BEST FOR BRITAIN'S

WEEKEND WIRE

Dear John,

It’s a new year, but we have not been able to hit the reset button. Luckily, the Prime Minister has dedicated his first week to highlighting thirteen years of decline under Tory rule.

Sunak's resolutions

Self-confessed Coke addict Rishi Sunak is not only cutting down on the white stuff (sugar), he’s also pledged to address five of the UK’s most pressing challenges in 2023. How he plans to do so? Less clear.

In an East London speech on Wednesday, he promised to halve inflation (predicted to happen anyway), grow the economy (sounds nice!), reduce national debt (take that, Truss!), reduce NHS waiting lists (after he gets around to suing striking nurses), and stopping Channel crossings (no mention of safe routes).

Toryworld, perhaps lulled by his speaking style, which sounded like Cbeebies story time for tech bros, seems properly chuffed by Sunak’s speech. Nevertheless, he and LOTO’s competing addresses have sent Westminster hacks into a tizzy of debate over who won the first week of the year.

Starmer's retort

Keir Starmer’s Thursday morning salvo, notably two doors down from Sunak’s venue, gave us all a horrible dose of deja vú when he called for the UK to ‘take back control.’

This time, he was referring to the devolution blitz his Labour government would enact from day one, including new regional governments, more control over employment services, childcare, and transportation. He also raised eyebrows by shying away from big government spending in the days leading up to his speech, earning him a rare place above Sunak’s speech on the front page of the Daily Telegraph.

True to form, Starmer’s address has Labourheads touring the studios to claim victory in the battle of the new year talking heads. However, his Brexiter posturing has many critics unconvinced of both his sincerity and the strategy’s effectiveness.

Closet Conservatives still Conservative

If you were enjoying New Year’s Day with your friends and family and not slavishly tracking every crumb of news during the parliamentary recess, you may have missed The Sunday Times’ front page write-up on Best for Britain’s new report from our latest MRP polling, which is only made possible by supporters like you!

In our ‘Wavering Wall’ report, we interrogated the massive Labour lead in the polls and found that unusually high numbers of undecided voters are leaning heavily toward the Tories, indicated by both their own responses or by their age and education profiles. All told, the predicted landslide Labour looks less seismic, a much slimmer but still healthy majority of around 60 seats.

Our message to Starmer is that 2 years out from an election, and with our unfair electoral system, any narrowing of the polls could throw the Tories a lifeline, so he can take nothing for granted and should probably stop alienating his base with unnecessary red lines on Brexit.

Be sure to give the report a read, share it with friends, listen to our CEO Naomi Smith discussing the report on LBC (From 1:06:30), and try not to panic. You can leave that to us.

Tory mismanagement + empty sloganeering = sad 2023

With school buildings crumbling, teachers who haven’t already quit going on strike, and children arriving at school hungry, the Prime Minister has rightly recognised that turning around the state of the education system requires ‘decisive action’.

Unfortunately, the ‘decisive action’ he’s finally decided on is making mathematics compulsory for all students up to age 18. While a noble aim in theory, especially in our increasingly data-driven world, critics in opposition parties and educators alike have countered that the plan does not measure up.

First, years of Tory austerity have resulted in fewer teachers, and new hiring targets have consistently not been met. Second, education experts have cautioned that the real crisis in education lies in the early years, which have been especially hard-hit with teacher shortages, and third, children can’t learn properly if they’re turning up for lessons on empty stomachs.

There’s also the irony that by our reckoning, the former Chancellor could do with some extra maths himself. Nevertheless, Sunak made the plan a central plank of his first 2023 speech.

Strike on strikers

In lieu of dialogue with unions, the Government is moving forward with legislation banning industrial action.

The new anti-strike laws, in addition to existing legal protections for employers who dismiss striking workers, will set legal minimum levels of service on trains, ambulances, and fire brigades, with additional provisions in other sectors. It also provides cover for companies to sue unions, which the Government, always sticking up for the little guy, claims will prevent individual strikers from being targeted.

Spokespeople from unions and opposition parties have pointed to ineffectual similar measures in European countries and labelled it a political stunt. In that case, the Government may resort to glueing themselves to the doors of Aslef HQ.

mEUa culpa

The less charitable among us would say ‘well, well, well,” because a recent spate of polls has shown that discontent with Brexit has continued to ratchet up in 2023.

A Savanta poll published by the Independent has found that 65% of voters would support another referendum on EU membership, including half who say that it has in fact worsened the UK’s control of its borders. They do say fate has a sense of humour.

Meanwhile, GB News was left with egg on their faces when a People Polling survey found a strong plurality in favour of rejoining the EU, which held even when conditions like rejoining the single market, entering the Schengen area, and accepting free movement were spelled out. We recommend you pop your popcorn in anticipation of Dan Wootton’s face when their next poll reports a majority in favour of adopting the euro.

New year, same merch

Forgot to buy a gift for a certain someone? Fearing they’re about to cut you out of their life unless you act fast? Never fear, because, while Christmas may have come and gone, Best for Britain's merch collection is here to ease your post-holiday hangover.

The Citizen of the World cushion is sure to brighten up any settee or repair any dereliction of friendship, and nothing says, ‘I’m sorry you are not a memorable enough presence in my life for me to have bought your Christmas gift before Christmas’ like our Sorry About Brexit beach towel.

You’ll be supporting our work and mending your relationships all in one.

And that’s that for the first week of 2023–it’s truly picked up right where it left off. We hope you had a restful, restorative holiday, and we hope for your sake that you found some time to unplug from the ongoing psychodrama.

Talk soon,

Tommy Gillespie
Press Officer, Best for Britain