It’s been another eventful week filled with noticeably fewer good vibes announcements from No10, major foreign policy and legislative developments, and confirmation of further police investigations into Reform UK.
The UK will ban the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements and go after individuals and companies that support, facilitate or profit from such activity.
Reform UK’s self-inflicted woes continue with the Met Police expanding their existing inquiry into the party’s funding to cover alleged illegal overseas donations to the party.
Meanwhile, West Midlands Police are investigating assaults on five people at the Reform UK conference last weekend.
But on Friday night, the Telegraph reported Reform UK’s coffers had been boosted by a record £36m donation from cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo.
Communities in Dover and Portsmouth were rocked by unrest last weekend, as masked men clad in black balaclava closed roads and - in Hampshire - clashed with police.
Finally, Labour and the Green Party have both selected their candidates for the Holborn and St. Pancras by-election next month.
Read on for your Weekend Wire.
In latest UK-EU reset news, talks have begun for the UK to rejoin EU security missions for the first time since Brexit. A welcome move in the face of grave global instability and rising international threats.
Just one example of this came on Friday, as the world marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11. MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum warned Britain faces greater danger now than it did in 2001. Writing in the Independent, he stressed that “terrorist threat now sits alongside strategic national security threats posed by capable states”, adding: “In the aftermath of the Cold War, CIA Director James Woolsey spoke of the West having ‘slain a large dragon’ but facing a ‘bewildering variety of poisonous snakes’... we now face the worst of both worlds: dragons are back, but snakes persist.”
Fresh security talks are the latest addition to current negotiations with our European partners on an SPS deal, a youth mobility scheme, and agreements on energy and electricity. On Sunday, Professor Nick Bloom, author of landmark research into Brexit damage representing a 6-8% drop in the UK’s GDP, highlighted the harm done to NHS funding. He argued that had we stayed in the EU, budgets would have gone up by “about two-thirds” and that waiting lists would probably “disappear”. Thank god for that £350m a week…
“Brexit has resulted in a slow and painful death by 1,000 cuts for the UK economy, and the knock-on effect to our struggling public services, with experts like Nick Bloom now rightly highlighting the appalling damage to our healthcare”. - Naomi Smith
Assisted dying latest
MPs have voted against proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, finally defeating the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by a vote of 286 to 270.
This was the second attempt to change the current law which would have allowed residents in England or Wales above the age of 18 with fewer than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life.
During the debate, both sides raised important points about the quality of palliative care services for patients across the country. Hospice UK chief executive Toby Porter has urged opponents and supporters to “channel their energy and passion into fixing” what he described as a “hospice funding crisis” and called on the PM to deliver “meaningful action” on funding.
He fought the law
With Nigel Farage and Reform UK seemingly on a downward spiral of their own making, the party is rightfully facing questions over alleged illegal donation activity, reported backroom deals, and video footage showing protestors being grabbed and physically hit by Reform UK conference attendees.
The Metropolitan Police is carrying out a criminal investigation into allegations Reform UK broke the law in relation to foreign funding, following a broadcast by Channel 4 News last week. The police investigation is being combined into an inquiry that has been under way into other donations to the party: an examination of donations given directly to the party by Fiona Cottrell, mother of longstanding Nigel Farage ally, George Cottrell. It is also looking at payments from a company controlled by Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice, which received £1m from Fiona Cottrell in June 2024.
And if that wasn’t enough already, West Midlands Police are separately investigating alleged assaults on five people which took place at the party conference, as a number of protestors were aggressively removed from the conference hall. The police have urged anyone who witnessed what happened, or who was a victim, to get in touch as soon as possible.
Shocking videos and images from the event appear to show members of the audience physically assaulting a protester by pushing and grabbing their hair, while a man can be seen hitting her with a metal walking stick.
When asked about the incident, Reform MP Robert Jenrick dismissed the question, saying “oh boo-hoo” and telling protestors to “get a life”.
You’ve Got a Friend in Me
In the face of American hostility disguised as tariffs, Canada and the EU are working toward a new, all-encompassing relationship that will range from trade to security, creating a transatlantic alliance; everything short of actual membership. Canada became the first country outside of the EU to join the EU’s 150 billion euro (US$174 billion) military procurement fund last year.
The partnership is expected to be announced on September 16 at European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s state of the union address which Carney is slated to attend.
The UK also has a chance to be bold in our relationship with Europe and the £92bn per year it could add to the economy. A boost well worth writing about…
Great Britain vs. Growth Britain
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey delivered his first major speech on the economy ahead of October’s Budget this week. He promised to turn Great Britain into “growth Britain” and get the UK’s economy back on track.
We’ve got a plan for that, John!
“The Chancellor’s optimism and his eagerness to turn the corner on a decade of stagnation and short-term growth spurts has to begin with a stated intention to join the EU, because that is the only long-term plan capable of delivering real change.”- Naomi Smith
Winging it
Earlier this week, thousands of passengers and flights were left at a standstill after a four-hour air traffic control outage. The error seemed to occur in the flight-processing system of NATS, which runs air traffic management at 15 airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester.
As a result, NATS chief, Martin Rolfe, was summoned to meet with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander who has called for investigations by NATS and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Unfortunately for passengers affected by the disruption, compensation is looking like a pipe dream. The Civil Aviation Authority has said that because the outage is the result of “extraordinary circumstances”, compensation claims would be difficult.
Tax Breaks
Regional mayors were given their first taste of Burnhamism this week, as the Prime Minister announced plans to allow them to set the rate of “tourist tax” in their region, in the first step along the road of devolution that Burnham has pledged to prioritise, following his experience as Greater Manchester mayor.
