Kemi Badenoch’s under siege

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Israel launched air strikes on Beirut early this morning, marking a further escalation in the conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Recent Israeli attacks had only been around the city’s periphery. Lebanese authorities say more than 100 people died from air strikes on Sunday. More on the conflict below.
Good Monday morning. This is Stefan Boscia, coming to you live from Birmingham, where the Conservative Party conference is entering its second day.
START AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON: The Tory faithful will have their first chance to put the party’s four remaining leadership hopefuls through the wringer today as the conference’s “beauty pageant” officially begins. And despite warnings of yellow cards for aggressors and endless pleas for party unity, the four-way contest is already turning bitter in Birmingham. At the center of it all is — surprise, surprise — Kemi Badenoch.
Why always me? The shadow housing secretary dominates Tory conference coverage in this morning’s papers, after she appeared to suggest statutory maternity pay is “excessive” during a Times Radio interview on Sunday. She was forced to quickly clarify her stance on X, and later told Sky News that “I think maternity pay is a good thing, I don’t think it is excessive,” after rivals swiftly attacked her comments. The row is threatening to derail her conference, with gleeful opposition camps calling it her “Andrea Leadsom moment” — a reference to when the ex-MP sunk her own 2016 leadership bid after making pointed reference to Theresa May’s childless status. 
**A message from Google: Our new report, “Unlocking the UK’s AI Potential,” presents a roadmap to make Britain a global AI leader. It emphasises the importance of strategic investments in AI infrastructure and skills development, for universal adoption. Discover how AI could contribute £400bn to the UK economy by 2030. Learn more: goo.gle/uk-ai-opportunity.**
Not a great set: The Telegraph splashes the maternity pay row, while it also makes the front pages of the Times, Sun, i, Guardian and Independent. It’s hardly the coverage her team were looking for at such a crucial moment, and you can expect Badenoch to come out fighting today.
Take me to the Chopper: Badenoch’s main event today will be an hour-long grilling on the conference main stage at 3 p.m., with the first half taken up by questions from GB News’ Chris Hope and the second half by pre-chosen questions from Tory members. She will follow Tom Tugendhat, who faces the same treatment from 2 p.m. (Robert Jenrick and James Cleverly take their turns on Tuesday.) Both Q&A sessions will be on-camera, guaranteeing coverage on the evening news bulletins — so the stakes today could not be much higher.
What to expect: Playbook is told Tugendhat will focus on his record in the armed services, while also calling for a “conservative revolution” that transforms public services. He will surely get some jokey questions about his, erm, eclectic range of Tugendhat-branded merch, including the fake tan (“Tugend-tan”) being handed out at his stall (h/t James Heale).
All sounds very CDO: Badenoch, meanwhile, gave a preview of her key messaging in a speech to the National Conservative Convention on Sunday. She talked about “building a mass movement party” and about the need for “an intellectual, political, and practical renewal at all levels of our party.”
BUT BACK TO THE ROW: The maternity pay saga has seriously inflamed tensions between Badenoch and some of her rivals — particularly Robert Jenrick. The bookies’ favorite to win the contest — and Badenoch’s main challenger on the right — stuck the boot in on Sunday and said “we should be supporting [working mothers], not making their lives more difficult.” Jenrick’s attack came between a busy day of promising to move Israel’s capital to Jerusalem (h/t Robert Peston) and defending a £75,000 donation from a British Virgin Islands firm (via Sky).
Ooft: Jenrick added, “I think the Conservative Party should be firmly on the side of parents and working moms who are trying to get by.” One rival camp also told the Sun’s Martina Bet and colleagues that “Kemi’s mad ideas are the only thing that could send our party’s polling even lower.”
Differing approaches: Tugendhat was also quick to go on the attack as he called for “strong maternity and paternity pay,” insisting “women must have the ability to choose how they live their lives.” Fellow leadership contender James Cleverly decided against taking the bait and refused to give his opinion on the row. This certainly plays into the unifying figure schtick that Eleni Courea writes about in today’s Guardian. “The main thing about James Cleverly is that no one dislikes him. Every other candidate has maybe more pros, but also more cons,” one Tory insider told the Guardian.
