London Playbook PM: Bibi doubles down

Good afternoon. This is Andrew McDonald.
— Benjamin Netanyahu used his speech at the U.N. General Assembly to promise to keep fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
— Russell Findlay was elected as the new Scottish Tory leader. An ally had some choice words about his detractors.
— Scoop: The Railway industry is up in arms about minister Peter Hendy’s old gig.
— All the Sunday action at Tory conference mapped out.
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HIT ME BIBI ONE MORE TIME: With two days still to go before Conservative conference and little on the government grid, Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly this afternoon is very much leading the agenda. And it will have made for a sobering watch for Keir Starmer and Western allies after a week of urging restraint from Israel. 
The Israeli PM spoke … about two hours ago in New York at the General Assembly. He was greeted by a smattering of boos — and cheers from supporters and the Israeli delegation — in the chamber, plus a walkout from some disgusted diplomats. 
Hitting out at his fellow attendees: “I didn’t intend to come here this year. My country is at war, fighting for its life,” Netanyahu said. “But after I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight.”
And then the key bit: “As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to our homes safely — and that is exactly what we’re doing,” he said. 
Which sounds like … a “nope” from the Israeli leader toward the Starmer and U.S.-backed 21-day-truce proposal, which Netanyahu did not directly address during the speech. “We’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,” he added. “Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. I’ve come here today to say enough is enough.” My POLITICO colleagues in the U.S. have a write-up of Netanyahu’s comments on Hezbollah.
Though on the other hand: Hours before his U.N. speech Friday, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement that slightly walked back his initial dismissal of the cease-fire proposal yesterday, saying “Israel shares the aims of the U.S.-led initiative.” That did not make it into the speech.
On the ground in Lebanon: Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade blows, with the IDF saying it’s attacked “dozens” of weapons depots in southern Lebanon while Hezbollah fired rockets into two areas of northern Israel. Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed 25 people had been killed by Israeli strikes with one attack killing nine members of a family. The IDF meanwhile said it had fully mobilized two reserve brigades to the northern border with Lebanon for “operational missions.” The BBC has more updates.
Otherwise: Netanyahu’s speech offered little new evidence of an exit plan for Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza either, beyond his repeated call for total victory against Hamas — something which is seen by his critics as both unrealistic and also an indication that the tragedy in Gaza will continue.
On the ground in Gaza: The Israeli military bombed the compound of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing at least one person and injuring another seven. The hospital has been a shelter for displaced Palestinians and is currently the only functioning facility in central Gaza. Separately, four people were killed in another strike on a home in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza — Al Jazeera has more details.
Not on the agenda: Starmer and Netanyahu didn’t find time to meet on the sidelines in New York, Sky News’ Deborah Haynes reports. Which means no opportunity for the pair to discuss Britain’s suspension of some arms export licenses to Israel after Netanyahu’s firm criticism earlier this month.
But despite all that static … Israel still wants a trade deal with Britain — and vice-versa. My POLITICO colleague Sophie Inge hears from both sides that further talks on a deal are still very much on the cards, regardless of the public sparring over the arms ban.
ELSEWHERE IN NEW YORK: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Donald Trump at Trump Tower, where the Republican presidential nominee claimed he could negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war because he has “a very good relationship” with Vladimir Putin. The Washington Post has a live blog with the latest.
THE OTHER LEADERSHIP CONTEST CONCLUDES: Russell Findlay won the Scottish Tory leadership race, trouncing rivals Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallacher in the battle to replace Douglas Ross. The result was announced this morning.
Close to being old already: Findlay started by saying he thanks “every sausage … no, every supporter.” Take that, Keir!
He then … said he, as a non-career politician, wants to represent those who “feel let down and failed by politicians of every single party — sometimes including ours — who think politicians are all the same.” He promised that his party will “win back public trust”. The BBC has a summary of the former crime journalist’s career here.
The numbers: Findlay received 2,565 votes, Fraser 1,187 and Gallacher 403, after a total 4,155 people voted out of 6,941 eligible members. As you’ll notice, the figures confirm that the Scottish Tories have a piddly-small membership — smaller even than Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, which confirmed it has around 7,500 members.
Contest of bad vibes: Right at the top of the agenda for Findlay is bringing his party back together — after the battle for the Scottish Tory leadership made the U.K. leadership race look like a mild-mannered exchange of ideas. Among other things, the contest featured an official complaint about an MP’s conduct … allegations about Douglas Ross’ own preference for Findlay, and Gallacher’s resignation as deputy leader … plus barrel loads of infighting and personal attacks from elected members, culminating in the farce of a senior MSP accidentally posting their criticisms as status updates on WhatsApp. Findlay faced fierce criticism from the other contenders throughout the contest due to his portrayal as the establishment candidate.
