London Playbook PM: The SNP post-mortem begins

Good afternoon. This is Andrew McDonald.
— The SNP’s conference kicked off in Edinburgh. Playbook PM spoke to one of its most senior MPs.
— Priti Patel launched her leadership campaign with a focus on party unity and her record in government.
— A minister set out some of the thinking behind Labour’s mooted smoking plans.
— The civil service watchdog launched a review into Labour’s controversial Whitehall appointments.
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BRIEF DISTRACTIONS: Keir Starmer enjoyed a day out of the limelight thanks to SNP conference kicking off and Priti Patel launching her leadership (more on that below). He should enjoy it while it lasts.
So up to Edinburgh: Playbook PM arrived in town this afternoon, a few hours after the SNP jamboree began at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre — a smaller venue than the aircraft hanger-style venue in Aberdeen the SNP has decamped to for conferences in recent years. This was probably a good call as the venue actually felt quite busy despite the reduced membership which may have impacted on attendance.
There’s another big difference at the SNP fest this year: As with Tory conference in just over a month’s time, the get-together marks the first conference in years for the party following a truly crushing defeat.
The old timers remember: “I’ve been going to [conference] long enough to remember when this was familiar, it was expected to turn up to conference after yet another unsuccessful general election campaign,” the SNP’s longest serving MP, and deputy leader in Westminster, Pete Wishart told Playbook PM before conference kicked off. “The key thing for us over this weekend is how we address this, how we deal with it and how we start to put ourselves back together again.”
The big aim for the SNP this weekend … is to get the bad vibes from July’s election humiliation out of the system and move on. In that spirit, the party held an internal session this morning on everything that went wrong, with Leader John Swinney taking probing questions from disgruntled activists in the aim of being frank. Any hopes of keeping discussion of that defeat neatly contained in the morning session are likely to be forlorn.
But the problem is … the result was so poor that — as well as thoroughly denting the SNP’s finances and self-confidence — it has created a big sense of momentum toward Labour and its First Minister hopeful Anas Sarwar, which the opposition hopes to ride all the way into 2026’s Holyrood election.
Starting the fight now: “[2026] is absolutely critical,” Wishart said. “We always say that every election is the most important one but this one is the most important one … it’s going to be the first Scottish election for a number of years where the SNP faces a real contest — we’ve got a huge task.”
In that spirit: The first keynote speech of the conference, given by the SNP’s Deputy Leader Keith Brown this afternoon, was stuffed full of attack lines aimed at Labour and not a great deal else beyond also bashing the former Tory government for not granting IndyRef2. He also said the SNP would back an independence “convention” of sorts with all pro-Indy parties, which is being read in nationalist circles as a bit of an olive branch to Alex Salmond’s Alba Party.
There was more on that theme: Delivering some remarks before a policy debate an hour or so ago, Deputy FM Kate Forbes bashed Labour for scrapping universal winter fuel payments — before moving on to her economy brief. She reiterated long-held SNP calls for the U.K. government to devolve immigration policy to Scotland.
The other big problem this weekend: The SNP’s preparations for its conference have been far from ideal, with a big row over Angus Robertson — one of the party’s most senior ministers — meeting the Israeli deputy ambassador and bungling the comms. Watch out for any disruption or anger during Robertson’s single diarized appearance on the conference main stage Sunday.
Also watch out for … the speech from SNP Westminster boss Stephen Flynn Saturday and then leader Swinney’s first speech to conference in his second spell in the top job Sunday. The full agenda is below.
As for what SNP stalwarts hope to hear from Swinney … “don’t panic,” Wishart said, when asked what he wanted from the leader’s speech. “We faced a real challenge, and it’s incumbent upon us to address it and come out on the front foot.” Easier said than done.
MARCH OF THE PRITSTER: Priti Patel grabbed the baton and officially launched her Tory leadership campaign this lunchtime with a message about unity and experience, my colleague Noah Keate writes in.
Green shoots: Noah and the lucky attendees — 150 or so hacks and activists at a plush Westminster venue — got an eclectic mix of soft drinks including mango lassis (snapped by GB News’ Christopher Hope) while branded tote bags, t-shirts, placards and baseball caps were dotted around.
All credit for that goes to … Patel’s key ally, former MP Jonathan Gullis, who POLITICO’s Esther Webber hears was personally laying out all the swag before Patel’s speech.
Waving the flag: Patel spoke in front of a Union Jack split into three with the third furthest to the right containing a portrait snap of her. Her lectern was emblazoned with her “Experience, Strength, Unity” mantra we can look forward to hearing many more times — or maybe not if she gets knocked out next week.
Spotted: Gullis and fellow former MPs Tom Pursglove and Brendan Clarke-Smith were joined by the former Chief Whip Wendy Morton — plus PopCons Director Mark Littlewood and Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate Howard Cox.
The obvious bits: In her speech, Patel threw the kitchen sink at Starmer’s nearly two months in power, labeling his Rose Garden speech earlier this week “feeble, pitiful and dishonest” and accusing Starmer of a “nasty financial assault” on pensioners over the removal of winter fuel payments. 