Blaming Bobby: All this went down just about as well as you’d expect with Badenoch’s allies. One senior MP told the Sun’s Harry Cole that Jenrick “misrepresented Kemi’s views” numerous times on Sunday and that “the whole thing is being misconstrued by people who want to see Kemi fail.” One Badenoch ally told the Times: “The malicious briefing from Jenrick’s camp is typical of the way they are behaving in this campaign.” Tory MP Julia Lopez, a Badenoch supporter, wrote on X that it was all a “confected maternity pile-on.” Jenrick’s camp denies it all. 
Case for the defense: In essence, Badenoch is saying she was making a general point about the burden on small businesses rather than a specific attack on maternity pay. The problem is — it really didn’t come across that way. The question she was asked was: “Do you think we’ve got the right level of maternity pay at the moment?”
Her response: “Maternity pay varies depending on who you work for, but it is a function — where it’s statutory maternity pay — a function of tax. Tax comes from people who are working. We’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This in my view is excessive.” When pressed by Times Radio’s Kate McCann if she was saying maternity pay was “excessive,” she went on: “I think it’s gone too far the other way in terms of general business regulation. We need to allow businesses, especially small businesses, to make more of their own decisions. The exact amount of maternity pay in my view is neither here nor there.” Full clip here.
Stop Kemi: Whatever your opinion, there are solid rumors of a “stop Kemi” campaign by some MPs due to her consistently strong polling within the Tory membership. ConHome’s latest poll still has her well out in front of the other contenders among the Tory grassroots, who will ultimately decide the next leader — though it’s unclear how Sunday’s debacle might have affected that.
All looks familiar: Unfortunately for Badenoch, Playbook picked up discontent from a range of Tory figures at conference on Sunday. One shadow Cabinet minister said the whole row was emblematic of some of the problems with Badenoch’s combative personal style.
They said: “She is the candidate with the biggest delta — it could go one way or the other. You could imagine that if Kemi wins and she gets a spiky question from an MP at the back of a 1922 committee meeting, then she could tear strips off them and everyone would just look at their shoes. On the other hand, she could listen and collaborate and be quite good — she does already have a talent for cutting through.”
LAST CHOPPER OUT OF BRUM: Just as all this was playing out on Sunday afternoon, the current leader — Rishi Sunak — was on stage calling on the party to unite behind whoever becomes leader and so end the long-running Tory psychodrama. In his only speech at conference, before leaving Birmingham directly after, Sunak said: “We must end the division, the backbiting, the squabbling — we mustn’t nurse old grudges but build new friendships,” he said. Good luck, as they say, with that.
Today’s other main event: Attendees will get a chance to see if the four candidates listened to Sunak later on as they all participate in a hustings hosted by the Centre for Social Justice at 8.30 p.m. Former Tory Party leader, and CSJ founder, Iain Duncan Smith will quiz each contender before they also face questions from the crowd. Each will get 20 minutes on stage and broadcast cameras will be allowed at the event, Playbook is told.
UNLEASH THE TRUSS: And if all this *waves hand* wasn’t enough to keep the armchair political sadists satisfied, then here comes another potential human hand grenade to throw into the mix. Former PM Liz Truss will be doing her one and only conference event this afternoon as she sits down with the Telegraph’s Tim Stanley at 12.30 p.m. at the ICC’s Hall 5. News lines guaranteed.
`Boris revenge tour: Speaking of ex-PMs, we also have more revelations in today’s Daily Mail from Boris Johnson’s upcoming memoir. Jason Groves writes that Johnson thought Emmanuel Macron turned a blind eye to small boat Channel crossings as a “punishment” for Brexit. The ex-PM also writes in the new book that David Cameron threatened to “f*ck [Johnson] up forever” if he backed Brexit. How did that work out?
SNEAK PREVIEW: All four leadership contenders gave one-minute speeches to the ConHome drinks party last night, in a mini-preview of this evening’s CSJ event. Playbook’s Dan Bloom and Sam Blewett text in that Jenrick told the crowd he wanted “to deliver a genuinely conservative vision once again,” while Tugendhat said he was standing “so we don’t have the chaos we’ve seen in No. 10 over the past few weeks.” Tugendhat also made a joke that “even Rishi” polls better than Keir Starmer now — a jibe which, shall we say, divided opinion amongst Tories in the room.
