Dear John,

We’re well into silly season now and the news is quieter than Nadine Dorries’ constituency office in Mid-Bedfordshire. So, as the country rightly turns its attention away from government gossip to the Women’s World Cup Final, I’m bringing  you a football themed edition of weekend wire. Enjoy!

Three Lionesses on the Shirt 

The whole nation waits in anticipation this weekend for the World Cup Final where the Lionesses’ take on Spain. After winning Euro 2022 last summer, the team are in great form and have the chance to cement themselves in history as the first England team to win a World Cup in 57 years.

It’s been a remarkable tournament so far. Not least to see so many strong performances - but a squad who continue to do as many fantastic things off the pitch as on, is always nice to see. 

How does this relate to politics? Well the Government has had a chance to enact a policy I might agree with for a change this week - making sure pubs can open their doors early for the game!

Bank Hol Own Goal?

There’s been discussions about the possibility of a Bank Holiday this weekend, should England win the World Cup. Both Labour and the Lib Dems are backing it, but it seems the Government isn’t going to give the public what they want. 

What do you think about the idea of a bank holiday? Is the Government scoring an own goal by not committing to introduce one?

📊 Saturday Survey

Should England get a bank holiday if they win the World Cup?

Constituencies: Home or Away?

This week CCHQ was alleged to have made the error of producing campaign material with incorrect constituency names amongst some other areas. We’ve seen some strange things from the Conservatives over the last few months but mix-up is quite something.

Who knows, maybe this is a  new strategy to claw their way back in the polls?

Red Card to the Government’s Health Week

While we’re talking about this Government’s record in case you haven’t noticed, they branded this week their health week. This gave them the chance to talk about all the good work they've been doing to support the NHS.

Letting this Government pat itself on the back about the work it's doing on our healthcare system is like letting Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have a go at the maths round on Countdown and watching them congratulate themselves if they manage to get the right answer. We all remember THAT mini-budget.

The less about this Government's record on healthcare, the better. Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

Keeping Inflation Down

On the topic of that mini-budget, you may have seen the news that inflation is down to 6.8% and is being greeted with joy by the Government. In fairness to Rishi Sunak, he said he’d halve inflation and he’s making some progress… on making this Government’s mess only slightly less worse. 

On a serious note though, somebody does need to remind Sunak not to be too self-congratulatory. With the rate of inflation at 6.8% it means prices are still going up, just at a slightly slower rate.

Everyone seems to know the (A-Level) Score(s)

Speaking of maths, thousands of students in the UK picked up their A-Level results on Thursday. This meant many young people found out their grades and began plans for the next part of life - whether that’s at University or elsewhere. If you know somebody who was picking up their results - we send all of our best wishes.

Unfortunately for many of these students, they’ll miss out on opportunities that future generations have enjoyed such as Erasmus. Our CEO Naomi Smith writes more about this in the House.

Students might be known for enjoying a drink - but it’s fair to say this Government’s approach to running higher education is more like a cocktail of chaos than anything else. Then again, what else do you expect from the Government that’s delivered six education secretaries in four years?

Extra Time

Earlier in the week, it was reported that UK passengers might have to wait over double the amount of time when queuing at the French border as a result of new digital checks. 

Indeed, this might reduce over time once initial checks have been done - but yet again it’s another example of delays we’d have never had to worry about before Brexit that we now have no choice but to put up with. 

As per usual, the Brexit line seems to be that it’s teething issues and that things will get better over time, when actually the opposite seems more likely. It’s probably fair to say we’ve had more teething issues over the last three years that any dentist can help with! 

That’s all for today. Before I go though…

We all know of celebrities who have been given the keys to a city. Whatever the result is this weekend, one thing is clear in my mind. I’d much rather Sarina Wiegman had the keys Number 10 than anyone in this Government. She can manage and motivate a team, unite the entire country and knows how to stop us from looking embarrassing on a global stage. This Government isn’t even in the same league!

Enjoy the game wherever you choose to watch it and thanks for reading. Let’s hope that the Lionesses win. Georgia Wiltshire, our Development Manager will be with you next week but until then have a fantastic weekend!

All the best,
Jake Verity
External Affairs Manager
Best for Britain