LONDON — Rishi Sunak stood in a deluge and announced an election even he must have known would result in a landslide for Labour’s Keir Starmer. With the new regime now desperately battling to reshape the nation while facing many of the same old problems, it’s been an electoral extravaganza of a year to keep all Westminster gripped.
Nigel Farage is eyeing big donations and maximum disruption after the Reform boss was finally successful in breaking his way into the Commons. And the biggest year of elections ever also saw vindication for his pal Donald Trump, who will be back in the White House in just 24 days. But before we get excited about the year to come, let’s first pull up a mulled wine, take a deep breath and honor those who excelled in the year gone by, with our Famous Great Big Bumper Annual Playbook Awards.
Minister of the year
Angela Rayner took the first steps toward realizing Labour’s big ambitions to help the meek inherit the earth or something, by driving the massive workers’ rights package along with planning reforms, devolution and housebuilding drive — but her sidelining left everyone wondering just how much power the deputy prime minister really has. Rachel Reeves may be showing herself to be the real PM, as Keir Starmer affords her near total autonomy while he gallivants around the globe. But the Iron Chancellor’s handling of the winter fuel saga and all those “tough decisions” seemingly doing few favors for the economy has left some disputing her economic credentials.
So with a very heavy heart … Playbook has to hand the minister of the year award to darling of the lobby Wes Streeting. The health secretary somehow came out of Labour’s eye-wateringly tight first budget in 14 years smiling, emboldened to publicly roast his colleagues and placing him squarely at the center of some very presumptuous leadership natterings. But with a few of his colleagues in the Cabinet raising eyebrows at his jokes and questioning what their most ambitious of allies is up to, a mammoth reform of the NHS to navigate, and a penchant for wading into the most controversial topics, there’s plenty of scope for the health secretary to blow it all up. And that’s before we discuss his teeny-weeny majority.
Backbencher of the year
It can be none other than Kim Leadbeater. The plucky member for Batley and Spen managed to convince MPs to back her landmark Assisted Dying Bill at second reading despite unexpectedly firm opposition, all while managing to keep this most emotive of debates pretty clean. Even with passions running high and some mischievous opposition from within the Cabinet (yes, Wes again …) Leadbeater managed to retain the high ground. An honorable mention must go to Nigel Farage. It may have taken eight attempts for the old fox to enter the henhouse, and he may only command four MPs (for now), but the inveterate insurgent still managed to dominate much of the political discourse, instilling a sense of fear into opponents wielding even the largest of majorities.
Sacking of the year
Louise Haigh could’ve been a contender for minister of the year (who else could have driven — geddit — through such swift renationalization of the railways, and even made Euston station a little less terrible?) That was until she was sniped off by Morgan McSweeney in an enforced resignation over an old fraud conviction that we’re still fumbling around in the dark about. But you can’t beat Sue Gray’s orchestrated resignation as chief of staff after one of the most bitter of briefing wars in memory, and also at the hands of McSweeney. A sensational leak of her hefty pay package on top of dark whispers blaming her from everything from freebies to the government’s lack of narrative and vision saw her forced out before the 100-days-in-office mark. Kudos to Gray though for snubbing the non-job of the year.
Resignation of the year
What a year we were treated to. Humza Yousaf sensationally detonated his own spell as Scottish first minister by totally misjudging his former Green allies’ appetite for revenge and destruction. Then Welsh counterpart Vaughan Gething made his own bid for the Liz Truss longevity prize, quitting after four months of infighting and a scandal he insisted didn’t exist. But the winner has to be Rosie Duffield for only deciding she had a massive problem with just about everything Project Starmer three months after winning a seat as one of his candidates.
Special adviser of the year
Who else but Morgan McSweeney, mastermind of Labour’s ruthless yet somehow also bone crushingly boring election strategy, the man assumed to be at the center of so much plotting, and now the most powerful unelected operative in government? But with all his foes from the Corbynistas to the women in Gray suits vanquished, there’s really now no one else left to blame now if something goes wrong. Let’s see how long his tenure as chief of staff lasts.
Scoop of the year
POLITICO’S very own revelations of a honeytrap scandal saw much of Westminster admit to being targeted … and Billy Kenber’s exclusive in the Times on then Tory MP Mark Menzies’ antics may have featured one of the most outrageous of dead-of-night phone calls between a politician and an elderly local party volunteer (“I’ve got in with some bad people and they’ve got me locked in a flat and they want £5,000 to release me.”) But it was gamblegate that really hit the jackpot. Pippa Crerar’s scoop in the Guardian revealing No. 10 insiders had placed bets on the date of the election ensured Rishi Sunak never managed to get his flailing election campaign back on course, as the story became a massive talking point among voters, confirming their worst fears about politicians being in it for themselves. The Gambling Commission continues to investigate, so this story may still have some way to run.
Comeback of the year
With Donald Trump the other side of the pond and far away from Westminster’s concerns (yeah, right!) we’ve gotta hand it to Peter Mandelson. The Prince of Darkness who had to resign from government in the New Labour era a grand total of twice will become Britain’s next ambassador to Washington. The 71-year-old’s reward: smoothing relations with MAGA-land as an staunch anti-Brexiteer who has called Trump a “bully” and preventing tariff hits as a fan of thawing relations with China.
Excuse of the year
Kemi Badenoch’s insisting what she said wasn’t what she said is always good sport but there’ll be plenty more of that to come. For sheer bewildering oddness, Keir Starmer gets this one for his claim he moved Margaret Thatcher’s portrait from his Downing Street study because he prefers landscapes rather than having “pictures of people staring down at me.” An excuse we can all look up to.
WTF moment of the year
One minute you’re prime minister (alright 49 days … ) the next you’re being slow-clapped onto the stage of a provincial sports hall to find out your 26,000 vote majority has gone up in smoke. Liz Truss losing her seat was a standout moment on a night when dozens of Tories were unceremoniously dumped by voters. But the moment that really left all of Westminster (so unusually) silenced has to be James Cleverly being dumped out of the Tory leadership race. Was it all a sophisticated game of 4D chess or a bunch of clever-clog supporters proving they’re not nearly as bright as they thought? Perhaps we’ll never know.
Gaffe of the year
When running to win the hearts and minds of the British public it’s probably not a great idea to be seen to be snubbing veterans. Rishi Sunak couldn’t have dreamed of a dumber gaffe than fleeing Normandy’s D-Day commemorations early if he’d stayed up for a week, wired on Mexican Coke. Blaming the commemorations for having “ran over” during the interview he left the beaches for and then citing “Sky TV” as his great childhood sacrifice firmly fastened the George Cross for gallant services to gaffe-hood to his quarter-zipper.
Speech of the year
With the Tories down and out and Keir Starmer’s ming vase strategy giving way to … well … Keir Starmer, we’ve not been exactly treated to a year of great oratory. But Craig Mackinlay provoked rare applause in the chamber when he addressed PMQs a day after disclosing he’d had his hands and feet amputated following a near-death experience with sepsis. Relive the rare cross-party laughter and standing ovation in the Commons when the “bionic MP” gave his first speech.
Outfit of the year (sponsored by Waheed Alli)
Rishi Sunak’s sodden suit may have helped launch a dismal election campaign but it was Keir Starmer’s flash new glasses and nifty gratis threads that triggered a thousand stories and an eventual change in policy on freebies.
Survivor of the year
Richard Holden survived a chicken run and two recounts … Mel Stride clung onto his seat by 61 votes, sat through hundreds of hours of broadcast rounds, challenged for the leadership and still ended up in the shadow Cabinet … but the prize has to be shared by two veterans who took on the might of the Labour Party to firmly remain a thorn in the center left’s side. Congratulations to Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott — perhaps a “social outing” to Marx’s tomb to celebrate?
Self-promoter of the year
Liz Truss valiantly toured pretty much every TV studio in the West to flog copies of her book on how to save the hemisphere, even managing to hold up a copy the right way round some of the time. But then came along her predecessor, whose audacious headline-grabbing in his own tome ranged from revealing Queen Elizabeth II “had some form of bone cancer” to claiming he contemplated invading the Netherlands. Truly, no one does hubris better than Boris Johnson.
Social media post of the year
Honorable mention to Esther McVey, the former “minister for common sense” who linked the smoking ban with the Holocaust in a “first they came for” tweet — and seemingly still thinks it was a good idea. But it turned out the most incendiary post was on LinkedIn of all places. Labour’s Sofia Patel managed to spark a transatlantic row and a mid-election lawsuit with a rather misjudged and heavily weaponized call for volunteers to knock on doors in North Carolina on behalf of Kamala Harris.
The Emilio Casalicchio award for not being a press conference wimp
One of the many things Starmer stuck rigidly to this year was (like many a less courageous leader before him) not once acknowledging the aloft arm of my protesting Playbook colleague to take a question not assigned by Downing Street spinners in advance. So all credit to Rachel Reeves for being the only Cabinet minister brave enough to take a more spontaneous Q from Emilio. Special mention to Nigel Farage for not stitching up press conferences at all … though the arch limelight lover clearly has far less to lose.
LET’S ALL HOPE … 2025 is equally stacked full of sterling examples of fine statesmanship, dirty deeds and jaw-dropping remarks. Playbook doesn’t doubt for a second it’ll be one hell of a time to be alive.
