BEST FOR BRITAIN'S
WEEKEND WIRE

Dear John

Things are heating up in more ways than one. As we’ve sweltered in boiling temperatures, Tory leadership candidates have also been feeling the heat.

With all the in-fighting and bickering you could ever want, this campaign is proving to be excellent entertainment…although it’s a little more miserable when you remember that one of the candidates will be our next PM.

So strap yourself in as we take you on a rollercoaster ride through this week in politics. 

Leadership on the line

As the week draws to a close, we’re left with five candidates still vying for the top role: Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak. 

Sunak has the most parliamentary support with 88 Conservative MPs rowing in behind him. However, polling shows Penny Mordaunt easily wins among Conservative party members. 

The intensity of the competition has led to some rather acrimonious in-fighting - with candidates smearing each other left, right and centre. 

Squabbles and wobbles

Sunak might be the long-expected successor to Boris Johnson ever since he burst into the public consciousness with his, in hindsight, not hugely clever ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ discounts. But some have failed to fall for his charms. He has also incurred the wrath of the Daily Mail, something which may well bode ill for his candidacy. 

Sunak is being portrayed in the Mail as a traitor who stuck the knife into Boris Johnson to secure his own upwards journey. Other candidates’ supporters also claimed at the start of the week that Sunak was trying to manipulate the competition so Jeremy Hunt (now out of the contest) would be his rival in the final two. Sunak’s detractors claimed that Sunak felt Hunt was the only candidate he could easily win against. 

Part-time Penny

Sunak isn’t the only candidate who’s facing attacks. Penny Mordaunt, the staunch favourite of Conservative Party members, has attracted the ire of her rivals. Lord Frost, who led Britain’s Brexit negotiations with the EU and stomped out of office complaining that none of it was his fault, criticised Mordaunt’s skill as his deputy. Looking at how those Brexit negotiations turned out, it’s not quite clear whether Mordaunt should take this as a compliment. 

Mordaunt also received criticism from other sources, with some claiming she gained the nickname ‘part-time Penny’ on account of shirking her work. 

It’s unsurprising that the top two candidates are under the most pressure. For us, it’s just entertaining to sit back, watch and observe the unfolding chaos that we really do not need at a time like this. Thanks Boris Johnson, you were the ultimate anarchist. 

Government so transparent it’s invisible 

It seems it’s all got a bit too much for the sitting Government this week. As Boris Johnson’s potential successors tear chunks out of each other, the incumbent administration seems to have gone into autopilot.

Dominic Raab pulled out of an appearance before a cross party committee on human rights where he was supposed to discuss the upcoming Bill of Rights, a rather worrying piece of legislation that looks set to remove our rights rather than grant us more. 

Home Secretary Priti Patel was also doing her own disappearing act this week, cancelling a Home Affairs Committee appearance where she was supposed to be grilled by MPs on her plans for deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda. 

Also this week, flagship legislation has been put on hold, with the Online Safety Bill expected to progress no further this side of recess. The gambling reform white paper was shelved for a fourth time, as Johnson’s Government now cannot announce any new legislation. This is bitterly disappointing to many campaigners pointing out the urgency of reform in the sector.

So while the potential leaders squabble amongst themselves, our current one is sleepwalking. Great. 

And where’s Liz Truss?

Oh, and if you’re looking for Liz Truss in amongst all this, she’s probably stuck in a campaign event somewhere, still searching for the door to get out.

Still breaking international law

You’d think the Conservative leadership contenders might want more of a clean break with the low-points of the Johnson administration but that doesn’t seem to be the case. 

All the candidates have promised to push through the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, and rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol, breaking international law and taking us to the brink of a trade war with Europe. 

You can contact your MP about the Protocol and the Bill and let them know how much you value politicians who uphold the law, just click here. 

Harsh words

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major had some harsh words for Johnson’s cabinet as he gave evidence to a parliamentary committee. Major criticised Government members for failing to speak out against Johnson and issued dire warnings for the state of our democracy. 

Major cautioned against being complacent regarding the state of our democracy, saying it can be undone ‘step by step, action by action, falsehood by falsehood’. 

On the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, he made clear that if the Bill does break the law then it should not be laid before Parliament. Surely this should be pretty obvious even to the clowns we currently have for leaders?

Privatisation postponed

A shred of good news now as we learned this week that the privatisation of Channel 4 is likely to be dropped by whoever succeeds Boris Johnson as PM. This comes after it was revealed that the Government tried to pressure the broadcaster into making changes to its annual report to fit the case for privatisation.

We know that several of the leadership candidates, including Tom Tugendhat, have expressed concerns about the plans to privatise the Channel previously, and we know that for others, the issue is seen as taking up far too much parliamentary time. 

Nevertheless, the legislation to privatise Channel 4 is already in place in the Media Bill, and it remains to be seen whether Johnson’s successor will actively undertake to remove it. Apathy could get the better of them and us. 

Sir Mo Farah

Sir Mo Farah revealed that he was brought into the UK by people traffickers as a young child and forced to work as a domestic servant. In a documentary by the BBC and Red Bull Studios, the four-time Olympic gold medallist explained how he was given the name Mohamed Farah by the woman who flew him over from Djibouti, but his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin.

Sir Mo Farah has demonstrated incredible courage in telling his story, particularly as the UK government continues to promote hostility towards people who arrive in Britain by unauthorised routes to escape war, famine and persecution. 

Regardless of his achievements and status, his experience highlights the need for safe and legal routes for all people seeking asylum, not unworkable and inhumane schemes like the government’s Rwanda plan which punishes the victims of human trafficking rather than its perpetrators.

Aviation situation

More chaos is unfolding in the aviation sector this week, with Heathrow cancelling flights affecting 10,000 travellers on Monday, followed by news that the airport was intending to stop selling tickets for this summer. 

Airports are struggling to hire enough staff and to scale their operations back up after job cuts during the pandemic. 

It’s also notable that Brexit has narrowed the pool of staff that airports can choose from and has slowed down security checks. The Chief Executive of Menzies Aviation, which provides check-in, baggage handling and refuelling services for airports has been hugely critical of how Brexit has been allowed to negatively impact the aviation sector. 

And on that note

Next week, the UK Trade and Business Commission, for which Best for Britain provides secretariat, will be hosting two back-to-back evidence sessions on the ramifications of Brexit for the travel and music industries. 

With touring musicians struggling to access visas and staff shortages affecting smooth operations at airports, it is clear that both sectors are hugely impacted by the resulting bureaucracy and friction that Brexit has brought on. Our Commissioners will hear from an expert panel of witnesses who will offer a deep-dive into these issues.

You can tune in to the full session which will run from 10am-12pm on Thursday 21st July here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FORLSFW_N-E

In the meantime, have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes,

Joanna Outhwaite

Best for Britain Correspondent

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