Shenanigans: “There was obviously shenanigans going on throughout,” Ross Thomson, the former MP and delighted close ally of Findlay, told Playbook PM. “And there were clearly some personal grievances coming to the fore, I’m really hoping that those elected members will be able to put that behind them.”
Not-so-veiled threat: “Any MSP who now doesn’t get in behind Russell and show that team spirit just now will not be looked on favorably by the members,” Findlay ally Thomson adds. “And you’ve got to bear in mind that members will choose who their candidates are going into the 2026 election … if MSPs are going to play games, then clearly the membership are going to express their view on that.” To the victor, belongs the spoils.
View from his external enemies: Scotland’s other political parties see a vulnerability in Findlay’s support for Liz Truss in 2022 — after the ties to Boris Johnson and chaos in Downing Street helped drag down the party under Douglas Ross’ leadership. “Bleak, depressing and a big Liz Truss booster,” was how one opposition aide described him.
Beyond the whole ‘unity’ thing: Findlay’s biggest challenge arguably comes in the shape of Reform U.K. — which managed 7 percent of the vote in July despite barely casting a campaigning eye over Scotland. Reform officials are now excited about their prospects of cutting further into the Scottish Tory and general right-leaning vote in Scotland, amid polling which shows they’re on track to win seats at the Holyrood election in two years’ time.
RUH ROH: The Labour leadership’s favorite millionaire Waheed Alli spoke out against taking military action against Syria back in 2013 and said he had met with dictator Bashar al-Assad on “several” occasions, Guido’s digging into the parliamentary archives revealed.
The context: Alli was speaking in the House of Lords on the eve of the Commons vote on military action in 2013 — which David Cameron lost amid opposition from Ed Miliband’s Labour opposition and a thirty-strong group of Tory rebels.
In freebie news of PMs past: The Mirror dug into clothing donations David Cameron and his wife Samatha Cameron received while he was Tory leader, finding he did not declare any gifts of clothes or cash towards clothing on his register of interests while PM. A spokesperson for the ex-foreign secretary declined to comment to the paper.
NON-DOM NOT GONE? Speculation continues to be rife in Westminster that the Treasury might significantly alter its flagship non-dom plan, following those reports in the Guardian, Financial Times and elsewhere about its potential negligible fiscal value. And now, the Guardian’s Anna Isaac has heard some more criticism of the policy from sources in Whitehall, who tell her it contains “basic errors” and risks damaging the financial sector. The Treasury is still describing these reports as just speculation. Expect absolutely loads of this in the run-up to the budget.
BRIEFING WARS: Angela Rayner has privately complained about hostile briefing against her, the i’s Will Hazell reports in this fun read on Labour squabbles.
CONFIRMED: Starmer will meet Ursula von der Leyen for that bilateral next Wednesday as both sides talk up a post-Brexit reset.
THE KIDS AREN’T ALL RIGHT: The U.K.’s clampdown on international students and overseas skilled workers will cost businesses more than £40 billion and provide no overall benefit to society, the government’s estimates of the policy’s impact — seen by the FT’s Delphine Strauss and Anna Gross — found.
OFF THE RAILS: POLITICO’S Jon Stone reported last month that the government’s new rail Minister, Peter Hendy, had pushed for disciplinary action against an engineer who spoke to the media about safety concerns at Euston station — and threatened their employer with losing public contracts, all while chair of Network Rail. A month on, parts of the railway industry ain’t happy.
Is this legal? The Railway Industry Association has privately told its 360 member companies that it questions whether Network Rail’s “procurement process is robust, transparent and legal” and says it “recognizes that some members may be concerned about” about Hendy’s actions. In correspondence seen by Jon, one supplier warns of “severe consequences for supply chain relations” stemming from the episode. The minister is still in post for now but was not seen at Labour conference.
Hitting the buffers: Albert Sanchez-Graells, Professor of Economic Law at the University of Bristol and a specialist in procurement, said Hendy’s intervention potentially “puts him in a conflict of interest position” and that the DfT might want to keep him at arms’ length from any procurement processes to avoid possible legal challenge. DfT didn’t want to comment on hypotheticals.
It comes after: Will Dunn at the New Statesman spoke to nine more people working in the rail industry who have spoken out against what they called a culture “driven by political concerns” over safety.
ONWARD TO BIRMINGHAM: The conference season jamboree concludes as Westminster flocks down to Birmingham, for the Conservatives’ half-conference and half-leadership beauty pageant. Here’s your guide to Sunday’s action.
