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Welcome to your Weekend Wire from Best for Britain, after what’s been yet another seismic week of headlines worldwide.
We usually aim to offer a bit of humorous relief with this newsletter - a funny take on these all-too heavy times - but sadly, this week’s instalment won’t be quite so light-hearted. As our readers will be well aware, the release of the Epstein Files and their impact around the world, including at the very top of our government, are something far beyond the usual.
As we bring you all the latest political developments, including the crisis surrounding Keir Starmer’s leadership, at the heart of this should be those who were directly harmed, the victims and survivors, and their immediate families, friends and loved ones.
With all this in mind, we’ve also shared some much-needed good news. From welcome progress on EU negotiations, an uplifting Substack on the emotional power of sport, to the return home of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained by ICE, read on for much more on all that.
Crisis mode
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer fought for his premiership this week after facing serious questions over his judgement in appointing former New Labour-ite politico and lobbyist Peter Mandelson, also known as the Prince of Darkness, as the UK’s ambassador to Washington DC. Starmer sacked Mandelson from the post in September 2025, after No10 said new information about the extent of his relationship with convicted paedophile and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein emerged.
When the Epstein Files were published last weekend, further information came to light, including emails which appeared to suggest Mandelson, who has since resigned from the Labour Party and stepped down from the House of Lords, forwarded on market-sensitive information to Epstein when he was business secretary under Gordon Brown in 2009.
The Met Police opened a criminal investigation into allegations of misconduct in public office. As of Friday, Mandelson has not commented publicly on the latest developments, but has previously expressed regret and apologised to Epstein’s victims. The BBC reported that it “understands his position is that he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain”.
It has sparked the biggest crisis of Starmer’s administration so far, with the PM now facing calls to stand down from his own shocked and angry MPs. He apologised to Epstein’s victims in a speech on Thursday, for believing Mandelson’s “lies” and appointing him as the UK’s ambassador to the US. He said, while the relationship was publicly known: “None of us knew the depths and the darkness of that relationship.” Speculation is also rife about the future of Starmer’s top advisor Morgan McSweeney, who is widely seen as a Mandelson protege.
And of course, there is always a Brexit angle. As the Independent reported, the latest release of documents suggest Epstein celebrated Britain’s decision to leave the EU following the 2016 referendum, gleefully dubbing it a “return to tribalism”, and appeared to show him emailing the tech billionaire Peter Thiel, describing Brexit as “just the beginning”. While the Guardian reported on dozens of messages between Epstein and Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon, including discussing support and funding for European far-right parties.
A lighter shade of blue
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Westminster’s psychodrama went west on Thursday as Nigel Farage held his weekly sermon, in the guise of a press conference, this time in Newport, Wales. While we still await the promised ‘senior Labour figure’ due to defect at any moment, we were treated to not one but two former Tories announced as Reform UK candidates for the upcoming Senedd elections in May.
As Dan Thomas - the former Conservative leader of Barnet Council - took to the lectern as Reform UK’s new Welsh leader, the number of former Tories swapping their navy rosettes for a slightly paler blue ticked up to a remarkable 118. Find whether there is a local defection in your area using our handy tracker…
Joining Thomas, was current Welsh MS James Evans who becomes the second Reform UK member in the Senedd, joining fellow former Tory Laura Ann Jones MS. Jones was suspended from Wales’ parliament for using a racial slur about Chinese people, but has apologised and denied she is racist.
However, after losing the Caerphilly by-election, Reform UK’s hopes of forming a government in Wales have faltered.
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Latest YouGov research has Plaid Cymru in a promising position ahead of the polls opening on May 7, and with the elections taking place using the ‘closed proportional list system’ the number of votes won will directly correlate to the number of MS’ each party commands.
Supermarket sweep
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Our polling on widespread public support for an agrifood deal, also known as a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, with the EU, which could help lower the cost of the weekly food shop reached Prime Minister Questions (PMQs) this week.
Labour MP for York Outer Luke Charters quoted Best for Britain’s research - that 62% of the public back such a deal - in the Commons chamber. He asked the Prime Minister to “build closer ties with Europe to cut the price of the weekly shop”. You can watch the exchange on our BlueSky.
And as our policy director Tom Brufatto stressed: “From reducing the cost of the supermarket shop to shoring up our defence and security, voters overwhelmingly - and rightly - recognise the vital benefits of closer alignment with Europe.
“Best for Britain’s polling has repeatedly shown the public are in favour of strengthening Britain’s ties with our closest partners in Europe, and these findings are yet more evidence of that.”
