Dear John,

It’s been quite the week in politics… and while I do feel those words are becoming overused, it still always seems to be the case.

This has been a pretty big week, though, no matter how you look at it. Whether it’s fiscal statements or foreign elections, there’s lots to talk about. We’ve also got more of an idea about the Government’s plans for the next General Election and details of Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton taking his seat in the Lords. 

Onto the weekend wire…

Fiscal Frivolities

On Wednesday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt stepped up to the dispatch box and delivered what definitely wasn’t a pre-election budget…

Hunt’s fiscal statement contained some ‘tax cuts’ which many have seen as a last-ditch attempt to shore up support amongst the Tory base and backbenches. Jeremy Hunt seems proud of his package of 110 measures aimed at boosting economic growth. 

Some of the main (and most expensive) of these measures were in the form of a 2% cut to national insurance; a maintained commitment to the triple lock on pensions and increased national minimum wage. 

These are huge losses to the Government's future ability to pay for essential services which were delivered by Hunt with the confidence of somebody in charge of the company card at their own leaving drinks. In other words, huge commitments with the likelihood that this Government won’t need to actually deliver them. It’s hard not to see them as a trap for an incoming Labour Government. 

Anyway, that’s what was actually said out loud. The bits that Hunt missed in his speech were that this Government has brought about the highest tax burden for working people since the Second World War, has seen living standards dramatically fall, public services crumble, poverty increase and the economy stagnate. 

The Chancellor took to the airways after the statement to try and sell his speech as the largest ever tax cut for workers. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that independently forecasts and analyses public finances reported that the effect of this budget over the next five years will actually continue to raise the UK tax burden to a Post-World War II all-time high. So really, similar levels of spin as you’ll see on the Ferris Wheel at your local Christmas market over the coming weeks.

Resurrection of a May Election

Amongst the budget psychodrama, all the hubbub around Westminster seems to be of one mind - this was a pre-election Autumn Statement. Conventional wisdom was that the Government would wait out until next October/November, but it seems that a May election could now be on the cards.

Whether or not the splashing of the cash is able to revive the Tories’ dire and ever shrinking poll numbers remains to be seen, but it is clear that a certain smell of desperation is starting to waft over from Conservative benches.  

Luckily, whenever this ever-so elusive election is called Best for Britain has got you covered. We’re updating and relaunching the most powerful tactical voting operation the UK has ever seen at ‘Get Voting’ and it’s going to be crucial in ensuring that we get rid of this rotten government. Do keep an eye out for it!

And while we’re on the topic of elections, our Director of Operations and Strategy, Cary Mitchell, recently published an interesting blog on some of the recent changes to election spending limits. The government has increased their spending limit for the next election from £19.5 million to a whopping £35.1 million. Take a look here!

Lord Cameron of Avatar

The shock return of Dave (or rather, Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton) last week to the Conservative frontbench dominated the reshuffle headlines. Unfortunately for Sunak, this week Cameron again seems to be stealing the limelight. Is this deliberate?

Whether it be the unfortunate positioning of the pair which saw Cameron take centre stage in the welcoming of the South Korean President for his royal visit; his trip to meet Zelensky in Ukraine or his visit to Israel this week, the former Prime Minister is trying his best to rebuild the Tory brand. 

Before Rishi feels the need to feel too down about his new Foreign Secretary overshadowing him, he can take comfort that Lord Cameron’s fame isn’t quite enough to have made a proper impact on the new Argentinian President (famed for his chainsaws and praised by Trump and Bolsanaro in recent weeks). In a reply to David Cameron thanking him for his congratulations on his election victory, Argentinian President Mr Milei addressed the letter to James Cameron - the successful film director of Avatar and the Terminator film franchises. 

Whilst amusing, I for one find this confusion to be forgivable. It is quite an easy mistake to make. One is best known for showing the world a dangerous, robotic cyborg void of human emotion who leaves a constant trail of chaos and destruction in his wake, the other person is a film director.

Right and wrong: election results in Argentina and the Netherlands

Now we’ve had a laugh about the chainsaw wielding Argentinian President; it’s important to focus on the more serious side of things and the results both there and in the Netherlands over the past week.

Milei’s victory in Argentina has been praised by both Donald Trump and Jair Bolsanaro; and many of his views are rather concerning. You can read more about him here.

Closer to home things also aren’t great on the other side of the North Sea as it looks like another hard-right candidate, Geert Wilders’ Party is on track to be the biggest party in the Netherlands. 

There are rumours that Wilders may consider pushing for ‘Nexit’ as he previously campaigned for taking the Netherlands out of the EU - though it seems unlikely this would garner support in the country. You can read more about him on the link above, but I suspect you won’t enjoy it.

Concrete Plans for our UK Trade and Business Commission

Finishing on some good news - the UK Trade and Business Commission (supported by Best for Britain as Secretariat) visited one of the world’s largest cement manufacturers this week, in Rugby. 

Cemex, who generate approximately £775 million in annual sales and employ around 2,000 people across the UK kindly hosted our Commissioners for the day. 

As part of the visit, Commissioners listened to a presentation about CEMEX’s operations before touring the site - which included climbing to the top of the cooling tower and seeing the factory in action.

It was an interesting day out, and the opportunity for Commissioners to wear full PPE, hi-viz and all of the exciting things that come with site visits. More about the visit here.

That’s all from me this week. Next week, the amazing Georgia will be with you. 

Have a nice weekend!

Ben Stead Lewis