Sunak also won’t like … This scoop by the FT’s Anna Gross and George Parker. The pair report that a company funneling money to Tugendhat’s campaign was set up last November. Looks like the moderate Tory — and then-security minister — was on maneuvers long before the general election was called.
Clev’s pitch: Cleverly, meanwhile, argued that he had the most government experience, the most media experience and was the only one to have won a general election while party chair. “If you want to mess about, pick anyone. If you want to win, pick me,” he said. And helpfully, he has some new polling to back it up. A Techne poll out on Sunday showed 32 percent of Brits thought Cleverly would make the best PM of the four — in front of Jenrick on 29, Badenoch on 24 and Tugendhat on 15. The Indy’s Millie Cooke wrote that one up.
Worth the wait: For her part, Badenoch told the crowd the party needed “someone who is going to cut through, someone who is going to stand up to [Labour] and someone to face down Farage.” She also playfully hit back at Cleverly. “James thinks he’s the best, dream on James — it’s me,” she said. She also started her speech by saying “I think we all know I’m the one everyone has been waiting for.” Only three more days of this.
COSA NO-STRA: Jenrick assembled members of the 1900 Club — another of these old-school Tory dining clubs — for an exclusive dinner last week at Brooks’s in Mayfair, my colleague Esther Webber reports. At the dinner, the leadership contender declared war on the proliferation of semi-formal right-wing caucuses within the Conservative Party — aka the five families. He told those attending “they have done more harm than good” and “things are too serious.”
Make it stop: The five families nugget is from Esther’s big preview of Tory party conference, which finds some members ticked off at (a) the length of the leadership contest and (b) the so-called “yellow card” system to stop candidates attacking one another. Former MP Eddie Hughes tells her the party is unable “to properly capitalize on the problems that Labour is experiencing because we don’t have a leader,” while another ex-MP says “at no point have the gloves come off.”
Want more of this? The latest essential edition of “Politics at Jack and Sam’s” will be in your podcast feeds by 7.30 a.m. Every weekday morning, Monday to Thursday, POLITICO’s own Jack Blanchard and Sky News’ Sam Coates get up before the lark to talk you through the day ahead in British politics — in under 20 minutes. Tune in now.
A BUN FOR SHAPPS: A new group run by ousted veteran Tory MP Grant Shapps is calling on the Tory Party to copy the Lib Dems’ “Gail’s strategy” to win the next election, according to the Times’ Aubrey Allegretti. The Lib Dems claim they targeted well-heeled constituencies which had a branch of the upmarket bakery during the election. A report by the new Conservatives Together group said the strategy is “a lesson in the value of data and highly efficient strategic targeting.” 
Eyebrows raised: Allegretti also writes that a Tory MP in a seat next to Shapps’ previous constituency (Welwyn Hatfield) will likely stand down before the next election — potentially opening the path for a parliamentary return for Shapps.
WHY BOTHER? Today’s Tory conference “Business Day” — when public affairs types cough up to hang out with party bigwigs — is set to be a bit of a damp squib given that many corporate giants are swerving the event this year, my POLITICO London Influence colleague John Johnston says after getting a glimpse at the agenda. 
Flesh pressers: Those showing up are going to be treated to a(nother) dog and pony show from the leadership candidates in the morning, followed by a speech from Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (remember him?) and then a series of afternoon policy round tables — which is at least more than they were offered at Labour. But it’s going to have to be a blockbuster performance from the party to win over a skeptical crowd, with public affairs pros telling John the first day of conference was a “f*cking shitshow” and like a “zombie apocalypse.” 
TODAY ON THE MAIN STAGE: Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in conversation (9.30 a.m.) … member debate on immigration and border security featuring Shadow Foreign Minister Paul Holmes and chaired by National Conservative Convention Chair Julian Ellacott (9.50 a.m.) … member debate on protecting free speech featuring ex-Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg and chaired by National Conservative Vice President Fleur Butler (10.30 a.m.) … member debate on building homes and protecting green spaces featuring Shadow Housing Minister David Simmonds and chaired by National Conservative Vice President John Belsey (11.10 a.m.) … member debate on growing the economy featuring Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott and chaired by National Conservative Vice President Stewart Harper (11.50 a.m.) … and Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch are in conversation with members (2 p.m.).
