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The Labour Party’s ongoing pseudo-leadership contest continued this week with the date set for the Makerfield by-election that could mark Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament - or not…
Elsewhere, Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out plans to cut VAT to 5% on summer attractions such as theme parks and soft-play centres during the school holidays, in a cost of living measure to support families. And in welcome news, scientists at Oxford University are developing a vaccine to tackle the Ebola virus.
Read on for your Weekend Wire.
Bite the And that feeds you
The unofficial leadership contest between former Health Secretary Wes Streeting and current Greater Manchester mayor and by-election candidate Andy Burnham hotted up this week. Officially announced as the Labour candidate for the Makerfield by-election, Burnham has been put in something of an awkward position by his leadership rival. After Streeting proclaimed that the UK should rejoin the EU [ [link removed] ], Burnham had to take a stand on what is likely to be a delicate issue in the predominantly Leave-voting constituency in which he will stand in a month’s time. At Best for Britain, we continue to make the case for the unparalleled economic benefits that a far closer relationship with the EU can offer - and as always, we’ll keep you posted.
Our polling [ [link removed] ] indicates that it is certainly time to talk about EU membership and our latest report shows that a majority of British voters would back EU membership. As we know, many of the problems Britain faces today - falling productivity, low investment, stagnant growth - would all be improved by rejoining the EU.
In more positive news for the Manchester mayor, polling released this week by More in Common [ [link removed] ]suggests a Burnham-led Labour Party could defeat Nigel Farage’s Reform UK at the next election.
With plenty of time before the crucial by-election, set to be held on June 18, analysts are predicting a tightly run race between Burnham and Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon. A local plumber, Kenyon has previously been under the spotlight over his social media activity [ [link removed] ] with the campaigning organisation Searchlight alleging that he was Facebook friends with fascist campaigner Gary Raikes on Facebook.
Meanwhile, the Green Party’s candidate [ [link removed] ], Chris Kennedy, withdrew after it emerged he had shared social media posts which described an attack on ambulances run by a Jewish charity as a “false flag”. The party said Kennedy “apologises for the offence caused”. And the Liberal Democrat’s have selected the Wigan-born councillor Jake Austin to run in the seat for them. The BBC have a full list of candidates [ [link removed] ].
Ebola warning
A couple weeks after Hantavirus and an Ebola outbreak has provided the latest scare to the World Health Organisation (WHO). An outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has, at the time of writing, claimed over 100 lives [ [link removed] ] and health groups are increasingly concerned of a national and regional epidemic.
The scale of the potential disaster has doubtlessly been worsened by the Trump administration’s decision to cut their foreign aid commitments over their time in office, led by the richest man in the world - Elon Musk.
Matthew Kavanagh, director of the Centre for Global Health Policy at Georgetown University commented [ [link removed] ]: “The DRC is one of the most vulnerable health systems in the world, and was the second-biggest recipient of USAID funding.” US aid to the country has dropped dramatically since 2024, from $1.4bn to just $24m so far this year. The cruelty of Elon Musk’s DOGE activities and their devastating consequences for humanity are coming into clearer focus.
However, on a brighter note, as the BBC reported on Friday afternoon, the search for prevention has received a boost, with Oxford University researchers working on a new vaccine [ [link removed] ] that could be used within months to help tackle the Ebola emergency.
Department of Injustice
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Department of Justice announced that it had settled its case with Donald Trump, a few months after the President and his sons sued the IRS for $10bn over the leaking of their business and personal tax returns.
The settlement gives Trump, his family, and his businesses immunity from future investigation by the IRS. The deal only relates to audits that were filed before May 19 and does not relate to future audits. The move has been heavily criticised by Democrats, with the Senate Finance Committee’s Ron Wyden dismissing the settlement as “clearly a violation of the law that prohibits interference by executive branch officials in IRS audits” [ [link removed] ].
Since re-entering the White House, Trump and his family have seen a rapid increase in their wealth. Since 2024, Trump’s personal fortune has almost tripled to $6.5bn from $2.3bn [ [link removed] ] according to Forbes. His two eldest sons, Eric and Don Jr, have seen their combined wealth balloon from $90 million to $1.25 billion [ [link removed] ] in the past year.
