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Welcome to the first ever edition of Weekend Wire via the shiny new The Best for Britain Wire Substack. We’re delighted to have you with us - and excited to unveil some of the fantastic content we’ve got upsleeve.
This week has seen Parliament return from recess, a resignation induced cabinet reshuffle, a new leader of the Green Party elected, the date of the Budget announced (November 26), and somewhat ominous headlines emerge from the Chinese military parade/state shindig.
We also want to thank any of our supporters who contributed to Hope NOT Hate’s successful campaign to stop a neo-Nazi music festival in Great Yarmouth, highlighted in last week’s newsletter. You can find the full update on their website and learn more about their vital work countering the far right and supporting community cohesion.
Read on for the full newsletter, and - if you enjoy our weekly round-ups - why not send on to a friend?
Rayned off
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On Friday, Angela Rayner resigned her roles as deputy PM, housing secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party after she admitted to underpaying stamp duty on a flat she bought in Hove earlier this year.
Rayner paid £40,000 less than she should have, as she claimed it was her main home rather than a second home. Her resignation letter states that she “take[s] full responsibility for this error” and that it was “never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount”.
The PM’s independent advisor on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, found that “she cannot be considered to have met the highest possible standards of proper conduct” and that “in these circumstances, I would consider the Code to have been breached”. This, he said, was because Rayner was told to seek specialist tax advice, but did not do so.
While many will judge Rayner to be sincere in her explanation and with Nigel Farage getting comparatively little heat following reports of his tax avoidance, ultimately, the last thing our fragile democracy needed was yet another high profile scandal at the heart of government. As millions struggle to make ends meet, public trust in politicians has just taken another blow.
Our political class must do better - and fast.
Every day I’m (re)shuffling
Following Rayner’s departure, and with a deputy PM, housing secretary AND deputy leader of the Labour party to replace, Starmer had no choice but to rejig his top team. Major cabinet moves on Friday saw then-foreign secretary David Lammy moved to run the justice department, alongside taking on the DPM role. Previously home secretary, Yvette Cooper was moved to the foreign office, while Shabana Mahmood was shifted from justice secretary to run the home office. Former environment secretary Steve Reed will now take on the housing brief - while the party’s national executive committee will meet soon to decide on timings for a new election for the deputy leader position.
More junior ministerial roles may continue being reshuffled this weekend, but for a great visualisation of all the major moves so far, Politics Home have got you covered.
It all came a few days after new research was published by the British Election Study examining Labour’s (gulp) “decline” since the 2024 general election. The pollsters found the party had suffered a “remarkable” fall in support which had “splintered” across indecision and left-liberal parties, while its “rightward shift [was] yielding little gain”. One for the first new cabinet meeting?
Party pooper
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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer celebrated (but not too much) his 63rd birthday. However, the ever-serious PM drew the line at his ministers singing him the traditional song, with his spokesperson telling reporters there was an “attempt” to sing Happy Birthday at the weekly cabinet meeting which Sir Keir quickly put a stop to.
No danger of a Partygate rerun with this guy in charge. Who do you reckon initiated the singing? Answers on a postcard (aka the comments section).
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The Green Party’s summer-long leadership contest wrapped up - also on Tuesday - with London Assembly member Zack Polanski coming out on top. He achieved 20,411 votes for his brand of ‘eco-populism’, versus rivals Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chown’s 3,705, and took aim at Labour in his victory speech, pledging: “We are here to replace you.”
Polanski was swiftly congratulated on his “stunning victory” by one Jeremy Corbyn, who lauded his campaign for “[taking] on the rich and powerful”. Despite being initially open to a pact with Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s new leftwing Your Party, in an interview with the Guardian the new Green leader clarified that he would need to see “very strong arguments” before agreeing any electoral agreement - and that there is enough room on the left for both parties to thrive.
Labour meanwhile, were quick to remind voters of the time Polanski - then working as a hypnotherapist - was involved in a newspaper article in which he claimed to be able to increase women’s breast sizes using the technique. Asked about the article, Polanski apologised, saying: “It does not represent my work, it does not represent me… This was 11 years ago. I wasn't involved in politics at all.” He also stressed that he had apologised at the time.
Polanski has also been quick to move onto the Reform UK leader’s territory, spotted this week interviewing voters in Clacton-on-Sea, alongside The News Agents podcast host Emily Maitlis. His win - is expected to move the Greens even more vocally left - and his support for electoral reform is further evidence of the increasing fragmentation of our political system. More on all that later…
Tragedy in Afghanistan and Sudan
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Two major incidents hit Afghanistan and Sudan this week. In the Taliban-run Asian nation, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern Kunar province, followed shortly after by a 5.5 magnitude quake in the southeast of the country, as rescuers searched for survivors.
In a country already devastated by war, the death toll has passed 1,400 people with thousands more injured. And with a religious government that bans women from being treated by male doctors, there are urgent warnings from the UN Women Afghanistan Special Representative Susan Ferguson that women will “again bear the brunt of this disaster”. The New York Times later reported that some Afghan women were left trapped under rubble or with untreated wounds, due to a ban on contact between unrelated men and women.