LEADERSHIP FRINGE: James Cleverly is in conversation with the Centre for Policy Studies (12.30 p.m., ICC CPS Hall 4) and with Onward (3 p.m., Onward marquee) … Robert Jenrick in conversation with PopCon (2 p.m., ThinkTent marquee) … Kemi Badenoch will hold her Renewal 2030 campaign drinks reception (7 p.m., ConHome marquee) … and James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch will all speak at a hustings hosted by the Central for Social Justice (8.30 p.m., ICC Thatcher Theatre).
OTHER PICKS OF THE FRINGE: The shadow defense secretary at a ticketed breakfast hosted by the Network INternational (9 a.m., Novotel Hotel) … Incoming Spectator Editor Michael Gove in conversation with Onward and IPPR North (10.45 a.m., ICC Onward marquee) … ex-1922 committee Chair Graham Brady does the Daily T podcast live (11 a.m., ICC Churchill Theatre) … Tory MP Mark Francois and ex-Tory MPs Bill Cash and John Redwood speak about the Tories’ future at an ERG event (11 a.m., The Birmingham & Midland Institute The Lyttelton Theatre) … former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Tory MP Alicia Kearns on the future of the One Nation Conservatives with Tory Reform Group (11 a.m., Hyatt Drawing Room) …  Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho chats about energy security with ConHome (11.30 a.m., ICC ConHome marquee).
And this afternoon: Michael Gove, Tory MP Danny Kruger and Public First’s Rachel Wolf on the future of conservatism (12.15 p.m., ICC Onward marquee) … former Prime Minister Liz Truss in conversation with the Telegraph’s Tim Stanley (12.30 p.m., ICC Hall 5) … Shadow Science Secretary Andrew Griffith and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott speak about tax at a Spectator event (12.30 p.m., ICC Spectator Hall 4) … Ousted Tory MPs Steve Baker and Miriam Cates at a UCL Policy Hub event on respect in politics (1 p.m., Leonardo Royal Hotel Birmingham, Room 101).
Keep going … Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell and Tory MP David Davis on cleaning up dirty money in politics with Bright Blue (2.15 p.m., ICC Executive Room 7) … Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen discusses U.K. international trade with the Spectator (3.30 p.m., ICC Spectator Hall 4) … CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith and Shadow Science Secretary Andrew Griffith at a ConHome event on economic growth (4 p.m., ICC ConHome marquee) … Michael Gove features on a Centre for Policy Studies panel about Labour’s first 100 days in power (4.30 p.m., ICC CPS Hall 4). 
FOR THE PARTY PEOPLE (with a warning that most will require invites): POLITICO Happy Hour sponsored by Intuit (6 p.m.) … Conservative Friends of Overseas Territories reception with Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell (6 p.m.) … the i newspaper hosts its reception (6 p.m.) … Shadow Science Secretary Andrew Griffith joins the Spectator drinks reception (6 p.m.) … Holocaust Educational Trust reception is joined by holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, 1922 committee Chair Bob Blackman and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden (6 p.m.) … the ConHome reception hosts leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch (7 p.m.) … ConHome hosts a youth reception with an appearance from former MP Penny Mordaunt (7 p.m.) … Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho is attending the Energy Trade Association reception (7.30 p.m.) … Onward has its reception with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen (8 p.m.) … the Conservative Environment Network hosts it quiz of the year with Shadow Womens and Equalities Minister Mims Davies (8 p.m.) … the PopCons host a private drinks reception with former MP Jacob Rees Mogg and Tory peer David Frost (8 p.m.) … the CBI reception hosts Shadow Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake (8.30 p.m.) … EU reception hosted by Ambassador Pedro Serrano, joined by Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell (8.30 p.m.) … the Centre for Social Justice hosts a husting event with all leadership candidates, booze provided (8.30 p.m.) … The BPI and ConservativeHome Silent Disco with playlists by the four leadership candidates (9 p.m.) … Sky Party (10 p.m.). 
