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Welcome to your Weekend Wire from Best for Britain.
After what’s been another long week of the world holding its breath, we hope you’re ready for an exhale. Stick the kettle on, lower your shoulders, and unclench your jaw, as we round up the state of the world, without trying to raise your blood pressure.
From Greenland to Grok, via Rubio and Reform UK, read on for lots more on all that.
Arctic Circling
As US President Donald Trump continued to press for American control of Greenland, an autonomous Arctic territory of Denmark, an extraordinary meeting [ [link removed] ] was held in the White House on Wednesday between Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, US vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio.
The hour-long meeting culminated in Lokke Rasmussen declaring to reporters that it was “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland”, which he - tactfully - dubbed a “fundamental disagreement” with the Trump administration. Trump argues China and Russia have designs on Greenland - the world’s largest island - and wants the US to take it over.
There are hopes the talks will eventually lead to Trump dropping his demand, in favour of closer co-operation with the US. But the sight of European leaders puffing on cigarettes after the discussion hinted at the tension in the room.
Symbolic numbers of troops from several European nations - including France, Germany, and the UK - continued arriving in Greenland in a show of unity throughout the week, after it was announced prior to the White House summit that Denmark would up its military presence there.
However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that this had no impact on Trump’s decision-making. There is a clear gap between the two sides with Denmark describing a future working group to resolve differences, and the US is billing any further discussions as “technical talks on the acquisition agreement” to acquire Greenland, according to the PA news agency. Errrr…
Terror in Tehran
After weeks of increasingly fierce protests, reports emerged towards the end of the week that the national uprising in Iran has stalled [ [link removed] ], following the regime’s deadly crackdown. Reprisals have included state forces shooting directly into crowds, who first took to the streets in December over the collapse of Iran’s rial currency, as well as an internet blackout. Activists say 2,615 people have been killed, and there were threats to put those arrested to death within days.
Iranian state media reported more arrests on Friday, despite repeated US threats to intervene over plans to execute detainees. However, fears of US intervention have dialled back [ [link removed] ] since Wednesday, when Trump said he had been told the violence was easing. It comes after he announced on Truth Social that “any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the USA”.
Eyewitness reports from Tehran suggest the sound of gunfire and smell of bonfires is fading. However, on Friday, the Pentagon said it had moved one of its most powerful warships to the Middle East - the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier, alongside fighter jets and an attack submarine.
Elsewhere in Middle East news, it was reported [ [link removed] ] that Keir Starmer is considering whether to join Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, as part of the 20-point US plan to end the Israel-Hamas war, following US media reports that Trump will announce the membership this week. Tony Blair is expected to join a separate executive board alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Cops and Roberts
Provocateur-in-chief Robert Jenrick received his marching orders [ [link removed] ] on Thursday morning from an emboldened Kemi Badenoch. After being provided with “irrefutable evidence” [ [link removed] ] that the former Tory leadership candidate was planning to defect to Reform UK, she had (finally) had enough.
The Jenrick-Badenoch face-off had a Shakespearean quality - Julius Caesar crossed with A Comedy of Errors. Jenrick’s plot was reportedly rumbled when a copy of his resignation speech was found ‘lying around’ [ [link removed] ]. While Tory bosses apparently became aware of a meeting in December [ [link removed] ] between Farage and the ex-Shadow Justice Minister.
Just hours later, at a hastily organised Westminster press conference, Jenrick was unveiled as a new Reform UK MP - taking the party’s total to six. In his speech, Jenrick, without an ounce of self-reflection or irony, lambasted his former party’s record in government. He launched blistering personal attacks on the records of Mel Stride and Priti Patel [ [link removed] ], but largely avoided taking responsibility for his own four years as government minister. Badenoch was able to find solace in the situation, telling reporters: “Robert Jenrick is not my problem any more. He’s Nigel Farage’s problem now” [ [link removed] ].
Making tracks
At Best for Britain, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the numbers of former Conservatives - from MPs to councillors and donors - making their way over to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
And this week - with the news that both Nadhim Zahawi and Robert Jenrick had jumped ship - it was time to launch our brand new Defection Tracker [ [link removed] ]. You can follow all the updates on our website [ [link removed] ] - and please do share far and wide.
While it remains to see what the wider impact will be for the right of British politics, it’s worth remembering what our CEO Naomi Smith powerfully argues:
“Nigel Farage paints Reform UK as a new insurgency party - undoing the mistakes of mainstream politics. Quick to criticise the fourteen years of Tory austerity, mismanagement, and chaos - Farage is even quicker to welcome them into his party with open arms.”
A Grok and a hard place
In welcome - if bare minimum - good news this week, Elon Musk and X have climbed down [ [link removed] ] from their position on the use of AI tool Grok to produce sexually explicit images of women and children. A statement on X on Wednesday confirmed they had taken steps “to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing”.
Keir Starmer and technology minister Liz Kendall had been clear in their anger at X for the failure to properly implement safeguards. Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said it illustrated “how victims of abuse, campaigners and a show of strength from governments can force tech platforms to take action” [ [link removed] ]. This week, we at Best for Britain made the decision to stop using X completely. Read more on that decision below.