Back to the blue corner: Large chunks of the speech were devoted to reforming the Conservative Party, which makes sense given that’s kinda the whole point of this leadership contest. Patel reiterated her pledges for an elected party Chair … a 100-day plan for CCHQ  … and changing how candidates are selected. The members present loved that shiz.
Talking of which: It was telling which lines got the most rapturous reception. Patel gave much attention to winning over voters who’d abandoned the Tories for parties of all stripes, including the “non-Conservative shade of blue which occasionally pops up at election time.” Dancing with Nigel Farage at conference must be off the table this year.
Patel was otherwise … keen to talk up her Cabinet experience and calls for unity, as she argued conservatism hadn’t failed, but the party had been ineffective as a vehicle for promoting it. Her chances of success as ballots begin next week may depend on how many MPs want to own their 14 years in government — or move on.
NEXT UP: Robert Jenrick is having a rally of sorts Sunday in London — complete with placards, a glitzy walk-on video and a few hundred supporters encouraged to whoop and cheer their man, Playbook PM hears. Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly have speeches Monday, with Tom Tugendhat up again Tuesday.
SMOKED OUT: The government indicated again it would push ahead with plans for more outdoor smoking restrictions — effectively confirming that the Sun’s Jack Elsom was on the money with his talker into Thursday. Education Minister Jacqui Smith told Sky News the government is aiming to ensure “fewer places where you can actually smoke” in order to make it more likely smokers give up the habit.
Which is … a slight shift in focus from the main arguments behind the last Labour government’s ban on indoor smoking, which tended to focus on the ills of passive smoking — i.e. inhaling the bad stuff without choosing to. Fans of individual liberties won’t take this one lying down, particularly if any future restrictions are presented as ways of the government stopping people from doing things they are perfectly happy to continue doing … rather than ways of protecting others.
TROUBLE DOWN THE LINE: The civil service watchdog has launched a review into Labour’s appointments to the blob, and has today written to departments to ask for a list of those who have been given jobs.
Driving the agenda: The inquiry comes after scoops from POLITICO colleagues which found Labour figures, including party donor Ian Corfield, had been given jobs in the supposedly impartial civil service. He has since quit and taken an upaid advisory role.
IN MORE RARE NEWS OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS: A further £5.5 billion will be invested into the construction of nuclear plant Sizewell C, DESNEZ announced this afternoon. £2.5 billion of government dosh has already been invested in the plant, announced by the previous government.
ETON MESS: Eton confirmed it would pass the whole 20 percent cost of VAT to parents when it is introduced on school fees from January, taking fees from an already eye-watering nearly £53,000 to more than £63,000. The Times’ Nicola Woolcock got the exclusive. Eton will absorb the increase in this academic year for those on bursaries.
SCOOP: Former public accounts committee chair and Labour MP Meg Hillier is running to be the next chair of the Treasury Committee, her office confirmed to POLITICO’s Hannah Brenton this afternoon.
ANT ATTACK: Labour MP Jas Athwal rents out flats containing black mould and ant infestations, the BBC’s Joe Pike uncovered, finding almost half of tenants in one block of seven flats he owed regularly had to clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould. Pike also found evidence of ant infestations in a number of the seven flats.
Right of reply: Athwal told the BBC the properties were managed by an agency and he had not been aware of the problems.
HENDING A LETTER: Shadow Transport Secretary Helen Whately has written to Keir Starmer fixer and senior Cabinet minister Pat McFadden about the conduct of Rail Minister Peter Hendy — who, POLITICO’s Jon Stone reported Thursday, pushed for an engineer to be sacked for raising safety concerns. “Is the stance Lord Hendy took compatible with government policy on whistleblowers and the Nolan Principles on standards in public life?” Whately asked.
WONK WATCH: The IFG has spoken to a number of former ministers for a new report on improving maternity leave in government, looking at what extra support could be needed. You can read the report here.
ONE DAY OF RECESS TO GO: The row over the removal of a Margaret Thatcher portrait from Keir Starmer’s study has somehow stretched into a second day, in a new low for Westminster. Matt Honeycombe-Foster rounds up the nonsense here.
MAKING THE MOST OF THE END OF RECESS: Angela Rayner has been raving in Ibiza, some social media clips indicate. Well-jel. The Mirror wrote it up.
MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they shot dead Wissam Khazem, head of Hamas in the West Bank city of Jenin, and killed two others as a major operation continues. The IDF withdrew from the city of Tulkarm and its refugee camps — more from the BBC. 
INTO AFGHANISTAN: The German government deported 28 Afghan criminals to Kabul for the first time since the Taliban returned to power three years ago, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces intense pressure to crackdown on illegal immigration. The men were each given €1,000 cash before boarding a Qatar airways jet — the Times has a writeup.
Closer to home: The Alternative for Germany party is predicted to come first in at least one of two state elections Sunday, marking the first time a far-right party has won the most seats in a German state parliament since the Second World War. It polled 30 percent in the state of Thuringia, nearly 10 points ahead of the conservatives. My colleague Nette Nöstlinger has written about how to follow the elections like a pro as the results come in.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin received assurances ahead of a planned visit to Mongolia Tuesday that he would not be arrested for alleged war crimes under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant. Mongolia is a signatory to the Rome Statute governing the court. “We have no such problem,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday — Bloomberg has the details.