DEEPENING CONFLICT: Western governments will continue to call for a de-escalation in the Middle East today after Israel widened its war against Iranian proxies. Israel launched strikes against Houthi-backed rebels in Yemen on Sunday. Israel also launched strikes into Beirut in the early hours this morning as it continued its assault on Hezbollah, just days after killing the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah. The BBC has more.
Across the region: Fears are increasing that the Middle East is heading toward an all-out regional war. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told CNN that he wanted “regional countries, Islamic countries” to stand together to fight against Israel (via our Stateside colleagues). 
On the ground: The Times’ George Grylls and colleagues write that hundreds of Israeli tanks are this morning massed on Lebanon’s border as the country prepares for a potential ground invasion of Lebanon. A British citizen and reservist infantryman told Grylls: “There’s not a chance in hell we’ll let them sit on our border. I understand the world doesn’t like conflict. But whether it’s with airstrikes or a ground invasion, we need to move them.”
State of play: Recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon have now killed more than 1,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities. However, Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to back down from his position and says he will not stop until the 60,000 displaced Israeli citizens can return to the north of the country (which has been hit by intermittent Hezbollah missile strikes since October 7). Southern Lebanon also now has thousands of displaced citizens due to Israeli attacks, with the British government warning of a humanitarian crisis.
Paper round: The situation in the Middle East splashes the i, FT, Times and Guardian. 
ON THE EUROSTAR: EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds is traveling to Brussels today to meet Brussels’ Brexit point man Maroš Šefčovič. Thomas-Symonds’ meeting will be seen as an opportunity to lay the ground before Keir Starmer’s first big summit with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.
Speaking of Europe: Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to join a meeting of EU finance ministers before the end of the year as part of Labour’s push for better relationships with Europe, the FT’s Sam Fleming and colleagues report. Eurozone finance ministers are set to meet in Brussels on Dec. 9.
Mo’ money … Any money raised in the budget will be prioritized for the NHS, the Mirror reports, citing a Treasury insider. They said “we know that cutting NHS waiting lists is a priority for people.” The story splashes the paper.
ENERGY ROWS PYLON: Keir Starmer has said voters will need to accept new pylons as a trade-off for cheaper energy bills, PA’s David Hughes reports. Following criticism for saying underground energy cables were too expensive, the prime minister said the country had “shied away from these trade-offs for too long.” Read more on the Independent.
ELECTION STATION: Austria veered further to the right in a watershed election on Sunday in which the far-right Freedom Party stormed to victory with 29 percent of the vote, the first time since World War II a party rooted in Nazi ideology has prevailed in a national ballot. Read more on POLITICO. 
CHURCH COMMENTS: Pope Francis said Sunday that bishops who have abused children should not protected by church authorities. “Evil must not be hidden. Evil must be brought out into the open,” he said to thousands of people gathered for a mass in Brussels. The comments come following several days of public outrage in Belgium over the Catholic Church’s dark record of hiding pedophilia in its ranks.
GEORGIA ON MY MIND: Russia is open to a compromise that could see its troops leave Georgia’s Moscow-backed breakaway regions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, my colleague Gabriel Gavin reports.
 **A message from Google: Britain has a unique opportunity to become a global leader in AI – and add £400bn to our economy by 2030. Google’s new report, “Unlocking the UK’s AI Potential,” sets out a clear path forward. It highlights the importance of investing in vital AI infrastructure, like a National Research Cloud, and equipping our workforce with the skills of the future through a National Skills Service. By embracing AI responsibly across all sectors, we can unlock incredible economic growth, create jobs, and power breakthroughs in areas like healthcare and scientific research. Let’s work together to drive economic growth in the UK with AI. Learn more: goo.gle/uk-ai-opportunity-keyword.**
No government broadcast round. 
Conservative Party interim Chair Richard Fuller broadcast round: Times Radio (7.05 a.m.) … BBC Breakfast (7.15 a.m.) … GB News (7.35 a.m.) … Sky News (8.15 a.m.). 
Also on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: Former No. 10 SpAd Nero Ughwujabo (8.05 a.m.) … former BBC Television Director Danny Cohen (8.20 a.m.).  
