Good afternoon. This is Dan Bloom, aided by the Playbook team including Sam Francis in Downing Street. MONDAY CHEAT SHEET — Andy Burnham is appointing his Cabinet. Ed Miliband, Shabana Mahmood and John Healey are inside No. 10. — The new PM ditched a wave... See more
Andy Burnham spent the last month running a hopey-changey campaign from a small town social club to become an MP. His allies have been plotting frenetically behind the scenes to launch the campaign for No. 10 that now begins in Westminster. The former vet... See more
SCOOP — THE HARDEST JOB IN SW1: Tom Wells will be the prime minister’s official spokesperson on a permanent basis, Playbook PM hears. The former Sun hack has acted up since October in the civil service job, being questioned on-record by the ravenous lobby... See more
MATTERS OF THE CROWN: The Crown Prosecution Service is providing “early investigative advice” to police in the separate investigations into Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a spokesperson said in the last hour. Neither of the two men have b... See more
LandWISE Conference 2026 Havelock North Function Centre 27 – 28 May 2026 Our “Soil Health for Profit” theme in 2026 is, in some ways, a return to the past. LandWISE arose out of work to combat soil erosion through use of minimum tillage and we’re returnin... See more
