John,



As we say good riddance to 2023, I thought, how better than to use my final update of the year to have a look back on a few of the great things we’ve achieved together over the last 12 months. 



Sunak and his Government have certainly made this year one to remember, and for all the wrong reasons, but thanks to supporters like you we’ve made it through to the other side.



With 2024 on the immediate horizon, there’s only one resolution on my list for the new year: to get rid of this Government. So if you haven’t already, do sign up to alerts <[link removed]> and donate <[link removed]> to our GetVoting campaign if you can, to help us make this a reality.  



Enjoy. 



Fixing the Brexit Deal



The Conservative Party may trail in the polls but their shambolic Brexit deal will continue to cause major problems long after they’ve been kicked out of office. Original B4B research this year helped uncover the scale of damage, while  evidence heard by our cross-party commission of business leaders and MPs detailed even more.



- 32% fall <[link removed]> in UK musicians playing festivals in the EU

- Half of UK fintech ‘unicorns’ announcing large-scale layoffs <[link removed]> more than double the proportion in the EU doing the same

- Rise in cost of construction <[link removed]> in Britain double that seen in EU countries



A blueprint for policy makers



2023 was a landmark year in our effort to reverse, remedy and repair this damage wherever possible.



With the UK Trade and Business Commission (UKTBC) in May we published 114 fixes to the Brexit deal <[link removed]> based on hours of testimony from 234 expert witnesses, industry leaders and business owners as well as written evidence from more than 200 organisations. 







Trade Unlocked



And we are nothing if not thorough. To test and improve these recommendations we hosted Trade Unlocked in June, a major new conference at the Birmingham NEC bringing together hundreds of businesses of all sizes, from all parts of the economy together with decision makers and trade experts. Through live polling and panel discussion they debated and endorsed our recommendations at an event which included keynote speeches from the Shadow Foreign Secretary and the then Shadow Trade Secretary.







Now that’s what I call impact



Best for Britain Polling also showed how popular our recommendations are with the  public and thousands  of you wrote to your MP to share the report, and tell them to back our proposals. We also took these recommendations to the party conferences (including Labour <[link removed]>, Lib Dem <[link removed]> & Green <[link removed]>) where even more members of the Shadow Cabinet voiced their support and last month, the new Shadow Trade Secretary confirmed that a Labour government would implement <[link removed]> key UKTBC  recommendations if elected. Even the Government seems to be listening, rejoining Horizon, expanding visas and announcing a new carbon border tax as recommended by the UKTBC.







The work continues



For all this success the UKTBC did not rest on their laurels. We continued to take evidence not only on the effect of the Brexit deal but the impact of new trade deals <[link removed]> and further divergence from our largest market with a total of 13 evidence sessions in 2023 and two site visits to major UK industries. The Commission’s work will continue after a pause for the upcoming election year.



Doing what's Best for Britain



In parallel, we’ve worked hard this year to prevent the Government from causing any more harm than they have already through Brexit.



Sinking the NI Protocol Bill







The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill would have seen the UK break international law, unleash economic chaos in Britain and undermine the Good Friday Agreement.



Our work to coordinate opposition <[link removed]> to the bill in the House of Lords saw Rishi Sunak resile from the lunatic scheme in early 2023, and work constructively with the EU to resolve some of the outstanding issues resulting in the Windsor Framework.



We also organised some positive reinforcement for this more responsible approach, coordinating scores of business leaders <[link removed]> to back the plan.



Defending democratic rights



Last year Best for Britain campaigned against the Elections Act, getting some of its more horrible parts removed, but in 2023 we saw the impact of introducing new and unnecessary voter ID rules seemingly designed to disenfranchise opposition voters. At Best for Britain we strived <[link removed]>both to make people aware of the new rules and to pressure the Government to address the issues they created. With the help of supporters like you John, we got a response <[link removed]>from the Government and will continue our campaign <[link removed]>to see the forms of acceptable ID expanded.



Opposing other horrible stuff



This year, we also campaigned against <[link removed]> the Government's Retained EU Law Act, which in Spring was revised to reduce the amount of standards scrapped and remove the dangerous sunset clause. We continue to oppose the Government’s unworkable and unconscionable new immigration and asylum policies, arguing for both the benefits of immigration <[link removed]> and the UK’s responsibility to protect international agreements <[link removed]>. Best for Britain’s Scandalous Spending Tracker <[link removed]> uncovered a staggering £100 billion of Tory waste making headlines <[link removed]> and causing the Chancellor discomfort <[link removed]>.



Fighting Farage







And it’s not just the Government, we’re fighting populists and nativists wherever they pop up. More than 5,000 B4B supporters <[link removed]>wrote to Ant and Dec directly to register their opposition to Nigel Farage’s booking on I’m a Celeb this year leading to the two presenters promising no more politicians <[link removed]> after the show lost millions of viewers. We’ve warned about the risks of his reentry into the Tory party <[link removed]> and the danger he poses at the next General Election. Speaking of which…



Winning the next General Election



We can only do so much with this government in power which is why in 2024, we are totally focussed on winning the next General Election. B4B will help people who want to vote for change overcome our broken electoral system by launching the most powerful tactical voting operation the UK has ever seen at getvoting.org <[link removed]>, building on B4B’s reputation as experts in polling which we enhanced throughout 2023.



The Wavering Wall







B4B kicked off 2023 with a landmark report <[link removed]> on the high number of undecided voters and the pivotal role they could play at the next election. The analysis secured extensive coverage in the New Year's Day edition of the Sunday Times <[link removed]> and beyond. 



Christmas Carols



We followed this up with the wider release of our May MRP poll on Westminster voting intention with a major press conference on the roof of our Westminster HQ. 



Together with Carol Voderman, polling guru John Curtice, focus group supremo Luke Tryl, I discussed just how likely a landslide win for Labour is, once again examining the crucial role of the high number of still undecided voters.



The findings received massive coverage in print, online and over the airwaves.







By Elections



Throughout 2023, B4B paid close attention to the many (and I mean many)  by-elections and what can be learned for the General Election. Despite fantastic wins for Labour and the Lib Dems this year, with Reform UK holding the balance <[link removed]> in the most recent contests, and with opposition parties unable to throw the kitchen sink at every constituency as the do in a by-election, it was once again proven how important tactical voting operations like getvoting.org <[link removed]> will be.



Can't wait, won't wait







Our Can’t Wait campaign <[link removed]>, which highlights the real and damaging impact of our broken electoral system, has enjoyed major success in convincing opposition party members to back electoral reform, reaching 7 million people since it was launched.



And to all of our supporters...



None of this would be possible without people like you John.



To all of you who…



- Donated to our cause <[link removed]>

- Bought from our shop <[link removed]>

- Planted a tree in our forest <[link removed]>

- Signed our petitions

- Contacted MPs

- Wrote to local papers 

- Subscribed to our emails

- Shared our content



…we want to say a massive thank you!



We hope you have a happy and restful break. Here’s to an exhausting and hopefully triumphant 2024!



Best,





Naomi



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