Also on Good Morning Britain: Conservative MP Stuart Andrew (8.30 a.m.). 
Also on Times Radio Breakfast: CBI Director Rain Newton-Smith (7.05 a.m.) … Conservative peer Robert Hayward (7.35 a.m.) … former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps (8.05 a.m.) … polling guru John Curtice (8.23 a.m.) … former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland (8.45 a.m.) … Tory peer Daniel Moylan (9.40 a.m.). 
Also on Sky News Breakfast: Former Chief of the General Staff Richard Dannatt (7.15 a.m.).
Politics Live (BBC Two 12.15 p.m.): Shadow Veterans Minister Andrew Bowie … Conservative MP Harriet Cross … former International Development Secretary Justine Greening … former No. 10 SpAd Samuel Kasumu … the Spectator’s Katy Balls … the Guardian’s Pippa Crerar.
POLITICO UK: Make it stop! The never-ending Tory beauty pageant.
Daily Express: Cruel winter fuel cuts ‘will cost NHS £169m a year.’ 
Daily Mail: Boris: Macron wanted ‘punishment beating’ for Britain over Brexit.
Daily Mirror: Emergency money. 
The Sun: Give me £15 million to stay.
Daily Star: Invasion of the killer fungi! 
Financial Times: Israel steps up attacks on Iran proxies.
i: Israel targets Iranian weapons network in Yemen after ‘wiping out’ Hezbollah leaders.
Metro: Fight serial drink-drive epidemic.
The Daily Telegraph: Badenoch sparks Tory splits over maternity pay costs.
The Guardian: Violence escalates as Israel targets Yemen in airstrikes. 
The Independent: Starmer fights ‘sleaze’ claims with tighter rules on donor freebies.
The Times: Israeli tanks at border as Lebanon braces for battle.
BIRMINGHAM WEATHER: Keep an umbrella close by at all times. High 13C, heavy rain. 
SPOTTED … At the 1922 reception hosted by ConHome, sipping Laurent Perrier on the 25th floor of the Cube: Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury Alan Mak … Shadow Education Secretary Damian Hinds … Shadow Education Minister Gagan Mohindra … Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Gareth Davies … Shadow Business Minister Greg Smith … Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly … Shadow Paymaster General John Glen … Shadow Housing Secretary Kemi Badenoch …Shadow Crime Minister Matt Vickers …Shadow Business Minister Mike Wood … Shadow Women and Equalities Minister Mims Davies … Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury Nigel Huddleston … Shadow Leader of the Commons Chris Philp … Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat … Conservative MPs Andrew Rosindell, Andrew Snowden, Bradley Thomas, Charlie Dewhirst, Desmond Swayne (sitting alone by the window and staring into the distance with a faint smile on his face heard shouting “hear, hear” at the names of the booze sponsor), Greg Stafford, Harriet Cross, Jack Rankin, Joe Robertson, Katie Lam, Lewis Cocking, Lincoln Jopp, Richard Fuller, Richard Holden, Robert Jenrick, Martin Vickers and Sarah Bool … former MPs Alex Chalk, Alexander Stafford, Selaine Saxby, Anthony Browne, Damian Green, Felicity Buchan, Jack Brereton, Jacob Young, James Daly, Jane Stevenson, Lee Rowley, Luke Graham, Mark Jenkinson, Matt Warman, Paul Bristow, Robert Goodwill, Robert Largan, Stephen Hammond, Steve Baker, Thérèse Coffey,Tom Hunt, Vicky Ford and Virginia Crosbie … Conservative peers Charlotte Vere, Graham Brady, Shaun Bailey, Charles Banner, Byron Davies, Neil Mendoza and Michael Ashcroft, holding court on a high stool near the hustings stage like a king … Labour peer and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika … CCHQ Head of Fundraising Mike Chattey … former super SpAd Sheridan Westlake … ConservativeHome’s Andrew Snowden, Abigail Mainon, Andrew Gimson, Angus Parsad-Wyatt and Henry Hill … YouGov Director Patrick English … CBI CEO Rain Newton-Smith … Public First’s Rachel Wolf … Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire … Coalition for Global Prosperity CEO Ryan Henson … Bright Blue CEO Ryan Shorthouse … Political Editors Christopher Hope, Hugo Gye and Katy Balls.Also spotted … drinking copious amounts of white wine and Peronis in the 22nd floor Regency Club at the Hyatt for the chairman’s drinks with the media… Tory Chair Richard Fuller … Chief Whip Stuart Andrew … James Cleverly talking to the Mirror team with his wife Susie nearby … Tom Tugendhat … Leadership campaign aides Emma Pryor, Callum Price, Sam Armstrong, Tom Milford, Joe Barker and Kayli Free … former super SpAd Sheridan Westlake … CCHQ’s Marcus Natale, Harriet Smith, Caspar Michie, Gabriel Millard-Clothier, Danielle Boxall and former No. 10 ops chief Richard Jackson, slouched in the corner talking to CCHQ comms guy Richard N. Jackson … former spad Giles Bancroft … and half the Lobby.
