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Welcome to your Weekend Wire from Best for Britain. Somehow, it’s already December and we hope you’re enjoying your advent calendars, even if it’s not quite time to defrost Love Actually.
This week put us in a suitably festive mood, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered his warmest-sounding words yet on our very favourite subject: a closer UK- EU relationship. Elsewhere, the boss of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) resigned following the ultimate pre-Budget ‘whoops’; and the German president was in town for his state visit.
Read on for plenty more on all that.
Deck the (Guild)halls
Speaking at the Lady Mayor’s Banquet at the City of London’s glittering Guildhall on Monday evening, Starmer firmly set out his stall. The Prime Minister argued that how the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) was “sold and delivered was wrong” and that “wild promises were made to the British people and not fulfilled”. We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
Starmer also powerfully argued in favour of Britain’s “new internationalism” when it comes to our foreign policy; a point which couldn’t be more vital with Putin lurking on the EU’s doorstep.
As our CEO Naomi Smith told Left Foot Forward - and our polling has repeatedly shown: “The Prime Minister is merely saying what the British people have known for years, that Brexit was sold to them on false promises and has delivered only damage to the UK.”
OB-Argh!!!
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We know someone who won’t be on the Chancellor’s (famously long) Christmas card list.
On Wednesday, OBR Chairman Richard Hughes offered his resignation after the watchdog mistakenly published its financial forecasts - and effectively the government’s entire Budget - ahead of Rachel Reeves delivering it the usually closely guarded speech in the House of Commons.
Hughes said he took “full responsibility” for the issues identified in the OBR’s investigation into the mistake, which it called the worst failure in the organisation’s 15-year history.
The Budget fallout continued this week, with news Reeves would avoid an immediate investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) into pre-budget briefings, despite criticism from the Conservatives. However, the Treasury is launching its own probe into leaks.
UnSAFE territory
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After talks over the UK’s participation in the EU’s flagship defence instrument (SAFE) collapsed last week, Best for Britain’s CEO criticised both sides for the naval gazing, and made the powerful case for urgently prioritising deeper security and defence co-operation.
“The tragedy is that this should be obvious. The European Union was founded in the ashes of a continent devastated by war. Peace was its raison d’être - not a footnote, but the animating purpose behind every treaty, institution, and enlargement.
“Today, with a land war once again raging in Europe, that founding rationale should be ringing in the ears of every leader from Dublin to Bucharest.”
Read her resounding argument in full in LBC Opinion.
Objection!
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Justice secretary David Lammy has confirmed plans to scrap jury trials for crimes likely to carry sentences of fewer than three years in England and Wales. Lammy’s reforms, the BBC reported, include creating so-called ‘swift courts’ in order to tackle the mounting legal logjam.
Serious offences such as murder, robbery and rape will still go before a jury, but the plans - which Lammy called “bold” but “necessary” - have sparked backlash. As ITV correspondent Shehab Khan wrote for news website hyphen-online:
“The number of Labour MPs who are adamantly opposed is not small. Karl Turner, who has only defied the whip four times in thousands of votes since 2010, says he will vote against this and believes there is enough support to stop it in the Commons. One Labour MP told me that they do not believe that Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, will actually go through with it. They predicted yet another U-turn.”
Watch this space.
Clear and present Rayner
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It’s the return of Labour’s red queen over the water to Weekend Wire, as reports emerged this week that former deputy PM Angela Rayner is leading a group of backbench MPs aiming to speed up reforms to workers rights after attempts by peers to block the bill prompted anger.
Rayner’s move comes after ministers last week watered down their manifesto commitment to provide protections to workers from day one on the job, making the new qualification six months (down from the previous two years). Now the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne is set to bring an amendment to ensure the update kicks in from 2026, rather than 2027. One Labour MP involved in talks told the Mirror: “This can’t be the thin of the wedge and we won’t let it be.”
As one her most significant interventions since leaving government, the news inevitably sparked yet more discussion on if Rayner could be positioning herself to replace Starmer.
Down on the farm
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It was over to the growers and mowers this week for the UK Trade and Business Commission (UKTBC)’s latest roundtable: on how an SPS deal with the EU can improve trade in Britain’s agricultural produce sector. [That’s sanitary and phyto-sanitary for those wondering: essentially standardising rules about food, drink and plant imports and exports.]
A big thank you to our chair, Andrew Lewin MP, and to our witnesses Andrew Opie, Food and Sustainability Director, at the British Retail Consortium; Gail Soutar, Head of Department, Trade and Business Strategy, at the National Farmers Union; and Ed Barker, Head of Policy and External Affairs at the Agricultural Industries Confederation, for all their time and insights.
You can watch the panel session back on the UKTBC’s YouTube channel.
Delay repay
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The government drew ire this week for pushing four elections for new mayoralties in Greater Essex, Hampshire and Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton back two years to 2028, including from its own former local government minister, Jim McMahon, via the Independent.
He warned Starmer that “trust is hard won, but it’s easily squandered” when he spoke in the House to criticise the decision, adding: “We need to be better than this.”
The government said more time was needed to complete local government reorganisation, including ensuring the new elections will be fought under a more proportional electoral system.
Schau Nicht Wütend Zurück*
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (hopefully) enjoyed a state visit to the UK, including a royal banquet with King Charles. He chose the moment to riff on infamous feuding siblings Liam and Noel Gallagher, comparing the Oasis rivalry to the UK and Germany post-Brexit, but suggested relationships were now improving.
Speaking to Parliament, he told MPs: “Don’t Look Back in Anger, as one of the most famous songs by Oasis puts it so well…. Cool Britannia is alive! Our relations may have changed, but, my dear Britons, our love remains. So let us look not to the past, but rather together to the future.”
At Best for Britain, we decided to ask our German friends about their feelings about the UK, Brexit, and the EU.
*Don’t Look Back in Anger.
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The Guardian reported this week that the UK is hoping to secure an agreement as soon as within weeks to rejoin the EU’s Erasmus international student programme. Coming in the wake of the SAFE defence talks breaking down, this would be a welcome move towards further progress on negotiations. A deal on Erasmus could enable students to take part in the scheme from 2027 onwards, two UK and EU told the newspaper. Stay tuned next week because at Best for Britain we have something big coming on the long awaited Youth Mobility Scheme.
Cheerful News of the Week
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In a welcome example of what humanity can collectively achieve, scientists this week reported that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica was the smallest and shortest-lived since 2019. The EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) described the news as a “reassuring sign” of the “planetary sunscreen” recovering.
Laurence Rouil, Copernicus’ director, added: “This progress should be celebrated as a timely reminder of what can be achieved when the international community works together to address global environmental challenges.” Read more in the Guardian.
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Just Nigel Farage deploying the “everyone was doing it” defence and shouting about the BBC’s 1970s TV line up, in response to questions about his alleged racism.
Next week marks International Anti-Corruption Day, as well as the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In Parliament, the Lib Dems are bringing a ten-minute rule motion on a UK-EU Customs Union.
Have a good one.
Jessica Frank-Keyes
Senior Press Officer
Best for Britain
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