The Best for Britain Wire

Nigel Farage and his gang of less-than-merry men are in hot water after Channel 4 broadcast footage that appears to be evidence of a plot to get around electoral laws on foreign donations. Argentina’s President Javier Milei wants to annex the Falkland Islands. Spoiler: the UK is having none of it. The Best for Britain Wire is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

“It’s now up to the people of Saxony-Anhalt to help stop this dangerous political ideology that threatens to embolden the far-right - both in Germany, across Europe, and here at home in the UK.” - Laurena Rodrigues For the first time since 1945, an area of Germany could be ruled by an extreme right-wing party.

“Burnham’s ambitious domestic agenda should be backed by an ambitious push for membership of the EU.” - Oliver Nicholls Andy Burnham has come to power with an ambition to re-industrialise Britain through a series of domestic initiatives - shifting power away from London, using government contracts to drive local economies and putting technical and academic education on an equal footing. Each is designed to secure growth in every postcode, the undercurrent of his domestic political agenda.

“Far from a clear path across the chessboard, Farage’s way remains littered with pitfalls, and hamstrung with tripwires.” - Cary Mitchell This piece was originally published by Left Foot Forward. In the end, he didn’t even show up to the count.

As the weather heated up this week, so did the pressure for Andy Burnham who is facing media and political pressure about the early prison release scheme and Channel crossings. Count Binface wasn’t able to eclipse Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election. His re-election only means one thing: the investigation into the £5m gift from his crypto billionaire bestie has already resumed. Record-setting temperatures are causing serious stress on crops and supply chains.

“Social media and video networks are, for the first time, the single most widely used way of accessing online news.” - Eliza Snider

“Only hope and real opportunities will provide an antidote to the apathy which plagues young people.” - Josh Edwicker Laid out in black and white, the Milburn review was damning: one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEETs). A decade ago our NEET rate was closer to the average of EU countries but today, the UK is an outlier that has fallen behind its European counterparts.

The Prime Minister is on summer hols this week but that hasn’t stopped the government from looking under the sofa cushions to find money to fund his commitments while staying within the fiscal rules. The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Say it ain’t so for Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe who are rumoured to be pairing up. The Burnham bubble may be about to burst as the discourse around the early prison release scheme heats up, showing some initial fractures in the party.

It’s the first - and arguably the most important - task for any new Prime Minister. After Andy Burnham’s new-look cabinet took shape this week, what could his choice of appointments mean for the UK’s relationship with Europe? We took a quick look at a few key ministers… The Best for Britain Wire is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

It’s been a week of fire and brimstone. Prime Minister Andy Burnham launched yet another announcement blitz spanning education, submarines and adult social care. Then the Department for Education lost over half a million records to a cyber attack. Uh oh. Meanwhile, wildfires are raging across the South and East of England, Scotland, Spain and France. And Russia continues to push NATO’s boundaries, stoking fresh questions around the UK’s approach to defence. Our CEO digs into what it means for the UK.