The 19th Hole: Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump grab a cuppa at Trump International Golf Links during the US leader’s five-day golfing retreat in Scotland. © American Photo Archive
The UK will recognise a Palestinian state by September unless Israel works to alleviate the situation in Gaza and allows UN aid into the strip, commits to a ceasefire and makes clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank. As such demands would likely collapse the Israeli government, recognition appears all but confirmed to happen later this year. In what is becoming form for the Government, the move pleased exactly no one; MPs on the insurgent left, including Labour MPs, were incensed at the conditions attached to the announcement, while Badenoch and Farage criticised it as “political posturing” that “rewarded” Hamas. Nonetheless, it marks a major turning point in British foreign policy and reflects an undeniable trend – Canada followed a suit a day later, France took the jump as the first G7 nation to recognise Palestine last week, Australia appears likely to make the move soon, and Spain, Norway and Ireland all took the decision last year.
Donald Trump is back on US shores after a 5 day trip to Scotland earlier this week. Arriving at Prestwick Airport on Friday night, the US President visited the two golf resorts he owns, and met with the Prime Minister, Scottish Secretary, First Minister of Scotland and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In a pretty positive visit for both the UK and Europe, Trump heaped praise on Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney (which may not be entirely helpful for Swinney…) and agreed a US-EU trade deal with von der Leyen that will see US tariffs on goods from Europe set at 15% - half the 30% that was due to come into force this Friday. However, in between sit-downs with politicians, ribbon cutting on the green, and wielding a 5 iron, the US President made his distaste for two things pretty clear: wind farms and the Mayor of London, who he called a “nasty person” (something we’re sure Sadiq Khan is not losing sleep over). Taking to the fairway before a final round of golf at his resort in Aberdeenshire, he emphasised that speed was important – noting his need to return to Washington DC to “put out fires all over the world”, after already having “stopped about five wars”. He returns to the UK in just over 6 weeks for his second official state visit.
20 – minutes outage at the National Air Traffic Services on Wednesday, leading to widespread flight cancellations and delays.
700,000 – UK population growth in the year to June 2024.
2 – options for Green Party members as they begin voting in the party’s leadership contest. Current co-leader Adrian Ramsay is running on a joint ticket with Ellie Chowns, with Zack Polanski the other contender.
1.2% – forecasted UK economic growth in 2025 according to the World Economic Forum, who also predict 1.4% UK GDP growth in 2026.
25,000 – number of people who have crossed the English channel so far in 2025.
At least 4 – Conservative MPs from before the 2024 election to have now officially defected to Reform UK, after former Gravesham MP Adam Holloway announced his defection.
New rules from the Online Safety Act came into force last Friday, meaning that social media and other internet platforms are required to implement safety measures protecting children, or face larger fines. The new safety measures include age checks to identify under-18 users; algorithms that recommend content to users must filter out harmful material; all sites and apps must have procedures for taking down dangerous content quickly; and children must have a “straightforward” way to report concerns. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle and Nigel Farage had a spat over the issue, with the Cabinet Minister arguing the Reform UK leader was “on the side” of people like Jimmy Saville for criticising the effectiveness of the new rules.
The Department for Business and Trade published its full Small Business Plan, outlining the Government’s long-term strategy to support small and medium sized businesses across the UK. The Plan pledges new legislation to tackle late payments - described as a “scourge” by Business Secretary Jonathon Reynolds - alongside commitments to modernise tax and customs systems, and scale up support for SMEs transitioning to net zero. Procurement rules will be reformed to put SMEs at the heart of public sector contracting, and a roadmap for next steps confirms the FCA’s long-anticipated Open Finance framework will be published in Spring 2026.
The NHS launched its first ever review into health inequalities faced by LGBT+ people, examining access to mental health support, cancer screening, and primary care. The six-month review will assess data across multiple clinical areas - including sexual and reproductive health, HIV, perinatal care, smoking, alcohol and drug services - to understand how health outcomes and patient safety are affected by structural barriers. The review will align with the NHS’s 10 Year Health Plan, and aims to shift care towards prevention, community-based models, and digital delivery to better meet the needs of LGBT+ patients.
Two proposals have been submitted for the expansion of Heathrow, taking what Chancellor Rachel Reeves described as “one step closer to expanding our biggest airport.” The plans submitted by Heathrow propose a 2-mile runway expansion which would cross a diverted M25. Hotel tycoon Surinder Arora also submitted a plan, which included a shorter 2,800 metre third runway instead of a full-length 3,500 metre runway, to avoid the costly and disruptive need to divert the M25. Ministers are expected to respond to the proposals in early Autumn and will seek advice from the Climate Change Committee on compatibility with the UK’s net zero targets.
