Noah Keate

After a fun, fulfilling and busy 12 months on London Playbook, I'm chuffed to be joining POLITICO's live news team as a reporter writing breaking news stories as well as in-depth features. Needless to say, in an election year, there will be plenty to cover. I can't wait to (1/3)

MPs head off for recess this afternoon to pack their suitcases and don their shades for some time at the seaside (and in their constituencies, obvs). Those hoping for a quiet August will be disappointed, as my latest @POLITICOEurope read proves. politico.eu/article/united…

Will be interesting to see how the changes correlate with the latest @ConHome Shadow Cabinet League Table: conservativehome.com/2025/07/18/our… Some big variations!

Superb tribute to Ozzy Osbourne covering his favourite political musings over the decades from the great @pdallisonesque. politico.eu/article/ozzy-o…

EXCL Sadiq Khan has been informally advising the Democrats’ left-wing New York mayoral candidate on how to win his election. But sources close to Khan say the self-avowed socialist Zohran Mamdani must moderate if he wants to become NYC mayor. thetimes.com/article/0de1b4…

Break EXC - Henry Newman replaces Lee Rowley as Kemi Badenoch’s Chief of Staff. Newman will now run LOTO. Lee Rowley is leaving LOTO to private sector. Francis Maude in as ad hoc advisor to LOTO.

Tory reshuffle: James Cleverly to shadow Angela Rayner as shadow MHCLG secretary Kevin Hollinrake to become Tory chairman Stuart Andrew moves to shadow health, replacing Ed Argar Nigel Huddleston taking over as shadow DCMS Secretary

Cleverly made honesty with voters on housing (and the need for more of it) a central part of his @IPPR speech last week. Interesting to see if that continues now he's back on the front bench (and bound by collective responsibility).

Cleverly's summer tour of the think tanks comes to a end ... at least outside of collective responsibility.

🏌️‍♂️ IN LONDON PLAYBOOK PM TONIGHT ... 😴 Meg Hillier ends liaison cttee slumber ... ⛲ Govt could close water boss bonus loophole ... ⚖️ New standards rules via @johnjohnstonmi ... 🔥 Nigel Farage warns of civil disorder via @NoahKeate. Link in next post

My @POLITICOEurope writeup from the start of Reform UK's six week law and order campaign. The biggest proposal channeled Donald Trump by sending some criminals to El Salvador to serve their sentence - even Farage admitted that was an "extreme example." politico.eu/article/reform…

Here is my considered position on having Parkinson’s and accepting that four years in, people are now able to spot it.

Just finished @SkyNews' magnificent 'The Wargame' podcast. Hosted by @haynesdeborah, the series brilliantly imagines how Whitehall could respond to a direct Russian attack. There are countless dilemmas, limited options and a reliance on unreliable allies. news.sky.com/story/the-warg…

We are past the mid point of July, the air is warm, the dahlias are flowering. Is it time to start relaxing for the summer, winding down and having some fun? NO IT ISN’T. Only Connect returns on Monday night, 8pm @BBCTwo

Thanks to the fab Playbook PM team @e_casalicchio @NoahKeate for the mention today - when even 🇺🇸 national public radio are doing detailed reporting on 🇬🇧 water quality, you know the it’s gone viral…. thetransatlantictea.substack.com/p/the-transatl…

EXCL: Council tax cuts are “not going to happen” in Reform UK-run authorities because the pressures on social care are too great, DOGE chief Zia Yusuf has told POLITICO He went further than Nigel Farage, who has said it wouldn’t be a priority politico.eu/article/nigel-…

My @POLITICOEurope writeup of Friedrich Merz admitting Europe was free-riding on American defense. While the German Chancellor claimed a good working relationship with Donald Trump, Merz still argued the U.S. President was less committed to the continent. politico.eu/article/europe…

Update: that post has now been deleted.

Labour MP (and whip) Christian Wakeford says 16-year-olds can "get married with consent" despite the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 banning this and raising the age of marriage to 18.

Update: a correction has now been issued at the end of the article.

Angela Rayner's Times op-ed originally said "by law, they [16-year-olds] can get married" despite the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 raising the age of marriage to 18. This was edited out in an updated version (with no correction). thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…