Dear John,

As your usual author is enjoying a well earned rest on the banks of the Bospherous, the duty falls on me to bring you up to speed on a(nother) week of jawdropping political developments. Most of it is bad, so let’s start with the good. To the news…

Going for growth

Last weekend, The Sunday Times treated their readers to an advance look at groundbreaking new research commissioned by Best for Britain, which was officially launched on Monday in a packed room in Parliament. The study found that the UK can secure as much as 2.2% growth from  closer alignment on goods and services with the EU removing the mountain of red tape and regulations Brexit imposed on British businesses.

2.2% may not sound like much but in an economy of £3trillion we’re talking what my friend would call, “folding money” - tens of billions. It’s around 20 times the economic boost expected from the Australia and New Zealand trade deals combined, and around double the last government’s best hopes from a free trade agreement with the US. 

It also means we get to match with the high standards of the EU and not… well, the less said about what they allow people to eat in America the better. 

Spreading the joy

The research also shows that the areas set to benefit the most from greater EU-UK alignment are the Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and the North West - in short all the places that make up the much discussed ‘Red Wall’.  Now that’s what I call levelling up! 

But wait there’s more!

Alongside the influential research Best for Britain also released some influential polling. Not, one, not two, but three new MRP polls (the massive ones that show what your neighbourhood is thinking). 

The main take away: alignment with EU standards and regulations is the most popular option in all but two constituencies. Assumptions were also smashed as the poll found a majority support the UK following some EU rules in exchange for reduced trade barriers and a majority of constituencies willing to accept ALL EU rules.

Here’s Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith discussing the findings on Times Radio.

Talk about good timing

The report, which also modelled the impact of new US tariffs, was launched just hours before Trump announced he would impose tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the US. That sound you’re not hearing is all Trump's sycophants in the UK repeating their claim that he would give the UK an exemption.

The research also appeared just days before the ONS found that the UK economy had (yes, you guessed it)  continued to stagnate, making this opportunity for growth without the need for massive new investment even more tantalising to Starmer and Reeves. Alastair Campbell certainly thinks it’s the right move, waxing lyrical about the study in an episode of The Rest is Politics called ‘Starmer’s Silver Bullet’ 👀

But why would we settle for alignment when we could be pushing for Rejoin?

Ignoring the extreme caution that the EU will direct towards any UK leader speaking of Britain rejoining the bloc, our Director of Policy and Research Tom Brufatto explains why we can’t hang around. Every day we remain unaligned is costing us dearly.

Echoes of history

If only steel tariffs was the extent of Trump's mania this week. On Thursday it emerged that Week 3 is Appeasement Week in the big White House grid. In a 90 minute call to war criminal Vladimir Putin, regular criminal Donald Trump expressed his interest in doing a deal to end the War in Ukraine, er… before mentioning anything to Ukraine. 

History bores the world over were exercised  when hours before the Munich Security Conference, Trump did his best Neville Chamberlain with reports that the master negotiator’s opening proposal was (no need to check notes) everything Putin demanded in his ultimatum last year including vast swathes of occupied Ukrainian territory, a veto of Ukraine ever joining NATO and the lifting of western sanctions.

More valuable to Putin than the extensive minefield he could soon inherit is Russia’s reentry to the top geopolitical negotiating table, and time for both the Russian military and its flagging economy to recover so they can come back again to finish the job.

Cometh the shower, cometh the man

To his credit (like he needs any more), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said no deal could or would be struck without Ukrainian involvement but with the US providing the bulk of Ukraine’s warfighting capability, it is unclear how Zelensky can make good on his promise to keep fighting.

EU’re on your own

If possible, new US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had even scarier news as he ripped the sheets away from Ukraine’s European neighbours who have long kept cosy under the NATO defence blanket. At a meeting of NATO defence ministers, the former Fox News host broke with decades of US geostrategic doctrine stating that Europe cannot rely on US protection.

Return of the Barbour Brigade

Whitehall was brought to a standstill on Monday when hundreds of farmers descended on Parliament in an armada of tractors (and some tanks) to demand the Government reinstate their inheritance tax exemptions. GB News were on hand to remind us that such tactics are intolerable when it’s in protest of climate collapse but totally ok when it’s to protect the wealth of landowners. We have to wonder what kind of reaction Just Stop Oil would get from the rightwing media establishment if they rolled through London with this kind of hardware.

You heard it here first

Jeremy Clarkson took a break from embarrassing himself at farmer protests to pen a piece we at Best for Britain have no hesitation in sharing. ‘Brexit makes me want to sit in a gutter and weep.’ - Join the club buddy.

A brief reprieve

Alright lets end on some good news. The number of people on NHS waiting lists in England has fallen for the fourth month in a row and that’s in the middle of winter!

And that’s your lot. Josh will be back with you next week. Have a great weekend!

Niall McGourty

Director of Communications
Best for Britain