Also spotted … at the One Nation Caucus’ drinks reception in the Hyatt Regency’s Scherzo room: Leadership contender Tom Tugendhat surrounded by foam fingers, who said the country faced a chancellor “who can do nothing but long division” and spots “black holes as though she were a ‘Star Trek’ employee” … former One Nation Caucus Chair Damian Green, who introduced Tugendhat as “the next prime minister” … Shadow Foreign Office Minister Alicia Kearns … … Deputy Commons Speaker Caroline Nokes … Conservative MP Karen Bradley … former Tory MPs Jackie Doyle-Price, Vicky Ford, Robert Buckland and Stephen Hammond … Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire … former Kemi Badenoch adviser Mercy Muroki.
Also spotted: At the YouTube Reception in the iNHouse Lounge … Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell … Shadow Women and Equalities Minister Mims Davies … Opposition Chief Whip Stuart Andrew … Conservative MPs Caroline Dinenage and Mike Wood … former No. 10 SpAd Jamie Njoku-Goodwin … former SpAd Steph Schwarz … former Downing Street comms director Amber de Botton … former MP Jacob Young … YouTube’s David Wheeldon and Iain Bundred … Google’s Rosie Luff and Michaela Neild …Sky’s Sam Coates and Jon Craig.
Also spotted … At the FTI drinks: Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho … Shadow Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake … Shadow Science Secretary Andrew Griffith … Shadow Veterans Minister Andrew Bowie … Conservative MP Harriet Cross … the U.S. Embassy’s Amelia Viney … FTI’s Alex Deane, Dan Hamilton, Tom Pridham, Jack Powell and Abdi Duale … and a lot of lobbyists. 
SPOTTED IN THE LOBBY: One high-profile broadcaster overheard in a four-star hotel angrily complaining about the accommodation booked for them. After giving one presumed colleague “both barrels” over the phone, they said they were tempted to just leave and get the train home.
FOOTBALL FOCUS: Team Tory won 3-2 against the Lobby, the first victory in more than a decade and despite having fewer MPs than usual after July’s election. Conservative captain Robin Millar, a former MP, lifted the trophy. Hudson Roe, a former SpAd at the Foreign Office, scored the first for the Tories; Jack Pollard of the Cleverly Campaign scored two and took home man of the match. The Lobby’s goals came from the i’s Richard Vaughan and an own goal by former No. 10 comms chief Jack Doyle.
NEW GIG: Jonathan Ashworth’s former adviser Josh Abey has joined Child Poverty Action Group as a policy adviser. 
NEW HOME: Author John Kampfner has moved to Berlin full-time to be a fellow at WIKO’s Institute for Advanced Study.
WRITING PLAYBOOK PM: Andrew McDonald.
WRITING PLAYBOOK TUESDAY MORNING: Dan Bloom.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Glasgow South MP Gordon McKee … Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride … Crossbench peer and former U.K. Ambassador to France Peter Ricketts … Tory peer and former Tory party Co-Treasurer Peter Cruddas … former Tory peer Robert Dixon-Smith.
PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editors Zoya Sheftalovich, Jack Blanchard and Alex Spence, diary reporter Bethany Dawson and producer Dean Southwell.
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 | China Watcher | Berlin Bulletin | Living Cities | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters