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The loss of country music star and philanthropic icon Dolly Parton [ [link removed] ] and everyone’s favourite Dr. Frank-N-Furter, actor Tim Curry [ [link removed] ], has left some heavy hearts this week.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham had another busy seven days. He pledged to be “bold” on Britain’s relationship with the EU [ [link removed] ], visited South Wales’ Port Talbot, and unveiled a new work experience scheme with Sainsbury’s.
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Our Reform UK defections tracker [ [link removed] ] has revealed that the party is losing, on average, one councillor every three days. Yikes.
Nepal has been hit with catastrophic flash floods that have left 33 British nationals missing and - tragically - the death toll at more than 540 [ [link removed] ], at time of writing.
Iceland and Armenia are both putting their best EU foot forward. Finally, energy prices have increased meaning everything is about to get more expensive…
Read on for your Weekend Wire.
Armenia became the latest country this week to turn away from Moscow and westwards to Brussels, by announcing their intention to apply for EU membership [ [link removed] ]. The landlocked nation, between Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran, announced on Monday that they would begin negotiations with the EU to map out any accession timeframe - before putting the question of membership to a national referendum.
It is a marked geopolitical policy shift from the Caucasus nation, who have historically aligned themselves with Russia since their independence from the Soviet Union in September 1991. The move has not gone down well in the Kremlin. A few months ago, Vladimir Putin directly threatened Armenia with what he labelled a “Ukraine scenario”.
Elsewhere, Iceland heads to the polls today in their crucial referendum [ [link removed] ] on EU membership. The latest opinion polls have the vote on a knife-edge. Eirikur Bergmann, professor of politics at Bifröst University, argued: “It’s impossibly [hard] to predict, both camps are throwing everything they have at it.” If you want to know more about the Icelandic referendum, and why it matters, we have written a helpful FAQ diving into everything you need to know.
What a way to make a livin’
The Prime Minister has suggested that Britain will take a “bolder” approach to strengthening ties with the EU [ [link removed] ] while speaking to the President of the European Council, António Costa, during his first visit to Ukraine earlier this week.
His comments come ahead of the second UK-EU summit, which was postponed from July to a later date that has yet to be confirmed.
“This is a very welcome move from the Prime Minister; bold action is exactly what’s needed to find greater cooperation with our closest friends and neighbours in Europe.” - Tom Brufatto
Burnham’s summer policy blitz also continued this week. Following A-Level and GCSE results day, the PM announced a new work experience scheme with Sainsbury’s.
The supermarket and mega-retailer is set to offer some 10,000 placements to young people in deprived areas, ministers said, as they aim to tackle the UK’s youth unemployment crisis.
The Best for Britain team [ [link removed] ], including Head of Press Jessica Frank-Keyes, were inspired to share some of the lessons from our first jobs. Have a read here [ [link removed] ]… and guess which team members worked as a lifeguard, or doing data entry.
“Restoring opportunities and life chances to a generation who had them snatched away at exactly the wrong moment must be a political priority.” - Jessica Frank-Keyes
Tragedy in Nepal
At the time of writing, more than 540 people [ [link removed] ] have been confirmed dead after a devastating flash flood hit the Himalayan border region. The Nepalese government has since confirmed that 33 British tourists have been reported missing in the region.
Both Andy Burnham and the King have expressed their condolences and heartbreak at the loss of life in the region. The government confirmed that they have offered £5 million [ [link removed] ] towards the rescue and relief effort now being carried out.
‘Unbelievable volume’
Since his appointment as Secretary of State for Defence, the first out gay person to hold the role, Wes Streeting [ [link removed] ] has been subject to a torrent of homophobic abuse, as the Guardian and others reported.
Until 2000, gay men and lesbian women were banned from serving in the UK military. It’s estimated that about 200-plus personnel were removed from the forces each year due to their sexuality.
Fighting With Pride [ [link removed] ], a charity dedicated to supporting and connecting members of the LGBTQ+ Armed Forces community, works to ensure that every member is honoured, supported, and empowered to thrive, free from stigma, with full recognition of their service and sacrifice. You can support their work here [ [link removed] ].
