The weekly lunchtime digest of the best stories kicking off the week in British politics.

By ANNABELLE DICKSON

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Good Sunday morning.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

POLITICS IS (ALMOST) BACK: The official pause on British politics is almost at an end. “The Queue” to see Queen Elizabeth lying-in-state will soon disappear, and this time tomorrow world leaders will be gathered in Westminster Abbey for the funeral of the century. The Truss administration, which is less than a fortnight old, will soon be back in the spotlight. Hold on to your hats, there is a fast and furious week ahead.

Incoming: A prime ministerial dash to New York, a mini-budget setting out major tax cuts, a big NHS announcement and a mega package of support for businesses facing huge energy bills are all slated for later this week. Any of these would be huge news in their own right, and with the Labour Party conference due to start on Saturday, time is short, and the news cycle is compressed.

Flying high: The Sundays have a flavor of the message we can expect Liz Truss to take to New York. A source tells the Sunday Times the PM will “draw a clear link between geopolitics and the domestic economy (in particular energy prices), and why reducing the free world’s dependence on malign actors has a direct impact on the cost of living and [the] success of our economy here at home.” The Telegraph says Truss will tell world leaders the pursuit of economic growth is key to facing down Russian aggression.

Special relationships: Truss has rescheduled her full bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, who touched down in the U.K. late last night. It’ll now take place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, rather than in Downing Street ahead of the queen’s funeral. She is also due to speak to Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish President Andrzej Duda today.

The i paper team has a nice weekend read on the diplomatic task ahead for Truss — former diplomats say building bridges with Biden, and clearing the air with French President Emmanuel Macron (who was on the receiving end of a Tory faithful-pleasing leadership dig) should be high on the agenda. 

Budgeting: There is plenty of informed speculation around on what Friday’s mini-budget will hold. Expect to hear a lot about so-called “investment zones” this week —  these are freeports with “rocket boosters,” according to the Sunday Times. The Sun on Sunday reckons No. 10 is considering slashing personal taxes for people who live and work in investment zones, as well as giving businesses based in them tax breaks. Saturday’s Times said Kwarteng will push ahead with expensive plans to scrap the national insurance-hiking health and social care levy (the Sunday Telegraph thinks this could come in November) as well as doing away with the planned corporation tax rise. He will also push ahead with a plan to abolish a cap on bankers’ bonuses (the i’s Paul Waugh had a vital piece Friday on the strange Brexit politics of that particular gift for the City.)

Talking of which: The bonus cap leak reportedly “caused irritation in Buckingham Palace” because political activity is still meant to be halted for the period of national mourning. A “source close to the royal household” tells the Sunday Times: “Downing Street is not supposed to be doing anything. Everyone who works with Charles knows he has temper tantrums about things like this.” Truss’ new chief of staff Mark Fullbrook, like many before him, is said to be furious about the leaking, which we know because of, erm, leaks to Saturday’s Times. Welcome to government, Mark!

Jacob Rees-MoG? The Sunday Times hears the business department — which is being dubbed the “Ministry of Growth” (MoG) in Whitehall — could get a formal name change. As Twitter wags were quick to point out, it would be quite a bold move to name a department after its secretary of state.

Selling the plan: Friday’s statement will set the stage for a proper ideological ding dong with Labour. A source tells the Tele Truss and Kwarteng are “focused on growing the size of the pie so everyone gets a bigger slice, rather descending into a redistributive fight over how we slice and dice the pie.” Over to you Keir.

A good primer: With the NHS and economy back in the spotlight later this week, it is well worth reading Camilla Cavendish’s excellent column in the FT this weekend looking at the challenges in the jobs market. “It is hard to escape the conclusion that the NHS backlog must now be having a direct and devastating impact on the labour force,” she writes. Serious food-for-thought for policymakers. 

Before all that: Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is expected to set out the details of the business support package for firms struggling with their energy bills on Wednesday, when parliament returns. British Chambers of Commerce chief Shevaun Haviland tells the Observer more detail on help for businesses is now urgently needed to stop companies scaling back operations and even closing because they cannot plan ahead.