ON THE MAIN STAGE: National Conservative Convention President Michael Winstanley will open conference at 2.30 p.m. … Chairman Richard Fuller and former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street are among the panelists for a session on lessons from the election campaign (2.45 p.m.) … New Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay joins his Welsh counterpart Andrew RT Davies and Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Alex Burghart for a panel on the future of the union (4 p.m.).
LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES: James Cleverly will make a speech to the National Convention (1.30 p.m.) … The Centre for Policy Studies think tank have an in conversation event with Robert Jenrick (2 p.m.) … The Conservative Policy forum hosts hustings with the candidates (4 p.m.) … ConHome have a reception with Tom Tugendhat (5 p.m.) … All four candidates are a British Tamil Conservatives event (6 p.m.) … Kemi Badenoch is due to speak at the Tory Friends of Israel reception (8.30 p.m.) … Tugendhat is at the One Nation Caucus drinks reception (8.30 p.m.) … and Badenoch has another speech at the 1922 committee/ConHome party (9.30 p.m.).
Plus: All four candidates will be interviewed by Trevor Phillips on his Sky Sunday show. The candidates will be generally popping up on other Sunday shows too, and Jenrick and Badenoch are both on Laura K’s show.
OTHER PICKS OF THE FRINGE: Shadow Science Secretary Andrew Griffith and new MP Jack Rankin at an IEA event on winning back those pesky youths (1 p.m.) … Former Common Sense Minister Esther McVey and ex-whisky lobbyist David Frost at another IEA event on “rediscovering freedom” (3.30 p.m.) … Onward’s general election with new MP Katie Lam and pollster James Kanagasooriam (4 p.m.) … A CPS election post-mortem panel with former leadership candidate Mel Stride, MP Danny Kruger, 2019 manifesto author Rachel Wolf and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen (5 p.m.) … and pollster John Curtice in conversation with Demos (6 p.m.).
PARTY PEOPLE: Other receptions not already mentioned include the Spectator welcome reception (4 p.m.) … Rishi Sunak‘s welcome reception (5 p.m.) … Separate Welsh and Tory receptions (6 p.m.) … The YouTube party (6 p.m.) … Taxpayers Alliance and PopCons drinks (6.30 p.m.) … CPS reception (7 p.m.) … Law Society reception (8.30 p.m.) … Northern reception (9 p.m.) … Tory friends of America (10.30 p.m.) … and the IEA bash (11 p.m.). Usual caveats about the probable need for invites.
And for the policy wonks: POLITICO’s pro teams have run downs of the top 20 people to meet at conference in tech policy … financial services … energy policy … and trade.
PRE-CONFERENCE POLLING FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Reform voters think of themselves as being particularly hard for the Tories to win back, Savanta research shared with PolHome found.
And listening material: POLITICO’s Sascha O’Sullivan has a great pre-conference Westminster Insider podcast on 20 years of Tory leadership races.
RIP, LEGEND: Sam Freedman has a remarkable stat on X about the icon Maggie Smith, who died today aged 89. “When Maggie Smith got her first film credit Anthony Eden was Prime Minister and she’ll get her posthumous final credit with Keir Starmer as PM. That’s a hell of a career.”
OUTSIDE THE BOX: Labour peer Harriet Harman raised some online eyebrows after suggesting Keir Starmer should enjoy Arsenal on the box rather than in one. Speaking on Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the former deputy Labour leader said the PM’s physical attendance at Arsenal is “a problem that I can see arising because of the government’s involvement with public policy in a situation where Arsenal are very much in the game of wanting or not wanting what the government’s going to do.” 
Kickback: LBC’s Ben Kentish called her suggestion “completely nuts” and “ridiculous” … while the i’s Ian Dunt said the move would worsen the quality of politicians because “you make it impossible for any normal person” to enter the political arena. Sky’s promo post has plenty of other quote tweeters giving Harman the red card.
IRISH ELECTION INBOUND? How can you tell an early election is coming in Ireland? When the opposition Sinn Féin pushes up its annual party conference by two full months in a scramble to get ahead of events.
Not another one: POLITICO’s Irish correspondent Shawn Pogatchnik writes in to say that the two-day conference – originally slated for November, when all parties now expect a snap election – starts tonight in Athlone. That riverside town in the geographic center of Ireland is the same spot Sinn Féin used last year. But this gathering feels totally different given the Irish republicans’ stunning fall in the polls since a Dublin race riot – barely a week after the 2023 conference – exposed deep fissures in Irish society over immigration.
Losing their way: Ten months ago, leader Mary Lou McDonald addressed an enthusiastic hall as the apparent taoiseach-in-waiting with Sinn Féin topping 30 percent in voter popularity, far ahead of the centrist parties in government together, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. This year, the first order of business will be quelling grassroots unrest in a third-place party that has lost its mojo. Tonight’s opening motions for debate focus on reorganizing Sinn Féin’s internal structures to make it more democratic and able to hear what the rank-and-file wants.
