London Playbook PM: Starmer’s Rome love-in

Good afternoon. This is Andrew McDonald, enjoying the slightly shaky WiFi on a plane back from Rome. I’m ably assisted by Mason Boycott-Owen in London and Noah Keate in Brighton.
— Keir Starmer praised right-wing Italian PM Georgia Meloni’s approach to migration as he pitched himself as a “pragmatic” problem-solver.
— He’s sparked some fury from the Labour left in the process.
— The PM got to talk up some Italian investment in U.K. plc.
— But he just can’t escape the row over clothing gifted by a wealthy Labour donor. The Tories want an investigation.
— Scoop: Daily Express editor Gary Jones is leaving after six years helming the paper.
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AN ITALIAN GOOD JOB: Keir Starmer praised hard-right Italian leader Giorgia Meloni’s “remarkable work” on tackling migration at a pally joint press conference this afternoon. The PM is now up in the air on his way home — and not everyone’s thrilled with his latest European jaunt.
Earlier in Rome: The pair spoke in the beautiful Villa Doria Pamphili, a grand 17th century villa and public park. Starmer was given a military greeting and had a walk in the garden with Meloni — video here.
PMs and pasta: The pair then had a working lunch, enjoying some pasta before facing the press. Starmer (mainly a veggie, remember) had tomato and aubergine ravioli. They exchanged gifts, with Starmer handing Meloni some Larry the Cat branded biscuits (nobody tell Ian Murray) to mark the birthday of the Italian PM’s daughter. 
And then into the presser: Starmer had something to crow about up top. He announced two new investments into the U.K. economy totaling £485 million, from defense firm Leonardo and steel giant Marcegaglia. He also announced a contribution of £4 million to the Rome process, the Italian government’s project to tackle the root causes of irregular migration. 
The key line: “You’ve made remarkable progress working with countries along migration routes as equals to address the drivers of migration at source and to tackle the gangs,” Starmer said. Meloni, who turned to look at Starmer as he spoke, nodded.
In practice: Meloni said Starmer had shown “great interest” in her Albania scheme to process asylum seekers rescued by Italian authorities offshore. Starmer confirmed he had looked at it. But both he and officials have been keen to stress that they are more interested in learning about the Italian government’s work on prevention. Starmer stopped short of fully endorsing the Albania plans … while kinda leaving the door open to a British copy.
Right on cue: Left-wing Labour MPs are questioning the value of trying to learn from figures like Meloni on the hard right of politics. Diane Abbott described her as a “literal fascist” this afternoon.
But we’re pragmatic, innit: Starmer tried to get ahead of all that at the press conference. “Today saw the return of British pragmatism,” Starmer said. “When we see a challenge, we discuss with our friends and allies the different approaches that are being taken, look at what works,” he added. Meloni got cross at what she called “groundless” accusations of human rights abuses in her Albania proposal.
EARLIER IN THE DAY: After a business breakfast with Italian CEOs this morning, Starmer joined his new borders chief Martin Hewitt for a tour of Rome’s National Coordination Centre. Lucky hacks were bundled into a coach to the same venue, which boasted looming dark windows and stern-looking guards.
Hewitt was there … to learn from the Italian lads. According to officials his role is to get government departments to — heaven forbid — talk to each other. The Labour government feels Italy has this side of things firmly worked out.
After that: The journo bus trooped over to the villa to await Starmer and Meloni’s press conference. A wedding style lunch spread was laid out for those awaiting the Italian and U.K. PMs. Playbook PM can safely say we’ve never before, and maybe never will again, eaten grilled octopus while waiting for a press conference. The villa gardens looked out on the Vatican and St Peter’s Basilica. Viva l’Italia.
STILL TO COME: Starmer spoke to hacks for half an hour before takeoff, and the lines — including on migration, the Lord Alli clothing row (more on all that below) and more — will start to appear soon.
MEDIA SCOOP: Daily Express editor Gary Jones is leaving his role after six years helming the paper, four people with knowledge of the situation tell Playbook’s Dan Bloom and Stefan Boscia. The then-Remain and Labour supporter joined the title from the Sunday Mirror when it was bought out by sprawling news behemoth Reach in 2018. Observers say Jones, who reports to Reach digital chief David Higgerson, has not been seen in the office in recent days and the circumstances are uncertain as there’s been no internal announcement … though it did pop up on the obscure blog Daily Drone. Reach said it would not comment on rumors. Jones declined to comment.
ARE YOU WEARING THE… WAHEED ALLI DRESS? YEAH, I AM: Donor-gate, or frock-gate, or whichever gate we’re designating it, rumbles on after the Sunday Times revealed that thousands of pounds-worth of clothes were bought for the prime minister’s wife by Labour donor Waheed Alli. 