The tax, an uncapped levy on the cost of hotels, bed and breakfasts, and other accommodation, has been criticised by the right and industry - including Reform UK and the Tories. However, the government has insisted the tax is entirely optional - and overnight on Thursday, Labour’s regional mayors wrote to the Chancellor pledging to cap any levy in Labour controlled areas at 5%.
They argued that the rate would “provide a balance of ensuring that local levies are not excessive, or vary significantly between regions, while also leaving room for local variation as appropriate”.
Holborn and St Polanski
The race for Keir Starmer’s former seat in Holborn and St. Pancras has begun with both Labour and the Greens selecting their candidates this week ahead of the October 8 by-election date.
Labour has chosen Camden council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali, a former refugee who has said: “This place welcomed my family as refugees and gave us hope when we needed it most. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to build a life here, serving our community as a councillor, school governor and community activist.”
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski, currently a London Assembly member, has been - unsurprisingly - selected by his party.
So, who could emerge victorious? Labour has held the inner London seat since it was created in 1983, taking at least 40% of the vote at every general election. Former PM Keir Starmer - whose resignation triggered the ballot - won 48.9% of the vote in 2024, ahead of independent candidate Andrew Feinstein on 18.9% and the Greens on 10.4%. The Conservatives took 7.2%, Reform UK 6.1% and the Liberal Democrats 5.8%. We’ll keep you posted.
Sanctioning settlers
New Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed the UK government would begin imposing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, alongside 12 nations including France and Canada. In a marked change in tone from the Starmer era, Miliband accused the Israeli government of ignoring the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians by settlers. A joint statement issued by the 12 nations argued that “the Government of Israel’s actions in the West Bank are undermining the possibility of a two-state solution.”
The Israeli government was swift to respond, closing Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem which has acted as the unofficial British embassy to the state of Palestine. The consulate, which opened in 1838, has operated as the UK’s representative in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. Miliband spoke of the importance of not conflating the actions of the Israeli government with Judaism, reaffirming the UK government’s commitment to tackling rising antisemitism.
And senior figures within the British Jewish community have been split on the issue. The co-leaders of Progressive Judaism and the senior rabbi of the Masorti movement have all condemned settler violence and supported Miliband’s action, claiming that it will “safeguard the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians”. Meanwhile, Orthodox Chief Rabbi Mirvis criticised the government, accusing it of undermining efforts to deal with antisemitism.
Plastic patriots
Disgraceful scenes over last weekend in Dover and Portsmouth were a reminder that the radical right continues to threaten both our freedoms and our democracy. The sight of crowds of balaclava-clad men who marched, dressed all in black, sets a dangerous precedent for our country.
Ringleader Danny ‘Tommo’ Thomas was later filmed outside the Daily Mail’s offices threatening to blockade the building unless the newspaper bought his mother a new house after they turned up to ask her questions about him. Tommo was joined at the Mail’s office by a troop of men dressed all in black and wearing matching black shorts, bringing to mind PG Wodehouse’s satirical character Roderick Spode. At the time of writing, only one man has been arrested in connection with the protests.
Thomas is a convicted kidnapper who was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to attempting to kidnap Graham Page at knifepoint in 2016. Since then he has become a close associate of Tommy Robinson - or Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - who himself was the subject of an undercover investigation into his finances this week. Channel 4 Dispatches and our friends at Hope not hate revealed Yaxley-Lennon is funded by a complex network of foreign politicians and millionaires who have aided his mission to spread hatred across the UK.
With the threat of the radical right still ever present, and Reform UK wounded after a dismal conference, Best for Britain continues to hold the radical right to account. We’re tracking the chaos at the local and national level of Reform UK - and we need your help.
Positive patriotism
It is not just the UK that is dealing with the rise of the far-right.
Over the weekend the AfD became the first far-right party in Germany to win regional or national elections since the Nazi Party in the 1930’s. In a powerful piece of writing, our Social Media Manager (and Hamburger) Laurena Rodrigues, wrote about what the result means for her and millions of her fellow Germans. Sound familiar?
“German schools did not treat Nazi history as something children needed to be shielded from. Instead, we read the diary of Anne Frank in German class, and in history class we were taught how Hitler managed - over years - to get ordinary Germans to believe the lies that they were ‘superior’ and that others were to blame for their own struggles.”- Laurena Rodrigues
Closer to home, we reflected on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics, and what it can teach us about a sense of pride in the diverse and inclusive modern Britain of today - in the face of the far-right. We’re asking whether PM Burnham might be able to capitalise on the pro-European sentiment of the 2028 Men’s Euros r and announce EU membership as part of Labour’s next manifesto.
“There is a vast amount to be proud of in Britain: from our NHS to the ingenuity of our industries, from the Rolling Stones to Stonehenge. We have ceded our place on the world stage to the voices of faux-patriotism that paint a drab, mono-cultural image of Britain. It is time Burnham brought us back into full European technicolour.” - Josh Edwicker
The Bayeux Tapestry was put on show this week - returning to the UK after more than 900 years. The tapestry - which is actually an embroidery - was returned to the UK via a refrigerated, shock-absorbed truck through the channel.
The tapestry went on display on Thursday and has continued to wow excited onlookers. Fun fact: the tapestry has been insured by the Treasury for £800 million - more than twice the value of any other artwork sold at auction. Let’s hope no one spills a drink on it!
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Oh no, he didn’t? Regrettably, oh yes, he did.
On Tuesday it’s the International Day of Democracy.
The Welsh Parliament - the Senedd - will resume after its summer recess and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her State of the Union address.
We will see you then!
Eliza Snider and Joshua Edwicker
Senior Press Officer & Senior Content Officer
Best for Britain
good summary backwards and forwards. I needed to reply to Josh by email on the "sport can make us feel good" article as all my Substack credentials were not migrated to this new mobile phone. Axiomatically, I have recovered the ability to Comment
Rgds
Dave Aitken