Eye for an eye, moose for a moose
Trump’s latest rival? Canada. His new lever in the ongoing trade war between the two nations? A renamed lake.
The recent antic from the US President came on Thursday when he signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario, a lake with both a Canadian and American border, to “Lake America”. This comes as the tariff stand-off worsens and the once great allyship has all but completely fizzled out.
But when one door closes, another one opens. Canada’s Prime Minister, and former Governor for the Bank of England, Mark Carney is set to address the European Parliament and attend European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech next month, as the country looks to strengthen ties with the EU.
“The Prime Minister’s important visit will be an opportunity to deepen EU-Canada ties and strengthen our bond,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said earlier in the week. Hear, hear.
Price surge
Household energy bills are due to hit a three-year high after Ofgem revealed that the price cap would rise by 4% [ [link removed] ] as the energy markets continued to adjust to the conflict between Iran and the US.
It will come as a disappointment to Andy Burnham, who had hoped the announced cut to VAT on energy bills would allow consumers to see their energy bills fall amidst a cost of living crisis. But, with energy bills rising on average £60 and the VAT savings equating to around £45, it looks like the majority of Britain will still see their bills rise despite the government’s intervention.
Unfortunately for all of us, Steven Swinford of The Times, believes that this latest hike might be the start of a chain of price rises over the coming months. Citing the well respected Cornwell Institute, Swinford suggested [ [link removed] ] that come January prices may be forced up by around 9% - or £149 for the average household. No one said being PM was easy…
Reform Tracker
Best for Britain has launched a new Reform UK Detections & Resignations Tracker [ [link removed] ] which has found that since the May 2026 local elections, the party is losing one councillor every three days, as the Mirror exclusively reported on [ [link removed] ].
The Tracker uses publicly sourced data to map who’s moved to Reform UK, who’s left, and who’s trying to walk away from a job they were elected to do.
Two little, too late
On Thursday, parents went on strike as part of a nationwide day of action calling for better paternity leave arrangements. Introduced in 2014, parents can now share up to 50 weeks of leave during the first year after their baby is born.
But fathers who do not use shared leave are offered two paid weeks off work under the UK’s statutory paternity leave system. Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has shown [ [link removed] ]that the UK’s statutory paternity leave was the worst in Europe, with fathers paid £374.36 for two weeks.
We spoke with one mum about how the current system is failing her family:
Making votes matter!
Andy Burnham is under renewed pressure to implement significant changes to Britain’s voting system [ [link removed] ]. A long time advocate for voting reform, the former mayor has been implored by almost 100 Labour MPs to back the creation of a new national commission into FPTP.
Make Votes Matter [ [link removed] ], who campaign on introducing proportional representation into British politics highlighted that the 2024 General Election saw Labour elected in two-thirds of seats on just a third of the vote.
Supportive MPs are hopeful that a commission would be able to report back in time before the next election - allowing parties to put some promises of electoral reform on any new manifesto. Watch this space..
In honour of Dolly Parton, we thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to highlight the remarkable work that her Imagination Library [ [link removed] ] has done and will continue to do. The organisation gives free books to children across the world, aiming to improve literacy and boost the opportunities for millions. Since its inception, the library has delivered over 300 million books to kids around the world - including right here in the UK, and even to some of our youngest ‘team members’.
The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: “Dolly Parton leaves an incredible legacy as not only one of the world’s most loved entertainers, but also a passionate advocate for children’s literacy.
“We fondly remember her visit to Rotherham Hospital in 2007 during the launch of her Imagination Library programme in the UK, where the first book - The Tales of Peter Rabbit - was given to a one-day-old baby girl on our maternity ward.”
Blink twice if you need help, Leila..
Next week sees the House of Commons return from recess, in time for Andy Burnham stepping up to the despatch box for his first ever PMQs in the hotseat.
The EU will host a meeting of foreign affairs ministers which Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is scheduled to attend.
And fresh statistics on improving tourism and travel will be released.
We will see you then!
Eliza Snider and Joshua Edwicker
Senior Press Officer & Senior Content Officer
Best for Britain
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