Tougher talk: Tomorrow, McDonald introduces a leadership motion toughening Sinn Féin’s line on immigration – the issue seen as most alienating the left-talking leadership from its traditional nationalist supporters. Read the conference’s just-published 109-page agenda here (the leadership’s immigration motion is 114th on the list). McDonald ends the conference tomorrow night at 6.30 p.m. with a half-hour nationally televised address.
IN JAPAN: Japan’s ruling Liberal Democracy party chose Shigeru Ishiba as the next prime minister to succeed the outgoing Fumio Kishida next week. Ishiba has twice served as defense minister and is keen to create an “Asian NATO” which can challenge China’s influence. The Times has more — while the Telegraph has some fun details about his love of model military aircraft and railways.
IN ARGENTINA: More than half of the country’s 46 million people were living in poverty in the first six months of 2024, up from 41.7 percent in the second half of 2023. It’s a blow to President Javier Milei’s efforts to turn around the economy. The BBC has a writeup.
IN HUNGARY: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Political Director Balázs Orbán (no relation to each other) issued an apology after suggesting during an interview that Hungary would have lain down to the Russian army if it had been in Ukraine’s position. More from my colleague Csongor Körömi.
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LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.) leads on the death of Oscar-winning actress Maggie Smith … as does BBC News at Six … Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) focuses on the continued conflict between Israel and Lebanon.
Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 7 p.m.): Institute for Fiscal Studies Senior Research Economist Isabel Stockton (5.05 p.m.). 
Drive with Cathy Newman (Times Radio, until 7 p.m.): Labour peer Dianne Hayter … Tory peer Tina Stowell … former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Itamar Rabinovich … former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Jim Townsend.
News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Middle East Policy Council President Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley (5.05 p.m.) … Norwegian Refugee Council Lebanon Country Director Maureen Philippon (5.30 p.m.) … Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne (5.45 p.m.). 
Any Questions (Radio 4, 8 p.m.): Industry Minister Sarah Jones … former Chancellor Philip Hammond … PCS Union General Secretary Fran Heathcote … the Times’ Iain Martin.
Newsnight (BBC 2, 10.30 p.m.): Labour MP Dan Tomlinson … former Tory SpAd Salma Shah.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Allie Hodgkins-Brown.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): The Mail on Sunday’s Anna Mikhailova and barrister Sam Fowles … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): The Guardian’s Zoe Williams and commentator Benedict Spence.
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Ayesha Hazarika with Times Radio Drive (Times Radio, 4 p.m. on Saturday): Tory peer Norman Lamont (6 p.m.).
Trevor Phillips on Sunday (Sky News, 8.30 a.m. on Sunday): Tory leadership contenders Kemi Badenoch … James Cleverly … Tom Tugendhat … and Robert Jenrick … former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street … the Spectator’s Katy Balls … LBC’s Iain Dale.
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg (BBC One, 9 a.m. on Sunday): Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden … Kemi Badenoch … Robert Jenrick.
The Camilla Tominey Show (GB News, 9.30 a.m. on Sunday): Kemi Badenoch … James Cleverly … Tom Tugendhat … Robert Jenrick … Pat McFadden … Reform UK Chair Zia Yusuf.
Lewis Goodall (LBC, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Pat McFadden … Tory Chair Richard Fuller … Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice.
Sunday Morning with Kate McCann and Adam Boulton (Times Radio, 10 a.m. on Sunday): Pat McFadden … Tom Tugendhat … Kemi Badenoch … Robert Jenrick … Tory peers Chris Patten and Nicholas Soames.
Ayesha Hazarika with Times Radio Drive (Times Radio, 4 p.m. on Sunday): Former Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns (4 p.m.) … Shadow Veterans Minister Andrew Bowie (4.30 p.m.) … Tory MP David Reed (4.45 p.m.) … James Cleverly (5 p.m.) … Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell (6.50 p.m.).
Westminster Hour (Radio 4, 10 p.m. on Sunday): Culture Minister Chris Bryant … Tory MP George Freeman … the FT’s Miranda Green … the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith.
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NEW GIG: Keiran O’Neill is leaving Scottish Labour for the GMB union after five years working in various roles for the party. Here’s the tweet.
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: Denis Healey defeated Tony Benn in the Labour deputy leadership race on this day in 1981. The Tides of History X account has some threads here.
WRITING SUNDAY CRUNCH: Mason Boycott-Owen.
WRITING PLAYBOOK MONDAY 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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