Marked man: It’s only been a matter of days since Truss installed her new No. 10 Downing Street team, and her chief of staff is already making headlines. Sunday Times sleuth Gabriel Pogrund (with the help of the Sarawak Report website and Open Democracy) reveal Fullbrook was made a formal subject of a U.S. Department of Justice and FBI investigation into an alleged conspiracy to bribe an American politician and influence an election. A Fullbrook spokesman said he was “committed to and complies with all laws and regulations in any jurisdiction in which he works and is confident he has done so in this matter.” 

Flashback: At a meeting on Tuesday, Fullbrook told staff the new government would draw a line under what had gone before, a reference to the partygate scandals of the Johnson era (h/t the Times.)

Wherefore art thou Romeo? The Sun on Sunday says Antonia Romeo — the head civil servant at the Ministry of Justice and Truss’ old permanent secretary at the trade department — is the favorite to replace Tom Scholar as the top mandarin at the Treasury. The Sunday Times agrees, but says Treasury officials Cat Little, Beth Russell and Clare Lombardelli; permanent secretaries Alex Chisholm, Jeremy Pocklington and Chris Wormald; and Jo Shanmugalingam, a director general at the business department, are all on the shortlist.

FINAL FAREWELL: World leaders have been assembling in London over the weekend, and will head to Buckingham Palace later today for a formal state reception hosted by the new King Charles. With a stellar invite list of the world’s biggest movers and shakers, it is hard to believe there won’t be some major diplomacy going on once condolences have been relayed.

First up: Truss is due to have an audience with Charles before the reception. This week’s Westminster Insider podcast looks at how Charles’ mum, who until recently held these audiences, was actually the ultimate SW1 insider. POLITICO’s Ailbhe Rea — with a bit of help from your Crunch author — digs into how the queen received a daily dose of gossip from deep inside the heart of government.

The Queue: The last members of the public will file past the queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall just before 6.30 a.m. tomorrow morning. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport warned this morning that people should not set off to join the queue. The estimated queuing time was at least 14 hours at just before 10.30 a.m. today.

Behind-the-scenes of Operation Marquee: The Telegraph team has a nice piece taking readers behind the scenes of Operation Marquee — the program around the queen’s lying-in-state, including rehearsals for the rapid deconstruction of scaffolding in the crumbling Palace of Westminster.

Primer for tomorrow: The Sundays are full of primers ahead of tomorrow’s funeral. The Tele has a brilliant interactive graphic showing the route of the coffin from Westminster Hall into Westminster Abbey and then on to Wellington Arch near Hyde Park Corner.

Breaking ranks: Labour’s Clive Lewis has broken ranks, warning republicans must not be silenced during the period of mourning the queen. “While republicans should respect the language of ‘duty’ and ‘sacrifice’ monarchists have so forcefully claimed that the Royal family makes on our behalf, we should not pretend that the reality is anything other than a lie,” he writes in the Guardian. 

Charles heads south: Charles and Camilla are planning an Australia and New Zealand charm offensive, the Mail on Sunday reports. No word on the timing of a potential tour yet. 

Course of a lifetime: New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was on the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg show this morning and reiterated her view that her country will become a republic in her lifetime. She told Laura K even the queen had observed and acknowledged a change in the relationship. “My observation is that there will continue to be an evolution in our relationship. I don’t believe it will be quick or soon, but over the course of my lifetime,” she said.

Mum chat: Ardern also revealed the queen had told her “you just get on with it,” when Arden asked the monarch how she managed being a leader and mum.

What’s the bus fuss? Ardern will be in the good books of foreign office officials who have been dealing with diva world leaders who haven’t been too keen on taking a bus to Westminster Abbey tomorrow. “I don’t think the bus warrants too much fuss,” she said. “When we came here for CHOGM we used buses for transport …. this just makes good sense. We’re a very practical people,” she said. Take that, Biden.

Not about politics: House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle insisted nobody leant on him after the U.K. government was accused of “appeasing” China by allowing its leaders to attend the queen’s lying in state. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith claimed in the Sunday Telegraph that the “Establishment” had “leant” on the speaker to get him to admit a Chinese delegation to Westminster Hall after initial reassurances they would not be allowed to do so. Hoyle told the BBC sanctions against accredited Chinese officials remain in place, but said: “This is not about the politics at the moment, this is about the grief that we all share, rather than being overshadowed.”

