In the week where we heard more disquieting details about the friendships of Prince Andrew and Nigel Farage, and the week before Christmas, here is your Weekend Wire…

Person of the year

On Thursday every one of the defendants accused of sexually assaulting and raping  Gisele Pelicot were found guilty including her husband. In waiving her anonymity she has shown remarkable courage and changed the narrative surrounding sexual violence saying herself that - “it’s not for us to have shame - it’s for them”. 

Bravo à vous madame Pélicot.

Meddling Musk

Fresh from cosplaying as a farmer earlier this year, man of the people Nigel Farage once more proved that he will stick it to the elites by (checks notes) becoming best friends with the richest man on the planet. 

Not content with getting his (increasingly) wealthy paws into both X and the U.S. election, everyone's favourite Bond (or Austin Powers) villain is back to his meddling ways. Unfortunately for us in the UK, his new pet project seems to be bank rolling Reform UK to the tune of a reported $100 million.  

The mooted donation raises crucial questions around the rules and legislation that govern political donations in Britain. To celebrate this new found friendship, Mr Farage took a photo with Musk and other new billionaire pal, Nick Candy, why have one when you can have two!

The big news of the week came from the London School of Economics, who found that Brexit has cost our country a staggering £27 billion in lost trade, although we are not very surprised!

As we approach 2025 we will continue to campaign for removing the trade barriers with our biggest partner, we will push for closer alignment with the EU and campaign for the changes which we believe will get Britain's economy growing.

The eternal black sheep

Some of us might embarrass ourselves over this Christmas break, perhaps we’ll drink too much on Christmas Eve, buy an unwanted gift, or forget the name of that in-law you haven’t seen in years. But what most of us probably won't do is become best friends with a Chinese spy. 

When it comes to making friends Andrew’s can very generously be described as ‘naive’, but his latest scandalous connection with Chinese businessman and suspected mole Yang Tengbo has got the pitiful Prince off the invite list for the Royal’s Christmas shindig. One wonders whether a civilian making the same mistakes would face more testing repercussions.

The 21st Century’s quarter life crisis

This is the final Weekend Wire  before 2025, and what a year it is already shaping up to be. Not only will we see the beginning of the second Trump presidency and an election in Germany but hopefully we’ll get more concrete negotiations regarding the UK-EU reset.

The first 25-years of this century are up, how would one begin to appraise them? It has been remarkably busy! We have seen the internet explode and the first knockings of artificial intelligence which look likely to dominate the next 25-years. We have seen the election of the first African-American president, we have seen an unprecedented eight Prime Ministers (although mostly that is down to the poor decision making of the Conservative Party membership) and we have a new King.

Few people at the end of the 20th Century would have predicted the volatility of the world we inhabit today, gone are the comfortable myths we once told ourselves about the end of history following the end of the Cold War. Russia is back and led by a man intent on recreating the old world from the new, China is also biting at the heels of the USA in the battle for geopolitical domination and despite hopes in the 1990s, the Middle East continues to experience unimaginable suffering and instability. 

More so than anything else the last 25 years have uncovered the fallacy of Western hubris. The fallout from the 2008 financial crisis still reverberates in the inequality and populism which grips North America and Europe. As we approach the next 25 years we do so in a world seems increasingly nationalistic, populist and unable to cope with the challenges that lie ahead, most notably climate change. 

But there is always hope, hope that by working with likeminded nations, standing up for hard won rights and pushing back against those who seek to divide us we can build a better future. That’s our mission and one we can only pursue because of your continued support.

From all of us here at Best for Britain we wish you a peaceful and joyous break and a very happy New Year. See you in 2025!

Joshua Edwicker
Best for Britain