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 and botched coups 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

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.

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% for those responsible for ensuring these checks are carried out effectively and efficiently.

One commentator (who has been on quite the journey) highlighted that these checks will add as much as £330million to the price of imports, 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 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?

And that’s your lot

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

‘till next time

Best wishes,
Niall McGourty
Director of Communications
Best for Britain