Keep on campaigning, Charles: John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, told Laura K he backed the new King Charles III to continue to raise the issue of climate change, despite becoming monarch. “There is no question in my mind that that is not a standard multilateral issue or bilateral issue. There is a threat to the entire planet, a threat to all of our nations, and he understands that as well as anybody on the planet.” Kerry said it would be “terrific” if the new monarch could attend the next COP summit in Egypt.

Remembering the queen: The Sunday Express splashes on a campaign for a dedicated day to celebrate the contribution of Elizabeth II.

NEWS FROM UKRAINE: Harrowing scenes from the liberated town of Izium in Ukraine continued to emerge over the weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was new evidence torture has been used in the town, which was retaken after Ukrainian forces made a speedy advance earlier this month. POLITICO has more from Zelenskyy’s Saturday night address. Moscow has not commented on the discovery of the graves.

On the battlefield: In its latest briefing this morning, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Russia had increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure, including launching strikes against the electricity grid as it faces setbacks on the frontlines. 

Word of warning: The U.K.’s Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin told the BBC Vladimir Putin is failing on all of his military strategic objectives, and said the Russian president’s problems are mounting. But he cautioned that while recent events are significant for Ukrainian morale, the likely result is that the conflict will “grind on for a long time.”

QUICK FIRE CATCH-UP

SELECTIVE HEARING: One to watch. Tory MP Graham Brady, of 1922 committee fame, reckons the government may back an amendment he is going to put forward lifting a ban on new grammar schools. He tells the Telegraph that’s his hunch.

BORIS BOXSET: The Mail on Sunday’s Katie Hind is not impressed with what she has seen of “This England,” the new Kenneth Branagh fictional drama documenting the actual drama of Boris Johnson’s time in No. 10. She says it “misses no opportunity to slur Mr Johnson personally and professionally, misrepresenting him and dragging up details from his private life unconnected to his role in leading the charge against the pandemic.”

SUNDAY MEDIA ROUND

Ayesha Hazarika on Times Radio 4 p.m. to 7 p.m: Former U.K. Ambassador to Washington Kim Darroch; the Spectator’s Freddy Gray; the Express’ Sam Lister; the Guardian’s Aubrey Allegretti.

Westminster Hour, BBC Radio 4, 10 p.m.: Tory peer Nicky Morgan; Labour peer Jenny Chapman; Kim Darroch; POLITICO’s own Jack Blanchard.

WEEK AHEAD

MONDAY

QUEEN’S DEATH: Lying-in-state due to end at 6.30 a.m. ahead of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. A nationwide minute’s silence will be held at 11.55 a.m. after the service.

TUESDAY

DIPLOMACY: Truss to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

WEDNESDAY

PARLIAMENT AND ECONOMY: House of Commons returns with MPs due to swear oaths to King Charles III. Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is set to unveil his business energy support package. 

SCOTLAND: Deadline for the Scottish government’s written submission to the Supreme Court case over Holyrood’s power to set up an independence referendum.

THURSDAY

PARLIAMENT AND HEALTH: Commons business statement and a general debate on Ukraine. Reports suggest new Health Secretary Thérèse Coffey will set out her plans for the NHS.

ECONOMY: Bank of England to announce latest interest rate decision, 12 p.m.

FRIDAY

PARLIAMENT AND ECONOMY: Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to set out his mini-budget.

STRIKES: Pay ballot closes for Reach journalists in the National Union of Journalists.

SATURDAY

LABOUR PARTY: Labour Party conference begins in Liverpool. The Mail on Sunday’s Brendan Carlin says plans are afoot to play the national anthem, despite fears some delegates could boo.

SUNDAY

LABOUR PARTY: Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner due to address the Labour conference. 

ELECTION: Italy to hold an election after the collapse of the coalition led by former European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi.

Thanks: To Matt Honeycombe-Foster for spotting the typos and adding sparkle to Crunch.