BEST FOR BRITAIN'S 



WEEKEND WIRE



Dear John,



The first few days of our fourth lonely year outside the EU have been beset with strikes, economic doomsaying, and ministerial drummings-out. In other words, more of the same. Let’s parse out the details.



Raab row ramps up <[link removed]>



Cabinet ministers not embroiled in bullying allegations are in short supply, if you ask Rishi Sunak. Just weeks after Gavin Williamson departed <[link removed]> the Government amidst widespread reports of unacceptable behaviour, Deputy PM Dominic Raab has found himself the subject of 24 separate complaints (and “dozens <[link removed]-[LIST_EMAIL_ID]>” of written statements) related to bullying and toxic culture in his office.



Earlier this week, reports of civil servants and aides reduced to tears and contemplating suicide due to their treatment by Raab and other senior members of staff emerged <[link removed]>. After a contentious back-and-forth over the matter at Wednesday’s PMQs, a few unnamed senior Tories leapt <[link removed]> to Raab’s defence, perhaps heralding a serious power struggle within a Tory leadership surely itching for another internal conflict.



Knowing we were all waiting with bated breath for his take on the matter, Jacob Rees-Mogg reminded the interested parties to be careful of getting too “snowflakey <[link removed]>” over abuse in the highest offices of government. At least neither Raab nor Mogg tweeted a photo <[link removed]> of one of their staffers resiliently powering through him calling them a pusillanimous jackanape <[link removed]>.







IMF: Happy third birthday, losers



Tuesday, 31st January, marked <[link removed]> three lonely years since the UK formally exited the European Union, and, as if on cue, the IMF issued <[link removed]> revised 2023 economic forecasts predicting the UK would be the sole major economy to contract in the coming year.



Picking up <[link removed]> on their favourite pastime of dunking reality onto Tory Prime Ministers, the IMF’s analysis suggests a 0.6% shrinkage in the UK’s economy this year, contrasting predictions of growth in France, the USA, India, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. The dismal outlook for the UK is even worse than for Russia, where, despite sanctions and international isolation following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the IMF thinks the economy will eke out growth of 0.3%.



Yes, you read that right: the UK's economy is predicted to perform worse than the one in the country whose government literally started a war. We know that wartime nostalgia and Brexit run psychologically in tandem, but we're pretty sure this isn't what Vote Leave was aiming for.



Zahawi zonks out



Rishi Sunak’s cabinet saw its second ministerial departure within his first 100 days on Sunday morning when Nadhim Zahawi officially bit the dust <[link removed]>.



The Tory Party Chairman was sacked <[link removed]> by the Prime Minister following an investigation into his tax affairs. How could the PM ever have predicted that the man using taxpayer funds to overheat his horses would take a fast and loose approach to paying his fair share?



Well, there were the ongoing HMRC shenanigans that were nationally reported <[link removed]> two Prime Ministers ago (over which Zahawi threatened to sue <[link removed]>).



Magnanimous to the end, Zahawi’s response <[link removed]> to the PM giving him the boot included braggadocio over his time as vaccine tsar, some hand-wringing over the conduct of the famously anti-conservative tabloid press, and no admission he’d done anything wrong. Keep your eyes out for another lawsuit on the horizon!







Outrage at the Home Office



Suella Braverman’s Home Office sank to a new low this week when, contrary to reports <[link removed]> that they have insufficient staff to process asylum claims within three years, new units were created <[link removed]> with the sole remit of speedily processing claims for people arriving from Albania, in an effort to expedite deportations.



The decision was made despite the fact that over 85% of Albanian claims are accepted <[link removed]>, and new warnings from Holocaust survivors, the latest <[link removed]> from Labour peer Lord Dubs, that Braverman’s rhetoric has strayed into very dangerous territory.



Separately, the Guardian reported <[link removed]> on Thursday that hundreds of refugees resettled in London from Afghanistan have been ordered to uproot their families yet again and move to West Yorkshire on just a week’s notice. The 40 families living in Kensington, many of whom aided the British army at great personal risk, have protested, rightly pointing out that their jobs, children’s education, and new friendships would  be disrupted all over again.