Mr Rules latest: Pressed on the row by traveling hacks in Rome, Keir Starmer said the “rules really matter” and pointed out that we only know about these new declarations “because I insist on the rules” and that his team asked for advice “in accordance with the rules.” Starmer declined to answer Times man Matt Dathan’s question at the Meloni presser about whether he would keep accepting donations from Alli.
Tories leap on it: The Conservatives are having fun with all of this, and have written to the parliamentary standards commissioner today demanding an investigation “into Keir Starmer’s failure to declare donations from Lord Waheed Alli.”
Timing is everything: Here’s Lady Starmer at … London Fashion Week this morning.
Playbook PM asked … Starmer in Rome if he has any plans — after a host of standards rows — to appoint an anti-corruption czar. Since John Penrose’s resignation in 2022, the role has lain vacant. “Well there’s a massive difference between declarations and corruption,” Starmer stressed — before promising to look at the calls for a new anti-corruption czar and get back to us in future. One to bookmark.
HUW EDWARDS SENTENCED: Former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards was handed a suspended six-month sentence after he admitted to having 41 indecent images of children. Here’s the BBC’s coverage of today’s sentencing. Speaking in Rome, Starmer said he was “really shocked and appalled” at the broadcaster’s crime. But he stressed that sentencing is a matter for the courts and adamantly avoided getting into the business of commenting on it.
GREEN SHOOTS: The government is set to appoint a “nature envoy” as well as reinstating the role of climate envoy scrapped by the Tories, the Guardian confirms (POLITICO’s lucky Energy and Climate Pros were in the know three weeks ago, natch). It’s part of a big green drive by ministers. Foreign Secretary David Lammy is making a big speech on climate change tomorrow, and will describe it as a “more fundamental” threat than any terrorist or autocrat. 
Laying the groundwork: Despite Labour’s energy focus in the run-up to the election, the early days of this government have been very crime, prison and migrant heavy. Expect to see the government ramping up talk of its green ambitions ahead of COP29 in Azerbaijan in November.  
Enter Ed: Energy Secretary Ed Miliband also gives an anti-NIMBY speech at Energy UK tomorrow. “Every wind turbine we block, every solar farm we reject, every piece of grid we fail to build makes us less secure and more exposed,” he’s expected to say.
HITLER OR STALIN: Bafflingly, YouGov has asked the public which is their favorite political ideology responsible for the murders of millions of people. Brits went with communism. The only demographic that is more fascist than commie is, per the pollster’s findings, 2024 Reform UK voters. Should be an interesting conference Friday.
MANDARIN WATCH: Alex Chisholm, the former chief operating officer of the civil service and cabinet office permanent secretary, has a new gig on the board of BT Group. He’s been vetted by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, with the watchdog’s advice set to go online later today.
TOP OF THE POPS: TikTok revealed the guests who’ll be headlining their “Celebration of UK Music” parties at Labour and Tory conferences. In the red corner is Will Young, while Peter Andre will be entertaining the blue masses.
Welcome back: Iain Dale is back on LBC tonight at 7 p.m. (minus a gallbladder).
LIVING THEIR BEST LIVES: Lib Dem conference is in full swing as members bask in their electoral success. Although some things never change — there was a motion on proportional representation, obvz — the buzz of being a viable political force is impossible to miss, Playbook’s Noah Keate writes in from Brighton. 
Ed meets Eds: Ahead of his big speech Tuesday afternoon, Leader Ed Davey’s interviews with broadcast political editors are dropping right about now. Some of his interviews today focus on his misgivings about assisted dying. In a Sky clip due to air any moment, Davey told Sam Coates it’d be a free vote but that he doesn’t want it “rushed” in a few weeks, and that he’s “skeptical” about including 16-year-olds as proposed by his Scottish colleague Liam McCarthur.
Health scare: Earlier, the Lib Dem leader was grilled about how exactly the party positions itself against Labour after years of fighting the Conservatives. He denied that calling for more NHS cash puts him to the left of Keir Starmer, telling BBC Today: “I don’t think the health service is a left-right issue.” 
Trading places: Davey seemed happiest putting clear, sewage-free water between himself and Labour on the EU, stressing the PM’s supposed “reset” with Brussels isn’t enough. “If you’re going to rebuild our economy and get growth, you have to go further than the prime minister’s going,” he said. 
That said: It’s not enough for all of Davey’s Europhile members — one of whom has “a diagnosis of PTSD over Brexit” (h/t the Independent’s Archie Mitchell). In a members’ Q&A with him Sunday afternoon, a show of hands demonstrated an overwhelming majority back rejoining the EU. Good luck, as they say, with that.
Cooper’s candor: Before Davey’s conference closer tomorrow, Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper — tipped as a potential successor to Davey — had her turn on the stage today, delivering a moving speech about relying on the NHS. Cooper, who has Crohn’s disease, was rushed to hospital 12 years ago and told she had four days to live without major surgery.
