over in ‘Merica: Playbook PM’s infinitely cooler POLITICO colleagues across the pond say Trump’s camp aren’t up for confirming if the meeting is going ahead either. Stay tuned.
YET ANOTHER AWKWARD STORY: Starmer’s No. 10 business adviser Varun Chandra retains multi-million pound stakes in his former company Hakluyt — an advisory firm which doesn’t have a public list of clients. Bloomberg’s Alex Wickham got the story.
Its an awks one because … Chandra is the senior special adviser responsible for acting as the gatekeeper between the PM and business, but still has a stake in his old company with the secret client list that may — we don’t know — overlap with those that Chandra deals with in No. 10. The Cabinet Office said it has a process “to ensure any conflicts of interest are properly managed and mitigated.”
One more: Former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane — who’s been getting some digs in at the government lately — told LBC that the government should reconsider its non-dom tax plans, after the Guardian’s story last night on fears the crackdown might not actually raise any extra funds. He said Labour should consider what the measure will do for business confidence, which has been “heading south over the last six weeks or so” amid the gloomy narrative from No. 10.
And right on cue: So much for the charm offensive. The FT has a story up on business chiefs complaining about Labour’s lack of prep for government.
FREEBIE-GATE NEWS: Tom Tugendhat’s campaign team has been hand-delivering “conference survival kits” to selected journalists, Dan Bloom (who got sent one) texts to say. The so-called “I’m a Tugend-Hack” boxes contain a branded cup, pen, notebook and Pro Plus … more of those red, white and blue M&Ms with Tugendhat’s face … and *checks notes* a lollipop on which you would have to lick an image of TT doing the whole Tory wide-standing thing. Er, right. No lickspittle coverage from us.
By coincidence … Tugendhat isn’t the first politician to give hacks red, white and blue M&Ms this month. Journalists were dished out some souvenir White House packs on the plane back from Washington DC … by freebie fan Keir Starmer himself.
Elsewhere in the leadership race: James Cleverly, in a Times Radio interview with Andrew Neil, hit out at his successor-but-one in the Foreign Office for talking about his ancestry in his UNSC speech — arguing it was “self-indulgent.” He added: “You need to invest the time, you need to have the conversations, you need to build the relationships. You can’t just do it to get clicks and likes on social media.”
In planet Kemi: The public doesn’t share Kemi Badenoch’s enthusiasm for Elon Musk, new YouGov polling shows.
While everyone else … is trying to work out which Tory candidate complained about GB News’ Camilla Tominey, leading to her being dropped from a Tory leadership Q&A next week (as per a Guido scoop this afternoon). She did get one of the Tom T merch-boxes for selected hacks, FWIW.
MEANWHILE, IN THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: Eight Lib Dem councillors in Hertfordshire have resigned the whip with a blast at officials for enabling sexual harassment, the Times’ Dominic Hauschild reports.
BEST OF LUCK WITH THAT: Coatbridge pensioners Peter and Florence Fanning are taking the U.K. and Scottish governments to court over the winter fuel payment cut, with their argument resting on accusations that both governments failed to adequately consult with pensioners. Alba leader Alex Salmond is closely involved in the full thing, too. The Glasgow Times has a write-up.
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THANKS, I HATE IT: The new London Standard used AI to mock up Keir Starmer on its first ever front page since moving to a weekly format. It’s giving … Dan Hodges.
I guess it did help … draw attention to Starmer’s interview with the paper, where he bigged up his hopes for London as the future AI capital of the world.
SOCIAL MEDIA RELATED NEWS: The Scottish government halted all advertising spending on X last year following Elon Musk’s takeover, the Daily Record’s Chris McCall reports.
ELSEWHERE IN NEW YORK: Federal agents raided Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, after New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on charges alleging that he took bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. My Stateside colleagues have more.
IN HONG KONG: A court jailed Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, two journalists who led the now-defunct pro-democracy media outlet Stand News after they were found guilty of sedition. The pair had published articles about Beijing’s civil liberties clampdown. The BBC has more.
ON THE CONTINENT: Former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani was justified in refusing to recognize Catalan separatist lawmakers Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín as members of the parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled. The pair were initially prevented from entering the institution’s buildings in 2019 before being admitted in 2020. My colleagues Aitor Hernández-Morales and Max Griera have a writeup.
UKRAINE UPDATE: Kyiv’s air defenses battled an overnight Russian aerial attack for five hours with missiles and drones hammering the power grid. Ukraine’s emergency services said the attack injured at least two people while a kindergarten was also damaged. AP News has further details.
IN SUDAN: The army launched a major offensive in the capital Khartoum to regain ground held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces marking its biggest assault in months, killing at least four people and wounding 14 others. More via Al Jazeera.
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LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.) leads on the latest on abuse allegations against the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed … as does BBC News at Six … Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) focuses on the developing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Drive with John Pienaar (Times Radio, until 7 p.m.): Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Edward Djerejian … People’s Deputy of Ukraine Kira Rudik … EU Ambassador to the U.K. Pedro Serrano … former Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs Director General Yossi Kuperwasser … More in Common’s U.K. Director Luke Tryl.
News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Former U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Kurt Volker (5.30 p.m.) … former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul (5.45 p.m.) … former RUSI Director General Michael Clarke (6.40 p.m.).
The News Agents (Podcast, drops at 5 p.m.): Labour MP Diane Abbott.
Tonight With Andrew Marr (LBC, 6 p.m.): Shadow Foreign Office Minister Alicia Kearns … King’s College London Emeritus Professor of War Studies Lawrence Freedman.
Dewbs and Co (GB News, 6 p.m.): Former Labour MP Bill Rammell.
Farage (GB News, 7 p.m.): Tory MP Andrew Rosindell.
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation (GB News, 8 p.m.): Tory peer Paul Goodman.
Question Time (BBC iPlayer 8 p.m. and BBC One, 10.40 p.m.): Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds … Green Co-Leader Carla Denyer … former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi … Reform UK Chair Zia Yusuf.
Patrick Christys Tonight (GB News, 9 p.m.): Tory peer Shaun Bailey … former Labour adviser Matthew Laza … former Brexit Party MEP Ann Widdecombe.
Newsnight (BBC Two, 10.30 p.m.): Former U.K. National Security Adviser Mark Lyall Grant.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Allie Hodgkins-Brown.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): HuffPost’s Kevin Schofield and POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): Former Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale and ConHome’s Henry Hill.
UNGA: Continues. My ace colleague Suzanne Lynch is helming Global Playbook, your VIP pass to the gathering, from New York.
THE OTHER LEADERSHIP RACE: One of Russell Findlay, Murdo Fraser or Meghan Gallacher will be announced as the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives at 10 a.m.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Two good reads from Labour conference — Suzanne Moore on the gloomy mood among Labour backbenchers in the Telegraph, and this from the Economist’s Duncan Robinson on the chaos machine shaping Starmer’s government.
Plus: Former Tory SpAd Henry Newman has another Substack out today on the rumblings in Whitehall around Starmer’s government and on its failure to appoint a PPS to the PM — the role Martin Reynolds used to fill.
HOURS OF FUN: The FT launched a new game for its readers to try and mastermind a U.S. presidential election campaign, competing against other readers. Playbook PM had a go, finishing a distinctly average 56,353 out of 111,128 players.
SPOTTED IN NEW YORK: At the UK Soft Power Reception at Brunswick Group HQ in midtown Manhattan. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy; Actor Benedict Cumberbatch; British Ambassador to the United States Karen Pierce; British Consul General Hannah Young; CNN’s Mark Thompson and Richard Quest; Former Prime Minister Theresa May; journalist Tina Brown; London Mayor Sadiq Khan; Semafor’s Ben Smith; Will Straw, CEO of the King’s Trust; Niamh King of the Aspen Institute.
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: Tony Blair gave his last conference speech as Labour leader on this day in 2006.
WRITING PLAYBOOK TOMORROW MORNING: Stefan Boscia.
THANKS TO: My editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster, reporter Noah Keate and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.
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