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 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: “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
The Guardian’s Marina Hyde
put it best: 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 his outrage at being “indicated” on his
internet fiefdom Truth Social, could now be arraigned as early as
next week. This leaves him a short window for a trip to
the spray tanners before doing the perp walk he’s always dreamed of.
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 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? It’s only going to boost GDP by 0.08%?
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 “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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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
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, 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 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
