BEST FOR BRITAIN'S 



WEEKEND WIRE



Dear John,



It’s almost Christmas, and in true British holiday tradition, it’s all kicking off. We’ve got more strikes, more incompetence, and a bit more on that not-so-great Brexit deal for good measure. Let’s check in on how it went.



Non-ambulatory ambulances



‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the nation, not an ambulance stirred, thanks to 12 years of pay stagnation.



Ambulance worker strikes hit <[link removed]> the NHS on Wednesday for the first time since 1989 after the Health Secretary Steve Barclay claimed his ‘door is open’ for negotiations, so long as the negotiations don’t mention pay.



The latest group of essential workers to strike have spoken <[link removed]> of 14-hour plus shifts, no opportunity for breaks, and dangerously overstretched services and have called for their pay to keep up with inflation. In the face of such reasonableness, the Government has channelled this yellow piller, advising <[link removed]> people to avoid contact sports and other risky behaviour. 







Ahead of the strikes, the APPG on Coronavirus, to whom Best for Britain acts as secretariat, published shocking FOI data <[link removed]> showing that England’s ambulance trusts have lost over 160,000 calendar days due to staff with Long Covid while the NHS lost more than a million! Read more here <[link removed]>.



Nurses’ strike: the redux



Tuesday was the second day <[link removed]> of industrial action in a week from RCN nurses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. With public opinion remaining <[link removed]> firmly on the side of striking nurses, there is growing pressure for the Health Secretary to sit down with RCN leadership to head off further strikes in the new year.



In an admirable demonstration of how negotiations are supposed to work, RCN head Pat Cullen signalled willingness to negotiate down from the union’s opening demand of a 19% pay increase, but the Government have so far refused to discuss pay in any talks. 



Shockingly, the Government’s strategy of doing absolutely no negotiating <[link removed]> and hoping a winter of discontent will turn the public against strikers has so far proved fruitless. Check out this video <[link removed]> which focuses on nurses’ critical working conditions from Best for Britain’s Can’t Wait campaign.



The Retained EU Law Bill - A Christmas Catastrophe coming soon.



Yesterday saw more warnings <[link removed]> about the apocalyptic impact of the Government’s ‘bonfire of EU red tape’ Bill. Most businesses leaders, legal experts and environmental aficionados agree that the wholesale scrapping of workers rights, food safety regulations and wildlife protections (to name but a few) is on balance, a crackers idea, so of course the Government is ploughing ahead with it regardless.



Read this chilling portent <[link removed]> by our CEO Naomi Smith on what Christmas 2024 might look like one year after the Retained EU law Bill is passed. 



Where am I supposed to do my Christmas shopping now?



For anyone hoping to keep their Christmas shopping closer to home to spend locally and avoid postie strike complications, well, you can’t do that either. New research from Best for Britain has revealed <[link removed]> that, across the UK’s biggest cities, Christmas markets this year are set to be 21% smaller than they were before Brexit.



The largest cities, such as London and Edinburgh, have seen the size of their markets roughly cut in half, while Leeds’ trademark German Christmas market was cancelled outright due to difficulties in securing visas for traders. One capital managed to buck the trend: Belfast, which remains in the EU single market due to the Northern Ireland Protocol. If only there was some kind of conclusion we could draw from this!



So if your Christmas tree is looking a bit light of gifts nestled at the bottom, we’re working to make sure it doesn't happen again. Next year we’ll show you how to make origami sculptures with your blue passport.







Brexit continued…



A new report from the British Chamber of Commerce published on Wednesday evening revealed that more than half of businesses are still struggling with the "shackles" of new bureaucracy created by Brexit two years after it was negotiated. Quelle surprise!



The BCC found that 56% of firms who dealt with the new trade <[link removed]> arrangements were facing difficulties importing or exporting goods, 45% face difficulties trading services, while 44% have reported difficulties obtaining visas for staff.



Responding to the report Hilary Benn MP, co-convenor of the UK Trade and Business Commission,  to whom Best for Britain also acts as secretariat, called on the Government <[link removed]> to prioritise easing the flow of trade between British and EU companies.



STOP THE CLOCK!



Yes, Best for Britain has pressed pause on our counter <[link removed]> after it was announced that former banker (of course) Sir Laurie Magnus would be Rishi Sunak’s new independent adviser on ethics.



The appointment comes almost 200 days after the resignation of Lord Geidt who refused to go along with Boris Johnson’s stated intention to break international law and almost 2 months since Rishi Sunak promised “integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level”.



The epic heel dragging is even more offensive when you consider the deluge of sleaze, abuse and unethical behaviour which has dogged the Sunak administration since day dot.



Just 4 weeks ago, Best for Britain launched a fresh (and fake) recruitment drive <[link removed]> to help find a replacement adviser. To the 500 people who sent applications to the Prime Minister our thanks and commiserations.







Late-comers Christmas special



The chance to make it onto Santa Claus’s sleigh may have passed, but there’s still time to help him finish his rounds for the year. Best for Britain's Christmas merch collection <[link removed]> is still on sale, and items are fast selling out. 



It’s a perfect opportunity to get your ‘Still European’ beach towel for any holidays you have planned for the new year. It also doubles as a pillow for long waits in the passport queue!



That’s your last Weekend Wire of 2022. We’ll be back in the New Year. 



From all of us at Best for Britain, we would like to express our sincere thanks to all our supporters for following the twists and turns with us during what was a particularly twisty and turny year! 



We wish you a very happy and healthy Christmas and a new year full of political competence - but we’re not holding our breath on that last part.





Glad tidings,



Grace Pritchard (while Tommy is State-side)

Head of Communications, Best for Britain







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Best For Britain - United Kingdom

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