The ongoing X controversy has increased calls for the UK to follow Australia’s lead in banning social media for under-16s. On Thursday the Prime Minister refused to rule out such a ban - reaffirming that “all options are on the table” [ [link removed] ], while Badenoch announced that her Conservative Party would seek the same, if they won the next election. The issue is likely to return to the front-pages next week as the House of Lords prepares to vote on an amendment [ [link removed] ] to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would include the proposed ban.
Decision to Leave
This week, Best for Britain took the decision to stop using X, formerly Twitter, completely. Here’s our full statement, on why:
“For the last twelve months we’ve maintained a presence on the platform because - regrettably - MPs, journalists, and the UK Government, have continued to use it to publish news and monitor public sentiment.
“The continued degradation of X, particularly the more recent trend of abusive images being generated using Grok, means we can’t in all good conscience continue to use it.
“For an organisation that seeks to change minds, always trying to reach new people, and change politics for the better, it’s a difficult decision. Some of our team, dedicated to countering the spread of misinformation and disinformation, will continue to monitor X and other social media networks as part of our efforts to fight the rise of extremism and the radical right.
But we’ll only be sharing on other platforms, like this one. We urge politicians and the media to do the same.”
In advance…
Would you delay your pension to get on the housing ladder? That’s what Welwyn Hatfield MP, and chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission, Andrew Lewin, is asking.
In a much-needed, fresh approach to the thorny policy problem of increasingly unaffordable home ownership, Lewin makes the bold policy proposal that could be a game changer for young people. .
Read his piece in full [ [link removed] ] - and stay up to date with the policy’s development here [ [link removed] ].
Plaid comes before a fall
A new YouGov poll [ [link removed] ] ahead of May’s local, Welsh and Scottish elections caused a stir. The research, for ITV Cymru and Cardiff University, put the Welsh national party on 37% to Reform UK’s 23%, with Labour an astonishing fourth place (10%) in one of its former strongholds, behind the Greens (13%). With Reform hoping for a big win in Wales come spring, could this latest upset indicate a shift in their fortunes?
While Westminster digested the news, it was over to Fife, where Farage announced the party’s leader in Scotland ahead of the locals. And yes you guessed it, it’s another former Tory minister and peer Malcolm Offord, who quit the Lords to stand for Reform UK at Holyrood, after being directly appointed to the post. But Farage was quick to remind him who was really in charge, telling journalists at the press conference: “I am the leader of the party, I have quite a lot of power.”
Election watch
Portugal heads to the polls on Sunday for the first round of its presidential election. While the office is largely ceremonial, it still holds significant powers, including calling snap elections and vetoing legislation.
In a now all too familiar pattern, the far-right Chega party holds a slim poll lead [ [link removed] ]. The latest figures put André Ventura, Chega’s firebrand anti-establishment leader, on 24%, narrowly ahead of Socialist António Seguro on 23%. With a third candidate, João Cotrim de Figueiredo MEP, from the pro-business Liberal Initiative polling at 19%, the race is likely to require a second-round run-off for the first time in forty years.
Grab your popcorn and pastel de natas. [ [link removed] ]
Feel the Byrne
This year marks a decade since the 2016 Brexit referendum. How time flies. This week Business and Trade Committee chair Liam Byrne MP held a timely evidence session into the damage caused by Brexit to a wide range of industries. From ports, and haulage companies, to the National Farmers Union - the Committee heard hours of damning evidence into the act of economic self-harm that Brexit has so clearly been.
One witness, Toby Ovens of Broughton Transport, told how one of his trucks was once stuck for 27 days due a paperwork error [ [link removed] ], whilst another saw a vet chasing lorries down motorways. [ [link removed] ]
Cheerful News of the Week
Alright, this is commentary, not news, but we wanted to share this final column [ [link removed] ] from the Guardian’s Martin Kettle, comparing Britain today to the world of the 1980s. After yet another ‘quite a week’, his reflective tone left us feeling, if not quite optimistic, then at least hopeful. He writes:
“But – and here’s the point that needs to be grasped – those moods did not endure. Not everything was broken. With effort and tough judgment, we managed to get out of that place; imperfectly, because life is always imperfect; sometimes at a cost, though sometimes with reward; but nevertheless in real and significant ways.
“So the question is whether we can do something of the same kind now. I know we must. I also think we can.”
Cast your mind back to Monday, when Zahawi became the most senior Conservative politician [ [link removed] ] to cross the aisle - ahead of Jenrick. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, who enjoyed a blockbuster two month stint in the role, glossed over former tweets that warned he would be “frightened” [ [link removed] ] to live in a country run by Farage.
While with his own case of amnesia, the Reform UK leader appears to have forgotten all about his accusation that “all he’s (Zahawi) interested in is climbing the greasy pole”. [ [link removed] ] Awks.
Next week is the International Day for Education, Blue Monday, and of course, a happy Burns Night to all our Scottish subscribers.
We’ll also be keeping an eye out for the government’s deadline for a decision on the proposed Chinese embassy in London, and the first anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration.
Have a good one.
Jessica Frank-Keyes and Joshua Edwicker
Head of Press and Content Officer
Best for Britain

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