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Dear John,

It’s been another busy week at B4B HQ, so let’s get straight down to it.

Fresh findings

Following on from last week’s mega-poll - which shows the Tories reaching catastrophic lows with projections of just 98 seats - this week we dived into the details on both tactical voting and voter ID. 

We found that a staggering 13 million Brits are ready to vote tactically to ensure a change of Government at the next election. And that this group could wield huge influence as a result of the high number of maringal and ultra-marginal seats, ultimately deciding whether it will be deliverance or defeat for top Tories like Sunak, Hunt and Gove. 

But remember, this will only be the case if voters have the right information and that is why websites like GetVoting will be so important. 

Alongside providing advice on how to vote tactically to achieve change, the website will also give information on voter ID. This will be crucial as our polling also showed us that 16% of people - potentially representing 5 million voters - don’t know about the new rules.

Would you vote tactically for a change in Government?

A State-side snubbing

In an effort to unlock US funding for Ukraine, David Cameron travelled all the way to the States to make what must be one of the most expensive ‘could have been a phone call’ in history. Sounds like a joke. It never is anymore. 

After having already been blown off by “Maga Mike” Johnson - Speaker of the House of Representatives - Cameron was then snubbed again, this time by Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan who replaced their sit-down chat with a phone call due to “diary clashes”. Who says Republicans and Democrats have nothing in common?

But not to worry, Cameron did get some face time, managing to slip in what I can only guess was a rather awkward dinner with Trump on his Mar-a-Lago estate. In case you’ve forgotten (I’m sure Trump hasn’t), Cameron has variously described the ex-President as “stupid,” “wrong” and “misogynistic” in the past. 

RwandaAir refuses

This wasn’t the only international embarrassment suffered this week, with reports surfacing that Rwanda’s own state airline RwandaAir has rejected UK proposal to fly asylum seekers to Kigali over fears it would risk their reputation. 

But there’s more. Even if the Government does get removal flights off to Rwanda, leaked documents have revealed that the Home Office might not be able to deport as many asylum seekers as it had hoped because of a shortage of lawyers. 

No wonder properties in Rwanda, earmarked for deported migrants, are being sold off to local buyers. Hopefully they won’t be needed anytime soon.

A self sacking

Back on home turf, the Tories didn’t fare much better, with news that senior MP William Wragg had to fire himself for his part in the Westminster honey trap scandal. 

Indeed, a week after it came to light that he had given colleagues’ phone numbers to a blackmailer he met on a dating app, he announced that he had chosen to voluntarily relinquish the Conservative whip. The fact that Wragg was left to do the deed himself, is just the latest example of Sunak’s total lack of political judgement and leadership.

….I wonder if the Prime Minister wll show more nerve when it comes to Nick Fletcher - Conservative MP for Don Valley - who took to Twitter on Thursday to urge voters to back Reform UK’s Lee Anderson. I’m certainly not holding my breath.

Sorry statistics

Towards the end of the week, a fresh stack of NHS statistics were released showing that waiting list figures have fallen slightly for the 5th month in a row, but still remain near record high. 

It’s worth noting that the number of treatments on waiting lists is still 4.6% higher than it was in January 2023 when Sunak promised to cut NHS waiting lists as part of his five pledges. At the time he stated, “we will either have achieved them, or not. No tricks, no ambiguity; we're either delivering for you or we're not.” I guess it’s not then.

Brexit Corner

Net zero nightmare

Divergent UK and EU rules on the import of climate-damaging products is set to cause tension between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, with the potential consequences being a hike in business costs, a loss of jobs in the region and the reopening of arguments about laws separating the two. 

Billions blown

In what will be another hit to UK-EU trade, a new Allianz report has found that post-Brexit UK border controls - set to come into force later this month - will cost British businesses a whopping £2bn, and also fuel higher inflation. 

But but but….Labour have a plan

A new report in the FT suggests that if Labour win the General Election they will pursue a twin-track approach to strengthen ties with the EU, centred around a defence and security pact, as well as increased alignment to reduce trade barriers. If true, the latter could go a long way in solving both of the above problems. 

Timely reminder

Regulatory alignment with the EU where beneficial is one of the UK Trade and Business Commission’s key recommendations. 

🫣 Cringe Column 😬

And that’s all from me. Make sure to check out next week’s edition of Weekend Wire. With the House of Commons returning from recess on Monday, I’m sure it will make for an entertaining read. 

Until next time!

Martha Harrison 
Press Manager 
Best for Britain