Read B4B’s blog <[link removed]> dispelling seven common myths about migration to the UK, including about migration from Albania to the UK.



UKTBC wants to hear from you



The UK Trade and Business Commission, for which B4B act as secretariat, has launched <[link removed]> the first economy-wide consultation on the biggestissues facing all industries in the post-Brexit landscape and as the UK Government negotiates new trade agreements, and if you are a business owner, we need your input.



Submit evidence to our online portal <[link removed][%E2%80%A6]_ntzZ7qLOMc8LcFFJyrRXiyQyTXPvW0r9ofYPd2nmDdw9NoIonIIghJ7k> and sound off on the challenges, opportunities, and needs of your industry–we want to hear from voices representing all levels of all sectors of the economy. 



This evidence will help the Commission outline a post-Brexit trade framework, which will include short-term and long-term recommendations. These will be submitted to Ministers, with the Commission pressuring the UK Government to both adopt the proposals and commit to action.



Striking while we still can







On Wednesday, the UK saw some of its largest single-day industrial action in decades as nearly half a million teachers, train drivers, and civil servants walked out <[link removed]> after years of real-terms pay cuts.



The National Education Union (NEU) was the largest <[link removed]> among the walkouts, with teachers taking to the picket line to right declines in real-terms pay, crumbling school buildings, lack of supplies, and failure to meet recruitment targets. They also, in the author’s opinion, won <[link removed]>the battle <[link removed]> of the placards <[link removed]>.



True to form, Government spokespeople shirked the blame and lamented <[link removed]> the effect of the strikes on our poor, poor children. But forcing them into freezing classrooms <[link removed]> and making their art teachers redundant <[link removed]>? A-OK, apparently.



Lettuce is back in season



How does the old saying go, again? When you set an entire country on fire, it’s only right that you also tell the firefighters they're doing it wrong. Whatever the folk wisdom, Liz Truss is sticking to it, because this week, the rumour mill churned out <[link removed]> talk of a return to the political fray for the 49-day PM. 



After Truss jetted off <[link removed]> to Washington in December to meet with like-minded US Republicans, Tories discontented with Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt’s refusal to cut taxes have relaunched <[link removed]> a pro-Truss WhatsApp group to begin plotting how to raise hell if the economy continues to stagnate following next month’s spring budget. 



Additionally, two Truss ministers have begun meetings <[link removed]> under the auspices of a new ‘Conservative Growth Group’ committed to the principles espoused in Truss’s mini-budget. Clearly, they’re not listening to their GPs, because growths are generally cause for immediate medical attention.



News of a Trussite comeback amidst faltering poll numbers <[link removed]> for Rishi Sunak could spell serious trouble for those desperate for the Tories to put up a united front. For everyone else, do you prefer your popcorn salty or sweet?







Protocol talks progress



Earlier this week, the standoff over the Northern Ireland Protocol dragged ever closer to resolution as a front-page exclusive in the Times revealed <[link removed]> that the UK and EU had finally gotten over the hump and struck a deal in principle.



Reports suggest that the agreement would see <[link removed]> goods bound for Northern Ireland cross the Irish Sea unimpeded by customs checks, while Republic-bound goods would be checked at Northern Irish ports (similar to the UK Government’s earlier proposal of red and green lanes). The European Court of Justice would retain some role, but only when Northern Irish courts request its intervention.



Naturally, the Government, eager to stamp out anything that would provoke the squawking rage of the ERG, vehemently denied a deal had been reached, but it was too late. The DUP and Brexiters in the Tory party quickly rubbished <[link removed]> the reported deal, with Jacob Rees-Mogg and John Redwood tabling an early day motion <[link removed]-[LIST_EMAIL_ID]> calling for the removal of planned purpose-built customs facilities.



The UK Trade and Business Commission’s statement on the progress in the negotiations can be found here <[link removed]>.



That’s all we’ve got this week–just about. There’s always more material we can fit in, fortunately for the sake of content, unfortunately for the sake of everything else. Bye for now!



Best wishes,



Tommy Gillespie

Press Officer, Best for Britain







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Best For Britain - United Kingdom

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