BEST FOR BRITAIN'S 



WEEKEND WIRE



Dear John,



With bank holiday season fast approaching, Westminster's scions of leadership are racing to their second and third and fourth homes before April recess. Let’s take a look at how they spent their last week.



Humza on high in Holyrood



This week, the SNP leadership race finally reached its conclusion, and standing in the winner’s circle was Humza Yousaf, having beaten out Kate Forbes and Ash Regan.



Yousaf narrowly bested  <[link removed]>Forbes in the second-preference round of votes to become Nicola Sturgeon’s successor, and he was sworn in as Scotland’s First Minister on Wednesday, the first Muslim to hold the post.



Congratulations for Yousaf flowed in from all corners, but none were quite as pointed as that from Keir Starmer, who, in the space of one tweet, said <[link removed]>: “Congratulations to Humza Yousaf…the SNP do not have the answers on the NHS or on the cost of living crisis.” Welcome to leadership, buddy!



Florida man indicted <[link removed]>







The Guardian’s Marina Hyde put it best <[link removed]>: at least he knows he looks good in orange. On Thursday evening, a grand jury in New York City voted to indict former President Donald Trump over six figures in hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election to silence an alleged affair which took place in 2006.



Trump, who rage-posted <[link removed]> his outrage at being “indicated” on his internet fiefdom Truth Social, could now be arraigned as early as next week.  <[link removed]>This leaves him a short window for a trip to the spray tanners before doing the perp walk he’s always dreamed of <[link removed]>.



Ever-conscious of being a trailblazer, Trump can take comfort as he stares down prison time in the fact that he can add ‘first current or former President to pick up a criminal charge’ to his list of achievements. Take that, Nixon!



CPTPP pooh-poohed



People across the UK, rejoice! Without a hint of irony, the Government is boasting about the UK joining <[link removed]> an international trading bloc! Access to this community will streamline trade and turbocharge economic growth! This deal will privilege the UK’s position in the global economic pecking order and raise living standards!



What’s that? Said bloc is located thousands of kilometres away? It includes no reciprocal opportunities for citizens to engage culturally with the countries party to the partnership? The deal carries serious risks of eroding environmental and food standards and killing every last orangutan <[link removed]>? It’s only going to boost GDP by 0.08% <[link removed]>?







Well, in any case, the UK joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) today. Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith said <[link removed]> “the vast distance involved means this is unlikely to be an economic game-changer.” Green MP Caroline Lucas, who sits on the UK Trade and Business Commission, said <[link removed]> it “makes a mockery” of the UK’s net zero commitments.



Well, it only took 7 years



You know when your friend breaks up with their partner, and you come to the crushing realisation that you liked the partner more than you liked the friend, with whom you’re now stuck?



A new poll released this week revealed <[link removed]> that British voters have more confidence in the EU than in the UK Government. Just 24% of those surveyed in the UK expressed confidence in the UK Government, compared to 39% who trusted the EU.



The EU should think about standing candidates in the UK at the next election–at 40% under the UK’s electoral system, they could win a majority and force the UK right back in, whether the public likes it or not.



With the benefits of leaving the EU already debunked in the public eye, a petition <[link removed]> calling for a Public Inquiry into the impacts of Brexit has received the required 100,000 signatures to trigger a debate. The debate will take place on 24th April.



£10k a day for a celebritician







Either Matt Hancock is a money-grubbing, shameless grifter, or “I’m A Celebrity” must not be paying what it used to. 



Last weekend, a sting operation coordinated by Led By Donkeys approached <[link removed]> several MPs from all parties with a fake overseas company looking to expand in the UK market, and asked them for political consulting services.



They managed to get Hancock and former Chancellor/economy-crasher-extraordinaire Kwasi Kwarteng to offer their going rates: Kwarteng wanted a modest £10k/month, while Hancock demanded the same amount–per day. 



Gavin Williamson, on the other hand, used <[link removed]> his extensive experience slamming doors in people’s faces and rudely hanging up on people to end the call. Bullying does work, sometimes.



Bibi backs down







The political chaos in Israel surrounding right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly controversial judicial reforms appears <[link removed]> to have reached a denouement, at least for the time being.



After Netanyahu announced plans to overhaul the legal system in a move that would seriously erode judicial independence in the country, some of Israel’s biggest-ever protests brought public life to a standstill. Following threats <[link removed]> of a general strike, this week the PM was forced to pause enacting the reforms.



The turmoil follows years of international pressure building over Netanyahu’s lurch to the right as he consolidates his political gains. This week, the Israeli PM earned a rare rebuke from his closest international ally, US President Joe Biden. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Biden said <[link removed]> Netanyahu should “walk away” from the proposed plans.



UK wack, says world



When being yelled at by everyone from the United Nations to the International Monetary Fund to the Catholic Church, most people would pause for a moment of self-reflection and consider that they might have done something wrong. The best and brightest minds at the head of our Conservative Government, bless them, are not most people.



In Best for Britain’s latest blog <[link removed]>, your resident Weekend Wire-weaver compiled a list of 8 of the international condemnations of the UK Government that stung the hardest over the past year. With all the authoritarianism, cruelty, and good old-fashioned incompetence they’ve served up this year, it’s only a matter of time before the Galactic Federation beams a representative down to intervene.



Give the blog a read and reply on Twitter <[link removed]> if there’s anything we missed!



In other news, sources close to Best for Britain can reveal that the Prime Minister plans to call a general election from a £30,000 custom-built lectern installed in his Yorkshire home’s heated swimming pool! Have a great 1st of April ;)



Best wishes,



Tommy Gillespie

Press Officer, Best for Britain







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Best For Britain - United Kingdom

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