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LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.) leads on an interview with Abimbola Duyile, mother of Hannah Jacobs who died of an allergic reaction after drinking a Costa hot chocolate … BBC News at Six focuses on their exclusive about flats rented out by Jas Athwal … Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) leads on violence in the West Bank and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Ben Kentish at Drive (LBC, until 7 p.m.): Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford researcher Ben Brindle (5.05 p.m.) … University of Buckingham Vice Chancellor James Tooley (5.35 p.m.).
BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Former Tory MP Alistair Burt.
News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Former National Political Director for Hillary Clinton Amanda Renteria (5.30 p.m.) … Children’s Society Chief Executive Mark Russell (6.30 p.m.).
Drive with Cathy Newman (Times Radio, 5 p.m.): Labour MP Dan Tomlinson … Crossbench peer Tanni Grey-Thompson … NHS Confederation Chief Executive Matthew Taylor … former Bill Clinton adviser Jim Kennedy.
Dewbs and Co (GB News, 6 p.m.): Tory peer Daniel Moylan.
BBC Newscast (Podcast, drops at 6 p.m.): SNP MP Stephen Gethins.
Any Questions (Radio 4, 8 p.m.): Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds … Welsh Tory LeaderAndrew RT Davies … Green MP Ellie Chowns … Energy UK Chief Executive Emma Pinchbeck.
Patrick Christys Tonight (GB News, 9 p.m.): Tory MP Esther McVey … former Science Secretary Michelle Donelan. 
Newsnight (BBC 2, 10.30 p.m.): Labour MP Chris Curtis … Nicola Sturgeon’s former chief of staff Liz Lloyd.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Neil Henderson.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): The House’s Sienna Rodgers and the Independent’s John Rentoul. 
(SOME) SUNDAY SHOWS RETURN: Trevor Phillips at Sky is back on his Sunday show sofa, as are some of the radio broadcasters. Laura Kuenssberg returns next week.
Also returning … Mason Boycott-Owen’s Sunday Crunch email will land in your inboxes Sunday afternoon.
UP IN EDINBURGH: SNP conference continues with an internal session on reforming the party’s structures Saturday morning … Followed by SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn’s speech (2 p.m.) … A public finances discussion led by Finance Minister Shona Robison (3.15 p.m.) … Another main stage “discussion,” this time led by under-fire Angus Robertson Sunday morning … and then Swinney’s speech to close the conference (3.30 p.m.).
Carole Walker with Times Radio Drive (Times Radio, 4 p.m. on Saturday): Former Tory SpAd Giles Kenningham and PoliticsJOE’s Ava Santina (both 6 p.m.).
Trevor Phillips on Sunday (Sky News, 8.30 a.m. on Sunday): Commons Leader Lucy Powell … U.S. Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock … Labour peer Harriet Harman … former Tory MP Liam Fox … former Lib Dem Leader Vince Cable.
The Camilla Tominey Show (GB News, 9.30 a.m. on Sunday): Tory leadership contender James Cleverly … former Tory Leader Iain Duncan Smith … Royal United Services Institute Senior Associate Fellow Mark Galeotti … former Labour adviser Matthew Laza.
Lewis Goodall (LBC, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Lucy Powell … former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
Sunday Morning with Kate McCann and Adam Boulton (Times Radio, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Lucy Powell … FDA union General Secretary Dave Penman … former Health and Safety Executive Chair Judith Hackitt … Bundestag Free Democratic Party member Torsten Herbst.
BBC Newscast (Podcast, drops at 12 p.m. on Sunday): U.K. defense adviser and former U.S. National Security Council Senior Director Fiona Hill.
Rick Kelsey with Times Radio Drive (Times Radio, 4 p.m. on Sunday): Labour MP Mike Tapp … Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine … HuffPost’s Kevin Schofield.
Westminster Hour (Radio 4, 10 p.m. on Sunday): Lucy Powell … Shadow Veterans’ Minister Andrew Bowie … Institute for Government Director Hannah White … the Spectator’s Katy Balls.
RETURNING SOON: Politics at Jack and Sam’s returns Monday morning in its new daily format. Politico’s own Jack Blanchard and Sky News’ Sam Coates will be in your podcast feed every weekday morning by 7.30am, teeing you up for the day ahead in British politics. They’re promising everything you need to know in under 20 minutes so really, you have no excuse not to tune in. Subscribe for free here.
If you can’t wait till Monday: Jack helms today’s Westminster Insider episode — a whirlwind guide to what to expect in U.K. politics this fall.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Get into the SNP conference mood by reading academic and SNP-watcher James Mitchell’s profile of John Swinney.
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: The last U.S. troops left Afghanistan after a chaotic withdrawal process in 2021.
WRITING SUNDAY CRUNCH: Mason Boycott-Owen.
WRITING PLAYBOOK MONDAY MORNING: Sam Blewett.
THANKS TO: My editor Rosa Prince, reporter Noah Keate and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.
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