Hello John!

Amid rising tension in Rafah in southern Gaza, and Kharkiv in northern Ukraine, security continued to dominate the headlines this week, while Sunak and his Cabinet attempted (yet again) to redraw election dividing lines. But as you will see below…to not much avail. 

Sunak’s seventh relaunch

Sunak kicked off this week with a self-described landmark speech at the rightwing Policy Exchange think tank to deliver his - by our count - seventh relaunch in 18 months. That’s one relaunch for every two and a half months in power; each less successful than the last. Doesn’t exactly suggest his plan is working…

Nobody could believe he really was the Prime Minister for change, so this time he decided to bill himself as the man for a crisis because, in case you didn’t already know, we are living in very very dangerous times and it is only tough guy Rishi and the Conservatives that can keep us safe! 

This message might have worked better if the UK’s military and policing personnel hadn’t been cut since 2010 or if defence spending had actually increased over this period. But alas, that is not the case. And don’t even get me started on the billions wasted on procurement, or the myriad other ways he and his party have made us all less safe. 

But enough on that, for Sunak’s other message was that we shouldn’t be dwelling on the past, but looking to the future, which is all rather convenient considering the damage he and his party have inflicted on this country over the past 14 years. 

Who do you trust most to keep you safe - the Conservatives or Labour?

How many boats afloat?

Sticking with the nonsensical, this week Grant Shapps announced that the UK was entering a sort of “golden era of shipbuilding” and that the Government would be building 28…wait, no, sorry…up to 28 ships and submarines in total. 

This number included “up to six” new warships. The media were quick to question whether these were the same “up to six” warships that were announced two years ago. It turns out they were. But, unlike before, Shapps promised that this time the Government was actually going to make good on their promise. How lucky are we!?

When pressed for more details on what was meant by “up to six” Shapps answered “Well we’ll definitely build the first three, then there are plans in place for the next three.” I’m certainly not holding my breath. Remember those 40 new hospitals we were promised?

A pre-election pitch

Over in the Labour camp, Thursday saw Keir Starmer unveil his own version of 1997’s New Labour pledge card with a credit-card sized checklist of six key commitments and a moody looking Starmer in black and white so you know he’s serious. 

After repeated and deeply hypocritical attacks from the Government that he lacked a plan, Starmer’s aim was to put some policy meat on the bones for voters. And while the Labour leader was accused of lacking in ambition and scaling back past promises, he has made it clear that these recommendations are just the start of his party’s aspirations to fix broken Britain. 

Safeguarding standards

Elsewhere this week, the Government was defeated by just one vote when they tried to water down proposals to bar MPs from the parliamentary estate who have been arrested for serious violent or sexual offences.

I strongly recommend watching Jess Phillips explain why this is such an important measure, and why the Government’s proposal - to only exclude MPs if formally charged - would not have sufficed. 

A funding fiasco

On Tuesday the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published a review which concluded that there is no evidence of widespread abuse of the UK's graduate visa scheme, despite Tory claims the route is being exploited, and recommended that it remain in place.

The Government is due to make a decision on whether or not to ditch the route next week, so keep your eyes peeled.

The report comes a week after the head of the Russell Group of universities warned that “any further changes to restrict student immigration could result in a significant destabilisation of the sector, [and] result in less spending in local communities, fewer opportunities for domestic students and less UK research.”

Cooperation concluded

In Wales, Plaid Cymru announced yesterday that it had decided to end its cooperation agreement with the Welsh Labour government, seven months before the agreement was officially due to end. The  leader of Plaid, Rhun ap Iorwerth, cited concerns over Vaughan Gething’s refusal to hand back a controversial donation as the reason behind the surprise decision. 

This has left the Welsh Labour government in a spot of bother, now operating without an overall majority in the Senedd and with opponents claiming that Gething could soon face a vote of  no-confidence. 

Brexit Corner

We told EU: The UK has been told by the EU that it must rejoin Euratom - the EU's civil atomic programme and nuclear energy regulator - if it wants to continue collaborating in the world's largest nuclear fusion experiment, the Iter project. 

Not in Northern Ireland: The high court in Belfast has ordered the “disapplication” of sections of the new Illegal Migration Act - a crucial element of Sunak’s flagship Rwanda plan - as they undermine human rights protections guaranteed in Northern Ireland under post-Brexit arrangements. 

Back to borders: And just when you thought the border chaos was over, reports emerged this week that lorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU were being held for up to 20 hours at Dover due to a Government IT failure. 

Tom’s top tips: As our own Tom Brufatto outlines in Farming UK, none of these post-brexit border checks would be necessary if an SPS agreement, as recommended by the UKTBC, was negotiated with our European neighbours as part of a broader policy of beneficial regulatory alignment. 

War on woke lanyards

And that’s all from me this week. Until next time!

Martha Harrison 
Press Manager 

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