Dear John,

As the remnants of the Conservative Parliamentary Party descended on the United Kingdom’s second city, leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch shared insightful plans to fix the country. Badenoch’s bright idea; cutting down on that pesky and let us not forget ‘excessive’ maternity pay. For reference, fiscally careful Kemi’s MP expenses between June 2023-May 2024 are the equivalent of 257 weeks of the maternity pay she has labelled excessive. Some quick mental maths will tell you that is the equivalent of the maternity pay for 6 new mothers.

After you take a moment to mull over the hypocrisy of it all,  let's tackle this week's news, shall we?

‘Big’ Beasts Battle it Out in Birmingham

Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick: Unimpressed by international law that tries to stop War Crimes… oh the horror!

“Our special forces are killing rather than capturing terrorists because our lawyers tell us that if they’re caught, the European court will set them free,” was the latest attempt by a Conservative hopeful to appear like the kind of modern, relatable and forward thinking leader the Conservative Party is supposedly searching for. 

It appears that rather than battling it out on their intellectual clout, these Big Beasts of Tory politics are battling out for who can be the most beastly. Kemi has it out for mothers, Jenrick for human rights and apparently Tugendhat appears to hold a deep repulsion of the Liberal Democrats, calling them “disgusting and yellow”. Harsh. 

Overall it has been a fantastic few weeks for Mr Jenrick whose distaste for international law and desire to make children seeking  asylum  miserable have made him the new favourite of the born-again Nasty Party’s membership. Over the last 6-weeks Mr Jenrick has closed the gap with Miss Badenoch from  18-points to 4-points. 

It now appears that the race is almost neck and neck with Jenrick, Cleverley and Badenoch. Tugendhat is expected to fall out of the running when MP’s vote again early next week.

To enjoy the eclectic madness that is the Tory Party Conference, please have a look at the 5 most bonkers moments here. We hope you enjoy it.

Lammy urges Britons to leave Lebanon

Following the Israeli strike on Lebanon which culminated in the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the Middle East has been on high alert as fears grow surrounding the outbreak of a regional conflict. 

On the morning of 1 October, Israel launched the first land incursions into Lebanese territory since the 2006 Lebanese War. The escalation in the conflict, and the muted response from Hezbollah’s sponsor, Iran, has brought into question many of the assumptions which were historically held about the strength of Hezbollah and the geo-political balance of the Middle East. 

In an address on Monday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for all Britons to leave the region as soon as possible, chartering planes and securing seats on commercial flights.

Ones for the policy wonks

The big news for Best for Britain this week was the reemergence of a UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme on the political agenda. Our Director of Policy and Research, Tom Brufatto, eloquently and convincingly summarises the issue in this not-to-miss article. Tom makes the excellent point that our current youth mobility schemes with countries as varied as Australia and Uruguay actually reduce net migration. He also highlights that not only do these schemes prove highly successful but that they are hugely popular across all political parties.

Best for Britain welcomes the joint announcement by Starmer and Von der Leyen regarding the introduction of regular leaders' summits is a promising step in the right direction and the normalisation of a friendly and cooperative relationship with Europe. Starmer called for a ‘reset’ in relations and advocated for further closer ties and co-operation. 

On Friday, the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Energy Secretary announced £22 billion investment into new industries to help tackle the climate crisis and create jobs. Best for Britain remains committed to campaigning for further domestic carbon policy alignment with the EU to reduce costs to business, cut red tape and deliver economic growth and investment. 

The commitment by the Government to fund two ‘carbon capture clusters’ in Merseyside and Teeside is predicted to create at least 4,000 jobs. It is particularly pleasing to see that the Government is investing in these former industrial heartlands, providing the kind of regional levelling up opportunities that residents have long been crying out for. The inclusion of £8 billion of private investment offers insight into how the Government aims to work with business to produce economic growth.  There is work still to be done, but a greener economy is Best for Britain.

