Dear John,

In a week dominated by Tory back stabbings, Labour reaching their first 100 days in office, and parliament returning here is your Weekend Wire.

Today marks 100 days of Labour government and it has undoubtedly been a busy start for Starmer since he entered Downing Street on the 5th July. Despite undoubtedly facing challenges; from the far-right riots to sacking Sue Gray and a media storm surrounding freebies, the Government has also got to work. They introduced new reforms for housing and workers rights, agreed payment deals with striking junior doctors and by setting up GB Energy and GB Railways aim to secure energy sustainability and independence for the next quarter of the 21st century and beyond. 

But there is plenty more work still to be done. Have a read of Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith's piece in the New European today, looking ahead to what this Labour Government should aim to do with their next 100 days.

And then there were two…

They say a week is a long time in politics, and yet all the Conservative Party need is a day. On Tuesday afternoon, former-Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was flying high. Following the rapturous reception of his Tory Conference speech, urging his peers to be ‘more normal’, he had raced into the lead of the Parliamentary party vote. And yet a day later, Cleverley was gone. 

The gasps echoed around Westminster, from the Conservative hierarchy to the political commentators; following Cleverly’s massive lead, few had predicted that it would be Jenrick and Badenoch in the final two.

There are two theories being floated around as to how this happened. Firstly, Cleverly's team simply became overly hubristic and miscalculated the numbers in an attempt to lend votes to Jenrick as his preferred opponent on the final ballot of members. There does seem to be some element of truth to this theory, but it appears to have been the ill-conceived acts of some individual Cleverley supporters rather than a campaign ploy. 

The second theory argues that Jenrick  - or Bobby J as he now wishes to be referred to - donated votes to Cleverly in Tuesday’s round in an attempt to lure Cleverly’s campaign team into a false sense of security. 

What we do know is that the news of Cleverley's expulsion by his own colleagues has caused glee and jubilation amongst the Labour and Liberal Democrats, with one Labour MP playfully asking whether the party would have to declare the decision by the Conservative Party as a gift. 

But all jokes aside, the move from the Conservative Party to elect two candidates on the populist right of the party is a real cause for concern. Over the coming three weeks of campaigning we are likely to see a further race to the bottom by both candidates as they wish to appease the even-more-barmy-than-usual Conservatives membership. Remember these are the people who saw Liz Truss as their shining light. 

A key area of contention is likely to be on membership of the ECHR, both Badenoch and Jenrick are open to leaving the convention, although Jenrick has adopted a more crusade-like approach to leaving. The misinformation surrounding the ECHR is deeply concerning and you can read more about that here.

Gone too Sue-n

Labour’s own psychodrama of the week saw Sue Gray leave her position as Chief of Staff less than 100-days into the new government. The former Civil Service titan, made famous for her role in  producing the Partygate report, resigned last weekend under increasing pressure from the media and from within the Labour Party itself. 

Starmer has opted to replace Gray with the more politically minded Morgan McSweeney, who is credited with masterminding Labour’s election landslide.

Brexit Corner

Those in  the City of London remain unimpressed with the stunning silence around what the new age of UK-EU relations will mean for the UK’s economic powerhouse. The activities in the City of London account for a staggering 12% of GDP and 2.5 million jobs and yet there remains no dialogue between the UK and EU about how to best reintegrate the industry with the continent. 

In more positive news…

The lesser spoken about, and rather unsexily titled, Product Regulation and Metrology Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords this week. The bill would allow UK ministers to align with EU regulations related to the environmental impact of products, removing  costly and time consuming red tape. 

The bill covers a wide range of products, both commercial and industrial, and is a move towards one of the UKTBC’s key recommendations . Closer alignment with EU regulations is pivotal for UK business and for removing the post-Brexit trade barriers which currently stymie UK trade. This view has been further reinforced this week by a report released by the Resolution Foundation.

Population Numbers

Whilst the headlines surrounding the latest ONS figures on population growth in the UK were mostly about the 1% rise in population due to migration, another more surprising story received much less attention.

For the first time since the 1970’s there were fewer births in the United Kingdom than there were deaths. This is very worrying and underlines the need for an immigration policy which encourages international and European talent into the UK, as opposed to the anti immigration rhetoric being promoted by politicians like Jenrick.  

With a falling birth rate and ageing population a Britain without immigration would likely fall down the economic pitfall under which Japan is currently stuck with a growing welfare bill and declining workforce creating rising public debt  and lower economic growth.

Board of Trade

Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, enacted a personnel shake-up of the UK Board of Trade. The previous members had been appointed by former Business Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, and it was felt that a fresh start with fresh faces was needed before Monday’s UK investment summit.

A new group will be appointed over the autumn who are likely to be more closely aligned with the new Government's agenda for growth through attracting private investment.

But at Best for Britain’s CEO, Naomi Smith argues that while this is a welcome first step, the Government must go further still: “Revamping the Board of Trade’s remit and composition is a welcome and essential first step in what should be a total overhaul of what the UK Board of Trade is for and how it operates, as originally recommended by our UK Trade and Business Commission."

Hurricane Milton wrecks havoc on Florida

On Thursday morning Florida braced itself for what was described as a once in a century weather event. The tropical storm, named Milton, had grown massively to the maximum Category 5 level before thankfully dropping to a Category 3 as it made land near the city of Tampa. Leading climate scientists have argued throughout the week that the intensity of the hurricane is directly related to the rising temperature of the water in the Gulf of Mexico, itself a product of human activity. Freak weather events such as Hurricane Milton are becoming increasingly commonplace. Without urgent climate action such once-in-a-century storms will occur more often.

Next Week in Parliament

With Parliament now back in full swing following Summer Recess and the Party Conventions, here are a few events to keep a weather eye on. 

Assisted dying

Labour MP for Spen Valley, has introduced a Private Member’s  Bill (PMB) which would legalise assisted dying. This will be the first opportunity for a Parliament to vote on the topic since 2015. 

Due to the highly controversial and emotive nature of the bill, the Prime Minister has announced that the vote will be a free vote, meaning that the government will remain neutral, thus allowing Labour members to vote with their conscience rather than with the whip. PMB’s are particularly useful for the party in power as they enable the Government to pass more controversial legislation under the remit of a backbench MP, enabling them to keep a level of political distance.

Liberal Democrat Opposition day debate

The Liberal Democrats, energised following a fantastic election involving log flumes, water-skiing and  winning 72 seats in the Commons, enjoy their first spoils of war on Wednesday by introducing their own debate. Keep an eye out as it may well relate to the EU following Ed Davey’s question on a Youth Mobility Scheme at this week’s PMQs…

🫣 Cringe Column 😬

Perhaps when one is trying to offer a critique of a policy focused on means-testing welfare receipt, one should choose actors who aren't wearing gold rolexes.

And Finally…

Congratulations are in order for the latest British Nobel Prize winners, Dennis Hassabis and John Jumper. Mr Hassabis, who was knighted for his services to AI this year,  won the prestigious award alongside Mr Jumper and American professor David Baker for their breakthroughs in analysing the design of proteins. 

This Sunday marks 100 years since the then Labour Prime Minister, Ramsey McDonald made history by broadcasting the first-ever party political broadcast on British radio. Here’s to the next 100 years of soundbites, spin and politicians putting their foot in it.

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to catching up again soon!

Joshua Edwicker
Intern
Best for Britain