The Lib Dems have called for a cap on private providers SEND school profits, after research commissioned by the party found that several leading SEND providers - some backed by offshore private equity - are making tens of millions of pounds per year in profits, with margins exceeding 20%. Under the Lib Dem plan, firms exceeding the 8% threshold could be sanctioned, including being required to return excess profits to local councils. The proposal would be backed by expanded state provision, including support for local authorities to build more SEND schools.
Reform declared a war on net zero and green energy projects, after Richard Tice, Greater Lincolnshire's mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Council Leader Sean Matthews launched the LORE campaign (Lincolnshire opposes renewable eyesores) at a press conference held in Boston. They said they opposed wind and solar farms and battery storage facilities, with Tice adding, “it is an absolute outrage what the madness of net stupid zero is doing to our county, as well as to our country."
The Ministry of Justice unveiled its new AI Action Plan, aimed at transforming the justice system by harnessing AI to reduce crime and speed up justice for victims. The plan includes AI tools that predict the risk offenders pose, enabling tighter supervision of dangerous prisoners and earlier intervention to prevent violence behind bars. The plan also introduces a single digital ID for offenders, linking records across prisons, probation, and courts to improve monitoring and sentencing accuracy.
Former UK Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq is set to face trial later this month, after she was accused of illegally receiving land in Bangladesh, as part of a wider investigation into the regime of her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed as prime minister last year. The country's Anti-Corruption Commission confirmed her case is due to be heard, along with more than 20 other individuals including Hasina and other family members, on 11th August. Lawyers representing Siddiq dismiss the allegations as politically motivated, while Bangladesh has issued an arrest warrant and declined her requests for meetings.
Nigel Farage delivered another press conference on law and order, where he announced the appointment of detective Colin Sutton as Reform’s Police and Crime Advisor to lead a Law and Order and Policing Taskforce. He criticised the Crime Survey of England and Wales for excluding offences like shoplifting and drug possession, calling it “discredited” and citing 17 million shoplifting incidents in 2024.
The Parliamentary Knowledge Schemes has now launched, a new cross party initiative, backed by the patron - Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle - for MPs to gain real world knowledge away from Westminster with charities, frontline services and businesses. Emails will have dropped into inboxes before recess on how to apply, and applications close 8th August so don’t miss out. MPs can sign up here. If you want to get involved as a charity, business or frontline service, email hattie@parliamentknowledge.uk
London is in the grip of a street crime epidemic, so argues a recent report from Policy Exchange. The report shows that knife crime has increased by 58.5% in the years between 2021 and 2024 in the capital city, and that only 1 in 20 robberies were solved last year. It also revealed that 81,000 mobile phones were stolen in robberies and thefts in the last year alone. The report makes 17 recommendations and rejects the suggestion that stop and search is being deployed in a “racist” way.
49% of British adult women aged 18-50 have delayed or decided against having a child in the future, according to a recent Ipsos poll. The survey suggests that economic concerns play a large role in the decision, as the most likely reason for delaying or deciding against having future children were: the cost of raising children (39%); concerns about the cost of living (36%); their partner or themselves not wanting a child (30%); and the cost of child care (29%).
As world leaders shift their language on the conflict in Israel and Palestine, half of Britons consider Israel’s actions over the last 22 months to be unjustified, according to a recent YouGov poll. The results also show that over one in five feel Israel’s actions are justified, whilst 27% don’t know.
While the current Canadian Prime Minister is facing criticism from the US President and increased US tariffs, his predecessor is busy lighting the gossip columns up like a firework, as a California Gurl and Canadian politician were spotted dining together in Montreal. Ex-PM Justin Trudeau is a bit of a Dark Horse when it comes to who you’d expect to see Katy Perry at dinner with, but the two dined together on both Hot n Cold dishes such as beef tartare and lobster. While a communications consultant from the restaurant where they dined saying there was no indication of roarmance in the air, only time will tell whether Perry will be saying I kissed a PM and I liked it… or whether Trudeau will be the one that got away.
Beckham, Everest, Awesome and Sicily are just some of the unusual baby names registered in 2024, but despite the mammoth majority the Prime Minister won back in July, not a single baby was named Keir last year. In even worse news for the PM, Nigel, Boris and Kemi were all on the list. The top boys name was Muhammad for the second year running, while Olivia remained the most popular name for a baby girl.
