BEST FOR BRITAIN'S 



WEEKEND WIRE



Dear John,



Make sure your local Tory MP is okay this week. Their colleagues are picking fights with nurses, engaging in vaccine conspiracies, and earning praise from far-right politicians the world <[link removed]>over <[link removed]>.



Get ready for Trade Unlocked



The preparations for Trade Unlocked 2023 <[link removed]> have continued apace this week, with the announcement of some of the UK’s leading business and political voices as conference panellists.



Among the speakers announced <[link removed]> so far are International Chamber of Commerce Chair Paul Drechsler, New Economics Foundation Chief Executive Miatta Fahnbulleh, Virgin Group Chair Peter Norris, and Trade Strategy and Brexit Leader at EY Sally Jones. Peter Foster, the Public Policy Editor at the Financial Times, will be one of the panel hosts <[link removed]>.







Ahead of the big day on 20th June, be sure you’re following Trade Unlocked on Twitter <[link removed]> and LinkedIn <[link removed]> so you catch all of our speakers and panels as they’re rolled out, and keep an eye on the #TU23 hashtag for new updates from our partners.



Tense evacuation in Sudan <[link removed]>



As a war and humanitarian crisis unfold in Sudan, a temporary ceasefire was agreed this week for foreigners to be allowed to leave the country. Foreign governments have been racing <[link removed]>against the clock to evacuate diplomats and citizens.



It is believed that around 4,000 British citizens required evacuation at the start of the week, and the UK Government has plans in place to evacuate citizens by sea and at the Egyptian border should flights no longer be feasible, despite claims <[link removed]> that this backup could end in disaster. As of Friday morning, close to 1000 had been flown out.



With chaotic scenes on the ground and foreign governments bumping into <[link removed]> each other to get getting their people out, Sudanese citizens have been left to fend for themselves. Despite the rapidly deteriorating situation <[link removed]>, the Home Secretary claimed that there were no plans to establish a safe route to asylum for Sudanese citizens fleeing the country, and many British residents stuck in Sudan, including NHS doctors, were shut out <[link removed].> of flights.



Last week, the Guardian’s Nesrine Malik, herself born in Sudan, penned an informative yet sobering account <[link removed]> of the leadup to the fighting.



Sharp rebuke



What’s a small £800,000 loan between friends? Not much, if you ask now former BBC Chairman Richard Sharp and Boris Johnson.



However, a report on the matter by Adam Heppinstall KC, released Friday morning, begged to differ. Heppinstall found <[link removed]> that Sharp failed to disclose his conflicts of interests after putting himself forward for the job following his assistance in setting up a meeting that ultimately resulted in a loan of nearly £1 million to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.



Despite resigning, Sharp has maintained that everything was strictly above board, but that he did not want to be a distraction. It’s exactly the kind of self-sacrificing magnanimity that we’ve come to expect from Tory allies who find themselves on the wrong side of accusations of financial impropriety.



Anti-Asylum Bill goes to Lords







This week, the Government’s international law-breaking Illegal Migration Bill passed <[link removed]> its final reading in the House of Commons by a margin of 289-230, sending the legislation to the House of Lords, where it is expected to meet stiff resistance across party lines.



Ahead of the final reading this week, a number of amendments making the Bill even more hostile to people seeking asylum were tacked on, including provisions for age verification checks to prevent alleged fraud (not the alleged fraud <[link removed]> by the Border Force) and an amendment <[link removed]> giving ministers the power to ignore rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). A separate Tory rebellion <[link removed]> aimed at safeguarding children seeking asylum led by Tim Loughton came to naught.



As their shameful legislation bull-charged through the House, both Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman threw more nativist red meat into the media rounds. Braverman trotted out <[link removed]> fuzzily-sourced claims that immigrants were more likely to commit crimes, while Jenrick said <[link removed]> asylum seekers have values at odds with British cultural mores, earning a rebuke from Jonathan Gullis <[link removed]> (don’t adjust your glasses), who distanced himself from the remarks.



While lamenting this appalling treatment of vulnerable people, Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith also warned <[link removed]> that the ECHR amendment to the Bill was yet another instance of the Government “coming for our rights and freedoms”.



EU bonfire fizzling out?



Don’t look now, but judging by the frothing fury of hardline Brexiters on Friday morning, the Government may have done something semi-sensible.



According to reports <[link removed]> that emerged overnight on Thursday, the bulk of the much-maligned Retained EU Law Bill could be scrapped, with only about 800 of the 4,000 EU statutes earmarked for repeal. International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch appears to have wised up to the fact that businesses generally don’t appreciate having their regulatory environment thrown into chaos so Tory ministers can get punchy soundbites in The Telegraph. 







One of these Telegraph-squawking Tory MPs bemoaned <[link removed]> that Badenoch was “having rings run around her” by Remainers. 



Still, Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith told <[link removed]> Sky News that the jettisoning of even ¼ of the laws with this Bill will “automatically remove workers' rights, food standards and environmental protections” unless it is binned entirely. 



You can use our helpful tool to write to your MP <[link removed]> and let them know what you think of this insane plan.



Have we tried suing the nurses?



The High Court this week ruled in favour <[link removed]> of the Government’s legal challenge against the nurses’ union, which argued that next Tuesday’s planned strikes are unlawful because six months have elapsed since members were balloted in November. 



Legally speaking, the Health Secretary has won this round, but the man who previously said <[link removed]> striking healthcare workers aren’t working hard enough will soon discover that suing the UK’s most trusted profession <[link removed]> may not have been the slam-dunk he seemed to think it would be.



Public sympathy remains firmly with the Nurses despite Steve Barclay’s technical victory. The most recent reported polling suggests <[link removed]> public support for striking nurses is at 60%. RCN head Pat Cullen said the ruling was “the darkest day” in the dispute so far and challenged Barclay to return to the negotiating table.







Tory Bridgen falling down



Let’s start with the good news: North West Leicestershire no longer has a Tory MP (or, at least, an MP who’s a card-carrying member of the Conservative Party). 



The bad news: Andrew Bridgen is still the MP for North West Leicestershire, despite finally being expelled <[link removed]> this week from the Conservative Party.He originally lost the whip in January for posting messages online that called Covid vaccination “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”. 



The worse news: Bridgen is now making friendly overtures <[link removed]> toward Lawrence Fox’s Reclaim Party, who have ponied up thousands for consultancy fees and lunches according to Bridgen’s register of interests.



Bridgen released a statement claiming that he was enjoying his “newfound freedom” (from the Tory Party). He’s been enjoying freedom from reality for far longer.



India is #1



The world’s got a new most populous country.



According to the latest reports <[link removed]> from the UN, India overtook China as the nation with the most people this week, with 1.429 billion to China’s 1.426 billion. Despite statistical hurdles related to the pandemic, the data showed that China now likely has close to 3 million fewer people than its neighbour to the south.



However, the data showed that both China and India were seeing a slowdown in growth compared to other countries in the top 10, with China recording a population decline for the first time since records began. Officials on both sides of the border pointed to challenges related to large-scale growth and emphasised efforts to combat population ageing.



That’s all from us this week. We hope you enjoy your bank holiday weekend and mandatory allergen labelling on food while we’ve still got them.



Best wishes,



Tommy Gillespie

Press Officer, Best for Britain







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Best For Britain - United Kingdom

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