BEST FOR BRITAIN'S
WEEKEND WIRE

Dear John

Welcome to Weekend wire, Grace here in for Maheen (while she enjoys a well earned break) to take you through the highs and lows of the last seven or so days as we dare to look ahead to another week in Westminster… 

Could it be coming home? 

In a week where we saw the country rally behind England’s Lionesses after they stormed through the semi-finals to a showdown with Germany at Wembley this Sunday the political world also saw its fair share of tough matches. 

Much like the England side, Rishi Sunak is heading into a make-or-break weekend, after he  failed to match up to Truss’ assured performance at last night’s hustings in Leeds.

With ballot papers landing on the doormats of Tory members from Monday, let's take a look back at this week's leadership contest highs and lows, with an added glance at some of the news from world beyond SW1. 

Just another manic monday 

This week Sunak U-turned on scrapping VAT on energy bills, pledged to protect the green belt, deport more overseas offenders and took a hardline stance on China. Despite this, his popularity appears to be stagnant among Tory members, if not dwindling. Alongside questions on the cost of living and TikTok members have grasped the opportunity at hustings to accuse Sunak of knifing Johsnon in the back.

Truss capitalised on Sunak’s seeming disloyalty when asked whether Johnson or Theresa May was a better PM, saying: “I’ve always been a fan of Boris Johnson, I think he did a fantastic job as prime minister, he delivered Brexit, he delivered on the vaccine and I was proud to serve as a loyal member of his Cabinet.”

A tricky weekend lies ahead for both candidates, and as members get first eyes on ballot papers, it’s certain Sunak’s team will have had better Mondays. 

Out of the frying pan and into the fire 

A wounded Sunak is set to sit down with British television’s most merciless interviewer (bar perhaps Emily Maitlis?), Andrew Neil this evening on Channel 4 at 7.30 p.m. His counterpart declined the invitation and notably Johnson did the same before going on to win the 2019 general election. Either a sign of confidence from team Rishi or the sense that they have nothing to lose given the current outlook. 

Sunak ship still sailing 

Despite it seeming increasingly likely that Liz Truss will become Britain’s 78th Prime Minister on 5 September, YouGov polling published yesterday suggested that Suank holds a significant edge over Truss among swing voters. Alongside this Onward polling today highlights that a majority of Tory voters back his planned corporation tax rise. 

It's far from smooth sailing, a Public First poll carried out for More in Common found that over a third of voters blame him for the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation.

Saving Private Johnson 

Boris Johnson’s allies are drawing up a list of Tory MPs in safe seats who might be willing to stand down to create a vacancy for him, as his 7,210 majority in Uxbridge looks rather wobbly, Pippa Crerar reports in her final piece for the Mirror. 

There are various claims that Johnson was “testing the water” over moving to a constituency with a larger Conservative majority, with ultra loyal Dorries’ Mid-Bedfordshire seat mentioned. We can only imagine she would be delighted to lay down her political life for him. Find yourself someone who looks at you the way Dorries looks at Johnson…

A sobering sight

ITV’s Paul Brand had a devastating report on the NHS this week, days after MPs issued a stark warning over its condition. 

Filming with the North West Ambulance Service and Warrington Hospital, he found wards so overwhelmed that patients were being forced to sleep on trolleys for days on end outside A&E departments.  

An IFS graph yesterday depicted how 12 years of underfunding has created this NHS crisis. 

Covid contract c**k up!

It is “impossible to have confidence” that £777 million of contracts given to Randox during the pandemic were awarded properly, the public accounts committee said in a new report this week. 

A Guardian splash notes how the committee slammed the “woefully inadequate record-keeping” from all involved and said ministers were “playing fast and loose” in awarding contracts in a hurry to the firm, which notably employed disgraced former Tory MP Owen Paterson as a lobbyist. 

Inflation nation 

RMT deputy leader Eddie Dempsey impressed with his nonsense approach on his Jermey Vine appearance this week. It's not just trade unionists making the wage not matching inflation point, Politics Home reported that government staff have had to turn to food banks due to pay not matching inflation. 

This came after a leaked letter from Environment Agency chief James Bevan to Environment Secretary George Eustice, in which Bevan slammed the “unjust, unwise and unfair” pay deal on offer from the government.

The government failing to act to support those who even work among them? Disappointing but predictable. 

That's all from us this week. Have a restful weekend and see you next week.

Best wishes,

Grace Pritchard

Head of Press and Communications, Best for Britain

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