Washington’s Past
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The Washington Post has a long and illustrious history of fighting for the truth and illuminating the darkest excesses of power in American politics. Most famously, the paper uncovered the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon and, more recently, in 2017, reported that President Trump had revealed highly classified information to Russian officials.
Yet this week, large scale redundancies at the paper have reinforced domestic and international concerns about the freedom of the American press and the vitality of its media, new and old. Around one-third of the paper’s staff were laid off in what has been described as a “bloodbath” and a “sickening attempt to curry favour” with President Trump. The news follows increasing tensions between the White House and America’s progressive media corp and the recent arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon.
The decision of Washington Post owner and Trump fan Jeff Bezos to cull the papers books section marks a dark twist of irony given the Amazon tycoon’s wealth was founded on revolutionising e-commerce through books. The newspaper’s adopted slogan under Bezos - “Democracy dies in the darkness” - now reads more like an instruction than a warning.
Cheg mate?
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On Sunday, Portugal heads to the polls to elect a new President. The race between the far-right Chega party and the social-democratic Socialist Party appears to not be as close as many had feared, if pollsters are to be believed.
António José Seguro of the Socialist Party leads voting intentions with 67 percent, compared with just 33 percent for Chega leader André Ventura, according to a poll released on Tuesday. Whilst a largely ceremonial role, the Portuguese President still holds significant powers such as vetoing legislation and dissolving Parliament to call new elections.
This run-off election is only the second in Portugal’s democratic history following the Carnation Revolution of 1974 that saw the end of the Estado Novo - a period of almost fifty years of corporatist dictatorship in the country.
Sporting goods
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On the Best for Britain Wire this week, our very own Josh Edwicker previewed the start of the Six Nations with an uplifting piece on the power of sport to bring us all together.
Whether you’ve never heard of the 1973 Ireland-England game at Lansdowne Road, or you remember it well, the story is well worth a read.
“It’s a powerful reminder that even when society is at its most divided, it is so often through sport that we build bridges and foster understanding.” - Joshua Edwicker
And if more of this sounds like your cup of tea, why not have a think about taking out a subscription to the Best for Britain Wire?
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It was a busy week for UK-EU relations, and some things might have slipped under your radar…
On Monday, EU minister Nick Thomas-Symonds met with his counterpart Maroš Šefčovič to reaffirm their commitment to completing negotiations on the policies agreed to in the May 2025 summit by the time of the next summit. That means that (hopefully) by then we will have an agreement on the Youth Experience Scheme (YES), on establishing a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Area and on linking their Emissions Trading Systems (ETS).
Singer Kate Nash gave powerful evidence to the Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee, which also highlighted Best for Britain’s research into the impact of Brexit on touring artists. Nash outlined how post-Brexit restrictions had made touring the continent far more challenging and expensive. Nash revealed that her last European tour had seen her lose £26,000. A remarkable 87% of musicians have reported that Brexit has hit their income according to a survey by UK Music in 2024.
Collect your tapas, uncork your rioja, and stir your paella: Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez has said he “absolutely supports” the UK rejoining the EU. Vamos, señor!
Cheerful News of the Week
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Amid the update that Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan will withdraw some 700 of the 3,000 ICE agents deployed in Minnesota, another event may have escaped your notice.
When five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias were detained by immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, and sent to the Dilley detention center in Texas, it sparked outrage across the US, and elsewhere.
However, last week the Democrat Texas congressman Joaquin Castro confirmed Liam and his dad had been released, and he had accompanied them back to Minnesota.
“Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack,” Castro said. In a post on Instagram, he shared a moving letter he wrote for Liam, which stated: “As you get older and you understand these words and this time, I hope you will judge America not by your days at Dilley, but by the millions of Americans whose hearts you touched.”
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Expensive fashion, an icy protagonist, and more than a touch of camp? No, it’s not the hotly anticipated Devil Wears Prada sequel; this week’s cringe column entry is, of course, the lacklustre ticket sales for the Amazon-funded Melania Trump documentary.
The film has reportedly made just £33,000 at the UK box office on its opening weekend, despite journalists rushing to file copy alongside their popcorn buckets. The Independent reported attending “a near-empty screening at Vue Westfield, in Stratford, where four other audience members were present, two of whom were reporters”. Tough crowd…
Next week marks both National Apprenticeship Week and Valentine’s Day, alongside elections in Bangladesh and the beginning of a parliamentary recess.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on a Westminster Hall debate on Russian influence on UK politics and democracy, as well as MPs discussing the UK-India free trade agreement, and any continued fallout from Starmer’s leadership woes.
Have a good one.
Jessica Frank-Keyes and Joshua Edwicker
Head of Press and Content Officer
Best for Britain
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