The UK government has pledged £1m in emergency aid, split equally between the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Red Cross (IFRC) for critical healthcare and supplies.
While in Sudan’s western Darfur region, a landslide wiped out an entire village, killing an estimated 1,000 people. The event marked one of the deadliest natural disasters in the East African country’s recent history, which is also riven by a violent civil war.
Man’s world latest
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Amid the ongoing furore over immigration, with protestors outside hotels housing asylum seekers claiming they are aiming to protect British women and girls, a group of high-profile women including MPs, union leaders, musicians and broadcasters have spoken out.
The Guardian reported an open letter, titled Women Against the Far Right, coordinated by Stand Up To Racism, is “criticising rightwing attempts to link sexual violence in Britain to asylum seekers”. It states: “We reject the far right’s racist lies about ‘protecting’ women and girls. They are not defenders of women – they exploit violence against women to fuel hate and division.”
Signatories include singers Paloma Faith and Charlotte Church; DJ Annie Macmanus; Abortion Rights UK; National Education Union (NEU) chief Sarah Kilpatrick; Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti; and MPs including Zarah Sultana, Kim Johnson and Ellie Chowns. Influencer Em Clarkson is also highlighting this dangerous narrative in her Instagram videos.
Let’s also never forget that asylum seekers - a group which includes women and girls, and male victims of sexual violence - are here legally seeking sanctuary from some of the world’s worst conflicts and oppressive states. The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is currently hosting Britain’s first major exhibition about the topic, titled: ‘Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict’. With input from the courageous war reporter and international correspondent, Christina Lamb, for anyone looking to learn more about the subject it’s a must-see. (Note: not recommended for under 16s.)
Lend me some sugar, I am your Chancellor
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UK borrowing costs have risen, with 30-year gilt yields (the effective interest rate for the government to borrow money) reaching a 27-year high on Tuesday. This does put more pressure onto Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she aims to sort out the nation’s finances ahead of her (only just) Autumn Budget, set to sneak in under the wire on November 26. Mark your calendars now.
However, at the Treasury select committee this week, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey cautioned against what he called “dramatic commentary”. The bank chief said the increase was largely due to pension funds moving away from long-term financial products, and stressed that “the underlying driver of this is global”.
Putin off Xi inevitable
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In case anyone was sleeping a little too soundly at night, the famously not-so-good (or young) guys Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping made headlines this week for being caught on a hot mic reportedly discussing ways to achieve immortality with organ transplants. Yikes.
Could it have been a veiled dig at rumours of US President Donald Trump’s apparent ill health? Or a genuine slip of the tongue(s)? Somehow it’s even more unsettling that we’ll probably never know.
The Russian and Chinese leaders met at Xi’s giant military parade in Beijing, alongside fellow ‘axis of upheaval’ member Kim Jong Un - who travelled via armoured train. The disturbing parade featured missiles, tanks, and, yes, robot wolves(?!).
Fairer votes for a happier Britain
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Fresh plans for a rewrite of the UK’s electoral system dropped this week from a group of MPs on the cross-party APPG for fair elections, in an urgent call on the government to bring in a more proportionally representative voting method.
Concisely explained by the excellent team at Make Votes Matter - the UK’s leading campaigners for PR - this would mean “a voting system in which the share of seats a party wins matches the share of votes it receives”. Ultimately this would mean “smaller parties have a greater chance of representation, breaking the dominance of the two-party system”.
For more detail on the growing calls for proportional representation, and a clear explainer of the benefits, you can tune in to this week’s episode of the Quiet Riot podcast, for a fascinating conversation with Emma Harrison, CEO of Make Votes Matter.
Brexit Corner
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In the latest Brexit-related head-in-hands news, it was revealed by Politico this week that the port facilities - built by the last government for no longer required EU customs checks - now face being scrapped without ever being used. It comes after the government succeeded in negotiating a deal which will spare small businesses extortionate export fees and inordinate border checks. That’s all to the tune of £800m wasted (sigh)… add it in the tracker
Cheerful News of the Week
However, in a welcome Brexit-related bright spot, it also emerged via the FT that the government is now in search of a contractor to run the UK’s involvement in the Erasmus scheme which could potentially soon be re-up-and-running. Both the EU and UK agreed to negotiate the UK rejoining the scheme at May’s reset summit. UK students, time to check the expiry dates on your passport!
Cringe Column
Just Andrea Jenkyns marching onto the stage at Reform UK’s conference, in a glittery jumpsuit, singing about being an insomniac.
Keep an eye out this weekend for the government’s latest test of the emergency alert system on Sunday, September 7, at 3pm. If anyone is or knows anyone affected by domestic violence, with a hidden phone or device, the government’s advice on opting out of alerts is on their website.
Next week features elections in Norway, the start of the UN General Assembly, and the TUC Congress, including a motion on the UK-EU reset being debated on Tuesday.
Have a good one.
Jessica Frank-Keyes
Senior Press Officer
Best for Britain
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