Grim stuff: Her weight dropped to seven stone and doctors said she might only be able to work once a week if she recovered. “I lay in my bed on the 13th floor of that hospital and I sobbed,” she recalled. Cooper — who has an interview on Sophy Ridge this evening — said she worried others in the same position in the NHS now face an even worse fate. 
Victory lap: The party’s also been talking plenty about how it won. After the Somerton and Frome by-election, campaign directors met in Burrito Boi to effectively double the list of target seats. Key seats were reviewed against “core KPIs” every six months and dropped or added to the schedule. By the general election the party was tracking 80 seats, most of which it won.
No complacency (okay, maybe just a little bit): Of course, a strong election result doesn’t stop members asking how things could have gone even better. Speakers from the floor called for more support in non-target seats, earlier candidate selection and recognition of the threat posed to the Lib Dems by the Greens. One member cheekily gave a “shout out to Conservative Central Office” for their success. 
And now for something completely different: The Independent’s David Maddox has the eyebrow-raising tale of an ex-candidate who reckons he was deselected due to his Christian faith.
Still to come: The final night of conference has plenty to keep attendees amused — Humanists UK have a drinks reception (6 p.m.) … the EU Delegation to the U.K. has a reception with Ambassador Pedro Serrano, invite only (6.15 p.m.) … hacks have drinks with Lib Dem MPs, invite only (8 p.m.) … and the NFU and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe both have receptions (8 p.m.). 
Not forgetting: The highlight of every Lib Dem conference — Glee Club — kicks into gear at 10 p.m. for three hours of bellowing Lib Dem hearts out to songs of varying quality. The Liberator Songbook — complete with 111 tunes — helpfully ensures every word is uttered pitch perfectly. If advance sight of the lyrics is anything to go by, the tunes will be very fruity indeed. 
ACROSS THE POND: U.S. President Joe Biden said the secret service “needs more help” after an apparent assassination attempt against Republican nominee Donald Trump in Florida Sunday. Trump is due to meet acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe soon while the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, is expected to appear before a judge.
Meanwhile in Kyiv: Ukraine dismissed links to Routh, who told the New York Times in 2023 he was willing to “to fight and die in Ukraine.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed relief Trump was unharmed, adding: “This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world.” My colleague Veronika Melkozerova has that writeup.
UKRAINE WAR LATEST: Vladimir Putin demanded Russia’s military increase its troop numbers by 180,000. The order takes effect from Dec. 1 and sets the overall number of Russian military personnel at almost 2.4 million. More from the Independent.
MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrikes killed 16 people in the Gaza Strip, including five women and four children. Israel said it was only targeting militants and accused Hamas of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas — more from AP.
IN NORTH KOREA: The biggest vaccine drive since the Covid-19 pandemic commenced after a four year hiatus on routine immunization left children exposed to deadly diseases — more from the Telegraph.
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LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.) and BBC News at Six lead on Huw Edwards’ sentencing … Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) focuses on the second attempted assassination of Donald Trump … and has an interview with Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey.
Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 6 p.m.): Law Society Criminal Law Committee Chair Stuart Nolan (5.05 p.m.).
Drive with John Pienaar (Times Radio, until 7 p.m.): Former U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster … Democratic strategist Maya Rupert … Labour MP Yuan Yang … Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan.
BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Crossbench peer Jim O’Neill.
News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Author Barry Donadio (5.45 p.m.) … pollster John Zogby (6.30 p.m.) … academic Jonathan Portes (6.45 p.m.).
Sky News Daily (Podcast, drops at 5 p.m.): J.L. Partners Director Scarlett Maguire.
Tonight With Andrew Marr (LBC, 6 p.m.): Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (Sky News, 7 p.m.): Lib Dem Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper … Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine … Nick Clegg’s former Director of Policy Polly Mackenzie.
Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC, 8 p.m.): Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry … former Tory MP Paul Scully … former Daily Mirror Editor Alison Phillips … businessman Steve Rigby.
Newsnight (BBC 2, 10.30 p.m.): Daisy Cooper … former Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: George Mann.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): Former Downing Street Director of Communications Guto Harri and PoliticsHome’s Nadine Bachelor-Hunt … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar and the Sun’s Harry Cole.
LIB DEMS: Final day of Lib Dem conference in Brighton. Speech from Leader Ed Davey. 
LABOUR: New Labour general secretary expected to be announced.
SPEECH: David Lammy gives a speech on climate and nature.
SPEECH 2: Ed Miliband gives a speech at Energy UK on green power.
BOOK NEWS: Graham Brady’s tell-all autobiography is out.
**Tune in to the finance policy chatter during party conference season. As the U.K.’s political parties gather to discuss their priorities, finance policy could be part of the conversation – and you shouldn’t be missing out. Get on-the-ground insights from our London newsroom in our exclusive POLITICO Pro Debrief on September 17. Sign up here.**
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: On this day in 1992, Britain left the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in what became known as “Black Wednesday.” It dealt a huge blow to the economic credibility of John Major’s Conservative government. H/T the Tides of History X feed.
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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