Nicosia decides
Cyprus heads to the polls in a crucial election for the EU country and prospective NATO member on Sunday. Frustration over the cost of living and allegations of corruption have thus far dominated the campaign trail.
Worryingly, the latest opinion polls [ [link removed] ] suggest that the far-right fascist party ELAM could make a significant electoral breakthrough, potentially becoming the third largest party in the country’s 56-seat legislature.
Another political outsider, Volt Cyprus, a pan-European party who campaigned on creating a federalised European state are polling strongly [ [link removed] ]. If the party do, as expected, pass the threshold to enter the Cypriot parliament, they will be just the third national wing to win seats in national elections after Volt Bulgaria and Volt Netherlands.
Monkey off their back
It was a big week for English football fans. On Tuesday night in North London, the streets were filled with people celebrating Arsenal’s first Premier League win in 22 years. The Arsenal congregation gathered outside the stadium and nearby pubs to watch Manchester City play Bournemouth, needing the latter to win or draw for Arsenal to win the title. After 6 minutes of extra time the final whistle confirmed Arsenal’s championship and vindication among the Gunner loyal.
Aston Villa secured the club’s first trophy in three decades after defeating Freiburg FC to win the Europa League. The 3-0 win over the German football club is a welcome sense of relief for faithful fans of the Birmingham-based club who celebrated with a victory parade in the city. More than 5,000km away from the Birmingham celebrations, a village in Ghana has been holding its own victory parade. Juaben, which has more than a thousand Villa fans, celebrated while chanting a Villa song [ [link removed] ].
Lisa Nandy is half-right - and that’s the problem
Best for Britain’s CEO, Naomi Smith, wrote a powerful piece this week [ [link removed] ] for our Substack responding to comments made by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. The minister had commented [ [link removed] ]: “If rejoining the EU is the answer then essentially what we’re saying to people is life was fine in 2015. We just need to go back there.”
Responding, Naomi writes that:
“The status quo before Brexit failed people. That diagnosis is correct. But the prescription matters as much as the diagnosis. No other policy option on the table unlocks the kind of growth that EU membership does.
“It offers a government with genuine political will the chance to deploy that growth to deliver the transformative economic change needed to improve the lives of people in Makerfield and beyond. Misidentify the illness and you prescribe the wrong treatment. Britain has been misdiagnosed for long enough.”
This week the Freedom Association’s Brexit Unleashed conference was held in Westminster. Sadly, your writer missed out on tickets to what I am sure was a riveting event. Fortunately, reporters ensured that neither you nor I missed out on marvelling at their… differing analysis of Brexit so far…
Cue an excuses bingo: from betrayal to ‘we just haven’t done it properly yet’ [ [link removed] ], all of the greatest hits were out from your favourite 2016 throwbacks such as chief negotiator David Frost, former Tory MP and now of Reform UK’s parish David Jones, and former Wokingham MP John Redwood. This band of merry Eurosceptic evangelicals claimed that rather than causing huge damage to our economy, Brexit had been a net positive [ [link removed] ]. Try telling that to the thousands of small businesses that have stopped trading with Europe, or to the Treasury…
Cheerful News of The Week
There’s a touch of Trafalgar Square magic coming to high streets across Britain. The National Gallery has taken some of its most famous works including Monets, Picassos, Turners and Van Goghs,  out of central London and onto town centres around the country, hanging high-quality reproductions in everyday public spaces as part of its three-year Art on Your Doorstep [ [link removed] ] project. Croydon is the current host, with paintings displayed everywhere from the Minster to Queen’s Gardens until 5 July.
Torquay, Derry, Birstall - near Bradford - and the Isle of Wight are all next on the itinerary, with residents in each area helping choose which works turn up where. A lovely reminder that great art doesn’t need to live behind gallery walls and that something quietly brilliant could soon be coming to a town near you.
Bobby J’s attempts to grandstand are scuppered by a well timed bit of wit…
With Parliament officially in recess, we expect to see more news on the prospective Labour leadership race next week. It’s also World Football Day, and of course, a bank holiday!
Enjoy the sunshine.
Eliza Snider and Joshua Edwicker
Senior Press Officer and Senior Content Officer
Best for Britain

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