BEST FOR BRITAIN'S
WEEKEND WIRE

Dear John

Well that was hot. 

In the week where the UK’s temperature soared to record highs and surpassed 40 degrees, we also saw the world of politics reach a fervour. 

The Conservative party leadership candidates were whittled down in brutal fashion this week, leaving just Sunak and Truss vying for the top spot. 

So without further ado, here’s the lowdown on the great battle of wits we have just witnessed this week - and on some of the other things that may have slipped by the wayside. 

Two’s a crowd

We’re now down to the final two in contention to be the next leader of the Conservative Party - and therefore the next Prime Minister. 

It was a nail-biting finish, but Liz Truss clinched the votes she needed from Tory MPs to beat Penny Mordaunt and join Rishi Sunak in the final two. Sunak was way ahead with 137 votes, while Truss had 113 to Mordaunt’s 105. 

Now, Conservative Party members are set to decide who will become the next PM. There’s only 160,000 of them though so don’t expect the process or the decision to be representative of the country at large. Postal ballots should reach members by the start of August, with final votes due in on 2nd September. 

The winner will be declared on 5th September. 

Tearing chunks out of each other

This brief contest between the candidates to garner the support of their parliamentary colleagues has been somewhat intense. And it certainly has not been pleasant. 

The candidates have been briefing furiously against each other from the start, and tearing holes in each others’ policies and personalities. Sunak has railed against the others’ plans to cut tax, even accusing Truss of socialism with her pledges to reduce personal taxes (we suggest Sunak looks up the definition of socialism before his next rodeo). 

Mordaunt also found herself on the receiving end of barbs about her apparent ‘wokeness’, with right-wing contenders hurling criticisms at her as a result of this. 

It was not a civil contest - and it exposed the ugly, fractious core at the heart of the party running the country. 

Oh and there’s just that thing called the environment 

Low on the list of all the candidates’ priorities appeared to be the environment. While all did commit to the UK reaching Net Zero by 2050, it wouldn’t be unfair to call these commitments half-hearted. 

Kemi Badenoch, knocked out after reaching the final four, actually did a U-turn on her own commitment to reaching Net Zero just one day later, saying that she could push the date back to 2070. 

Like the other candidates, Badenoch often implied that there was an intrinsic conflict between Net Zero and economic security - something that bodes ill for whatever the future PM decides to do regarding climate change. 

However, COP26 President Alok Sharma made it very clear that he could resign if a new PM was to ditch the Net Zero target. At least someone has some integrity round here. 

Fishy Rishi

Another interesting revelation to emerge from the leadership contest was this Guardian scoop about Rishi Sunak, which linked him to the directorship of a free school with close links to right-wing libertarian founders. 

While Sunak was the school’s director, external speaker Frank Furedi, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent was invited as an external speaker. Furedi has penned articles dismissing the idea of teaching the principle of sexual consent in schools as it apparently ‘polices intimacy’. 

Nice to see who Rishi hangs out with!

Bye, bye, byelection?

With Boris Johnson having clung onto power until the very last moment, no-one is particularly expecting him to suddenly abandon the political fray for good.

However, news this week suggested he may well have to. 

Johnson is facing a parliamentary probe about whether he misled MPs over the partygate scandal. Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has confirmed that if Johnson is found to be in contempt of Parliament, and if he’s punished with a suspension from the House of Commons for more than 10 days, a byelection can be triggered if 10% of voters in Johnson’s constituency demand one.

Those pushing to get Johnson as far away from politics as possible will likely be pushing for this outcome so expect to see more news about this issue in the coming weeks. 

Touring Tsar

The APPG on music this week released a report in collaboration with UK Music regarding the state of music workers and touring musicians in the wake of Brexit. 

The report noted that, as a result of the music sector not being covered by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, UK music workers were facing an increase in costs and complications since Britain left the EU, and were finding that they had fewer opportunities. 

The report recommended that the UK and EU forge a comprehensive cultural touring agreement, and also suggested that the UK should work with the music industry on a music export plan. 

The report handily coincided with the UK Trade and Business Commission’s evidence session this week on music…so on that note….

Going on a journey and facing the music

This week, the UK Trade and Business Commission held an evidence session exploring the challenges facing the travel and music sectors. 

Commissioners heard from several expert witnesses in both fields. Experts from the travel industry highlighted how the summer travel chaos has many causes but that it is exacerbated by a shortage of workers now that Brexit has made the pool of potential employees smaller. They called for the Government to recognise aviation jobs as shortage occupations.

Witnesses in the music session observed how post-Brexit touring had become increasingly difficult, with paperwork and visas proving prohibitive for many freelance musicians looking to leave the UK to tour Europe and vice-versa. Some of our experts noted how audition notices were sometimes only being opened to musicians with EU citizenship, as those with only British nationality were struggling to tour flexibly as roles require. 

Our witnesses were clear: Britons are losing out because of Brexit. You can watch the full session here. 

Brexit balderdash

A report out this week has shown that some of the most pro-Brexit regions of the UK are actually the ones that depend most on the EU for exports.

Even more startling is that many of these regions have seen their exports to the EU increase in recent years. 58% of Wales’s exports went to the EU in 2020. That figure rose to 60% in 2021. In the East Midlands, the percentage of exports making their way to the EU rose from 48% to 51% between 2020 and 2021. 

Verity Davidge, Director of Policy at Make UK commented that “Despite the talk of global Britain, history shows that geography is always the main determinant of trade,”

It’s a shame that Brexit was forced through despite being so contrary to Britain’s interests, and it’s even more upsetting when we see reminders of this all the time.  

Brexit boom?

One of those reminders is the boom in trade across the Irish border. Since Brexit, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have begun enjoying vastly enhanced inter-country trade, with huge year on year increases. 

Unlike in the rest of the UK, EU export law is observed in Northern Ireland - and this has meant that Northern Ireland’s trade with the EU has not been damaged at all. Just think what it could have been like for the rest of us too!

Brexit bison

And in slightly unusual Brexit news, it was great to hear that bison are being released into the wild once more in the UK. 

Three female bison were released into the Kent countryside earlier this week - but they won’t just be on their own. They will be joined by a young bull from Germany in mid-August.

He would have arrived sooner but his journey to the UK was delayed by…you guessed it, Brexit! 

Yep, even the animals have had enough. 

Rwanda-hand from the start

Sickening news out this week that the Government was repeatedly warned about the dangers of its scheme to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. 

The Government was reminded on multiple occasions of Rwanda’s human rights record and was warned several times about the human rights implications of getting involved in a deal to offshore asylum seekers there. 

Also shocking is the news that the UK High Commissioner to Rwanda had warned against the asylum deal owing to Rwanda having been accused of recruiting asylum seekers to conduct armed operations abroad. 

The Government knew the deal was an abomination - but still they pressed ahead. Shocking but hardly surprising.

That's all from us this week. Have a restful weekend and we'll be back soon.

Best wishes,

Maheen Behrana

Senior Campaigns and Policy Officer, Best for Britain

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