Dear John,



It’s the weekend which means it’s time for your Weekend Wire!



This week I’m going to try my best to avoid talking about what the shadow paymaster general described as the Tory circular firing squad.Bogus polls <[link removed]> and botched coups <[link removed]>have received quite enough coverage already.



There’s also so much Brexit related news this week that I’ve decided to take the unprecedented decision and lead with fan favourite Brexit Corner!



To the news!



(Bumper) Brexit Corner



Sadiq Speaks



<[link removed]>Among the groups royally shafted by the Government’s dud Brexit deal, young people rank somewhere near the top. Despite 73% of 18-24 year olds voting Remain and despite EU offers to maintain special visa arrangements and exchange schemes, our Vote Leave government decided being unnecessarily mean to the next generation was the way to go. 



From interrailing, au pairing and Erasmus to summers tending bar in Spain and winters servicing ski lodges, this decision has meant for the last three years countless young Brits have missed out on irreplaceable cultural exchange and formative experiences, 



And this has cut both ways. The lack of young  continental Europeans here has meant that British businesses, which depend more on temporary and seasonal workers like hospitality and agriculture, have suffered from acute labour shortages, pushing up prices for UK consumers. 



That’s why at Best for Britain we have been campaigning for the introduction of a reciprocal EU/UK Youth Mobility Visa Scheme since it was recommended by the UK Trade and Business Commission in May 2023. This week, our campaign was given a real boost when support from the Mayor of London brought the issue to the top of the news agenda, splashing the front page of the Observer.



Read more here <[link removed]>.



The French Rejection



On the flip side, more wealthy Brits also felt some Brexit blowback this week. On Thursday, France’s top court ruled that a clause in the French Government’s controversial new immigration bill must be removed. The now deleted clause would have given UK citizens with property in France automatic right to long term visas. 



Of course these visas are only something they need because freedom of movement has been stripped from all UK citizens not lucky enough to hold citizenship in an EU country.



New checks on food. New checks on… you?!







Sticking with this theme, this week the House of Commons’ European Scrutiny Committee heard this week that holidaymakers hoping to cross the English Channel could face 14 hour queues from October as the EU introduces a new requirement for fingerprint scans and photographs to be taken from all non-EU citizens entering the bloc (but not Ireland or Cyprus). 



The warnings have added to fears of chaos at the border with the much delayed introduction of new post Brexit checks on goods entering Britain come into effect next week. Meanwhile the government is planning to cut funding by 70% <[link removed]>for those responsible for ensuring these checks are carried out effectively and efficiently.



One commentator (who has been on quite the journey <[link removed]>) highlighted that these checks will add as much as £330million to the price of imports <[link removed]>, costs that will inevitably be passed onto consumers.  Another Brexit Bonus. So long as we can secure those amazing new trade deals that we were promised I'm not so worried…



Canada Collapse



As if we needed more evidence, it turns out those easy peasy trade deals we were promised by the Brexit sales team have turned out to be… well… not so easy peasy. On Thursday night it was confirmed that trade talks between Canada and the UK have broken down because they don’t want lovely cheese from the UK there and we don’t want hormone injected beef here. 



File it alongside the USA and India says UKTBC co-chief Paul Blomfield <[link removed]>who also highlights the danger to UK standards and industries from the Government’s plan to sign the UK up to a trade bloc on the other side of the world rather than the one right next to us… which they didn't like. Still with me in the back?



Treaty Defeaty



The biggest shock of the week undoubtedly came on Monday night, after the Lords backed calls for protections to be introduced before any flights take off, 214 votes to 171. Those unelected bureaucrats, eh! Not content with one humiliation, the Conservatives collectively reached for the musket to fire straight into the other foot, with Simon Clarke penning an op-ed in the Telegraph <[link removed]> calling for Sunak to resign. A real treat(y) for all of us.



(If you’re thinking that it would be easier to just get rid of the lot of them - we do too! Do sign up to alerts at GetVoting.org <[link removed]> where we will be bringing you all our polling and recommendations for the election soon.)



Trump Vs Biden 2



If it was in any doubt, it isn’t any more. On Tuesday Trump cruised to an easy win in the New Hampshire primary over the only Republican candidate left standing, meaning he is almost certainly nailed on to be the nominee to face off against the incumbent octogenarian.



Unwilling to accept reality, his competitor Nikki Haley has not yet conceded defeat and will head to Charleston, South Carolina, the state where she made her name as Governor, hoping to swing the mother of all upsets. But in a state that looks a lot more Trumpy than the one she just lost, the next US Presidential race looks certain be a rerun of the last, failing incarceration <[link removed]> that is.



And that’s your lot



Next week our Content ExecutiveElsie Gisslegard will be bringing you your weekly round up.



‘till next time



Best wishes,

Niall McGourty

Director of Communications

Best for Britain



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