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
Cabinet ministers not embroiled in
bullying allegations are in short supply, if you ask Rishi Sunak. Just
weeks after Gavin Williamson departed the Government amidst widespread reports of unacceptable
behaviour, Deputy PM Dominic Raab has found himself the subject of 24
separate complaints (and “dozens” 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. After a contentious back-and-forth over the matter at
Wednesday’s PMQs, a few unnamed senior Tories leapt
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” over abuse in the highest offices of
government. At least neither Raab nor Mogg tweeted a photo of one of their staffers resiliently
powering through him calling them a pusillanimous jackanape.
IMF: Happy third birthday,
losers
Tuesday, 31st January, marked three lonely years since the UK formally exited the European
Union, and, as if on cue, the IMF issued revised 2023 economic forecasts predicting the UK would be the
sole major economy to contract in the coming year.
Picking up 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.
The Tory Party Chairman was sacked 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 two Prime Ministers ago (over which Zahawi
threatened to sue).
Magnanimous to the end, Zahawi’s
response 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
that they have insufficient staff to process asylum claims within
three years, new units were created 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, and new warnings from Holocaust survivors,
the latest from Labour peer Lord Dubs, that
Braverman’s rhetoric has strayed into very dangerous
territory.
Separately, the Guardian reported 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 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 the first economy-wide consultation on the
biggest issues 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 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 after years of real-terms pay
cuts.
The National Education Union (NEU)
was the largest 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 the battle of the placards.
True to form, Government
spokespeople shirked the blame and lamented the effect of the strikes on our poor, poor children. But
forcing them into freezing classrooms and making their art teachers
redundant? 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 talk of a return to the political fray for
the 49-day PM.
After Truss jetted off 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 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 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 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 that the UK and EU had finally gotten over the hump and struck
a deal in principle.
Reports suggest that the agreement
would see 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 the reported deal, with Jacob Rees-Mogg and
John Redwood tabling an early day motion 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.
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