Brexit Corner

Cross-industry complaints

1 - UK jewellery brands are struggling to expand their business across the channel due to Brexit induced rules and regulations, leading to a loss of business.

2 - Brexit has been blamed for a large drop-off in the number of passengers going to Guernsey.

Cross-party solutions

Among Best for Britain’s recommendations for fixing the problems Britain faces after Brexit are:

Beneficial alignment with the EU on standards and regulations 

Far-Right march on in Central Europe

Over in Austria, Herbert Kickl’s Freedom Party became the largest party in the recent national parliamentary elections. Yet they fell some way short of a majority and may face a challenging time forming a coalition. The party are detested by many in Austrian politics due to their historical links to Nazism; established in 1956 by a former lieutenant general of the SS.

This is the latest incident of nativist populists gaining sizable political power in Europe off the back of anti-immigrant and Islamophobic sentiments. The newly crowned Freedom Party joins Hungary’s Fidesz Party, Italy’s Brother of Italy, Sweden’s Sweden Democrat party, the Dutch Party for Freedom as a far-right populist party enjoying unprecedented success.

Likewise the far-right populists continue to poll highly across France, Portugal and Spain, forming a triumvirate of populist Mediterranean and Iberean sentimentality. To read more about Austria and what it means for the United Kingdom read my own article here.

The rise of the far-right in mainland Europe is a grave concern and a warning against the complacency shown by the domestic establishment across much of Europe which has enabled such parties to gain legitimacy and support over the last decade.

Tories cry wolf over the Chagos islands

This week the Government announced that Britain would be returning the Chagos islands to Mauritius. And despite the fact that very few will  have heard of the Chagos island before this week, the Conservative leadership hopefuls, in their latest exhibition of performative outrage, were (shock & horror) outraged.

Oh diddums!

Have you ever sent a message to the wrong person? Felt that all too familiar sense of embarrassment?  Top BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg can relate. 

The BBC were forced into cancelling her much anticipated interview with disgraced former PM, the architect of Brexit and the subsequent socio-economic disaster, Boris Johnson after she accidentally sent him the notes before the interview was due to take place.

Cordial debate in America?

Across the pond, in one of the bigger surprises of the week, American Vice-Presidential hopefuls Tim Waltz (Dem) and JD Vance (Rep) engaged in a very civilised and measured debate. We have become so acclimated to the lunacy of the Donald Trump era of American politics, with accusations of cat’s being eaten by Haitians and bizarre playground like nicknames, that the nature of the debate between Waltz and Vance has offered a remarkable glimmer of hope; a glimpse into an America after Trump.

Most commentators seem to agree that JD Vance had the slight upper hand in the debate, whilst also questioning how consequential the debate will be in changing the minds of voters in an election where many appear to have placed their flags in the sand long ago. Nevertheless, bravo to both individuals for reminding America of a by-gone bipartisan politics.

🫣 Cringe Column 😬

This week we are treating you to two cringe moments from the Tory Conference by now unemployed former Members of Parliament, Liz Truss and Jacob Rees-Mogg. 

88th Cable Street Anniversary 

On Friday it was the 88th Anniversary of the ‘Battle of Cable Street’; a series of clashes between Oswald Mosely’s British Union of Fascists and a collection of socialists, Irish, Jewish and working-class persons from the East End of London. 

The Battle of Cable Street on the 4 October 1936 was the decisive moment at which facism in Britain, which had been growing through the 1930’s, was defeated. Between 100,000 to 310,000 (estimates vary) people came out to oppose Mosely and his fascists who had planned to march through the Jewish East-End to intimidate and spread fear and hatred. 

In contemporary Britain, we must take inspiration from those who came out to support the rights of others, the rights of the downtrodden and the rights of the prejudiced. The spirit of Cable Street, driven by unity and collective action is a salient reminder that unity, compassion and cooperation improve the lives of everyone in society.

See you all next week!

Joshua Edwicker
Intern
Best for Britain