Dear John,

As Keir Starmer and King Charles embrace all that Samoa has to offer at the Commonwealth Head of Governments meeting (CHOGM)  across the Pacific, back home Rachel Reeves has this week announced the long-expected changes to debt rules in order to unlock Britain's investment potential. With more details on all that and more below, here is your Weekend Wire.

Samoa-ving on up

Following a 27 hour flight to Samoa to attend CHOGM, Keir Starmer finally joined King Charles who arrived a few days earlier and had been busy embracing a host of local traditions during his royal visit. 

While there, the Prime Minister attempted to shift the narrative away from the sensitive topic of slavery reparations, by focusing on the ‘here and now’. In particular, the impending climate crisis facing many countries in the Commonwealth. But also the importance of cooperation among Commonwealth countries to achieve mutually beneficial economic growth.

By 2027, the Commonwealth will be home to six of the world's ten fastest growing economies, and will hold a combined GDP exceeding $19.5 trillion across its 56 member states.

Wish you were here

Events in Samoa were somewhat overshadowed by the decision by President Modi of India and Ramaphosa of South Africa to attend Putin’s BRICS summit rather than CHOGM. As two of the most powerful commonwealth nations this was quite the snub. Sri Lanka and Canada also followed suit, sending more senior delegates to Russia than Samoa. Eeek. It appears that Britain’s fall in international standing following Brexit is  disincentivising cooperation amongst the Commonwealth. Britain is becoming a big fish in an ever less important pond as nations choose to pursue alliances elsewhere.

Isolation? What isolation?

International pariah Vladimir Putin appeared to be a bit too popular this week for a man supposedly in the international dog house. At the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Putin appeared alongside President Xi of China as well as statesmen from Brazil and new members Iran, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. The conference was also attended by other prospective members as the non-Western group seeks to expand further. 

In what came as a bit of a surprise, UN General secretary, Antonia Gutteres, was also there and even shook Putin’s hand. He has since come under fire from Ukraine for this decision.

The main topic of discussion for Putin and co was the creation of a new international payments system to insulate members of the group from the impact of Western economic sanctions. In the past discussions have taken place surrounding the creation of a new BRICS currency to rival the supremacy of the dollar for international transactions, and with the group growing both in number and economic clout, BRICS could offer a serious challenge to groups like the G7.

Following expansion last year, BRICS+ now commands around 46% of the world's population, over a third of global GDP and substantial shares of food and oil production. With question marks remaining around the human rights record of many of the BRICS+ nations and applicants, it is certainly a worrying advance for the West. In this context, closer ties with our European allies, and in particular on security and trade, has never been more important.

Inferring some interference

Labour have this week landed themselves in Trump’s hot water ( a place no one wants to be) after a LinkedIn post from a senior Labour official surfaced, which  appeared to offer to sort housing for volunteers who were heading across the Atlantic to support the Presidential bid of Kamala Harris. 

The Trump campaign has referred the incident to the American courts, filing a Federal Election Commision (FEC) complaint against the Labour party, accusing it of ‘blatant foreign interference’ and breaking rules regarding illegal financial contributions. It is worth noting that the Australian Labour Party were fined $14,500 in 2018 following similar accusations about their role in supporting members to volunteer for Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid in 2016.

Labour have adamantly denied any wrongdoing but the Trump campaign has been quick to jump on the story in a theatrical manner.

UK political parties have a long history of sending party volunteers to help with Presidential campaigns. This has been pointed out by Labour and Conservative party members alike, who have both come out to defend the party over the past few days. One politician who has been critical of Labour is Nigel Farage, who appears to have forgotten that he recently had his £30,000 flight to America paid for so that he could campaign on behalf of Mr Trump. Not like Farage to be so careless…

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Speaking of electoral interference, everyone's favourite real life Bond villain / tech-bro Elon Musk has caused quite the stir this week by offering to give $1 million every day to a registered voter in an American swing state who has signed his petition on protecting free speech and gun ownership. With Trump taking the lead over Harris in key battleground states in recent weeks, Musk’s latest folly has the potential to have electorally defining ramifications.

Beyond the obvious moral scruples of flaunting $1 million over individuals from areas that have been struggling economically in recent years, there is a suspicion from the U.S. Department of Justice that Musks actions may actually prove to be illegal. 

With accusations emerging from former General John Kelly that Trump said he needed ‘the kind of Generals Hitler had’, it is all starting to get a bit dark and very dystopian in the home of the brave and land of the not so free elections…

A new manager means a new defence (agreement)

Not since George I ascended the throne have Anglo-German relations been so gut! With the appointment of former Chelsea and famed anglophile Thomas Tuchel as the new England Fußballmanager, it was time to finally sort out our leaky defence.

And not just on the football pitch but in politics too. Indeed, new besten freundes John Healey and Boris Pistorius, defence secretaries of their respective nations, put pen to paper on a new defence agreement this week.

As Naomi Smith, Best for Britain’s CEO, pointed out,  “With ongoing Russian aggression raging on our continent, and the possibility of an isolationist Trump Presidency, it has never been more important for the UK to forge closer relationships with our European allies.”

Whilst tactical concerns surrounding what position Trent Alexander-Arnold should play were not addressed, the Trinity House Agreement has brought German and UK relations closer than ever before, providing a half-a-billion boost to the UK economy and 400 new jobs in the defence sector.

Brexit Corner

• Councils in Crisis - A recent study has shown that one in four councils may be forced to declare bankruptcy in the next two years. Read here how Tory failure to replace EU funding schemes has exacerbated the issue.
• A recent study by the bank Santandar has found that at least a third want the Government to cut Brexit red tape. Here at Best for Britain we are campaigning for beneficial regulatory alignment with the EU to remove barriers to trade with our largest and closest market. 
• There are renewed fears in Gibraltar that a failure to extend the post-Brexit deal between Spain and the UK to put in place a soft-border between the territory and the Iberean nation may lead to medical shortages, leading to stockpiling under the famous rock.

House of credit cards

Apparently there is something called the budget happening next Wednesday? Someone really should have mentioned it…

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the budget over the last few weeks, there is finally some good news to report! Speaking to the IMF and World Bank this week Reeves announced her much trailed plans to change Britain's fiscal rules to allow for up to  £50 billion extra in investment. The investment will be focused on large infrastructure and building projects and has attracted excitement amongst many who have long wished for a more proactive government approach to attracting growth and an end to the era of austerity that has gutted this nation's public services.

🫣 Cringe Column 😬

And Finally…

Alexei Navalny’s memoir from prison has been released in what is likely to become a seminal work on 21st century political rebellion and an inspiring account of the unshakeable resilience of the human spirit.

Today in 1775, King George III stood up in Parliament and announced that the American colonies were in open rebellion, in the beginning of what continues to be a dramatic yet special relationship with our cousins across the pond…

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

Joshua Edwicker
Best for Britain