The next Cabinet?: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage holds another press conference on law and order, alongside Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews who defected from the Conservatives. © PA Images
Nigel Farage again claimed that law and order is on the brink as he held another press conference in which accused Warwickshire Police of ‘covering-up’ the immigration status of two suspects charged in connection with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl. In turn, Warwickshire Police begged the Home Secretary for clearer guidelines when it comes to the sharing of both the ethnicity and immigration status of suspects, which Yvette Cooper agreed “need to change.” Farage also gleefully revealed the defection of Rupert Matthews, Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire, from the Conservatives to Reform UK (for more information on Matthews, see You’ve Got to Laugh). The Government, meanwhile, will be bracing for a weekend which is expected to see both demonstrations outside migrant hotels across the country and a protest in solidarity with the proscribed Palestine Action group in London.
A Trump-Putin meeting could be on the cards next week, potentially in the UAE, although Trump rowed back on his demand that Ukraine’s Zelenskyy also attend the meeting. It does not appear that Russia has budged on any of its maximalist demands for a ceasefire, which include the recognition of Russian sovereignty over several Ukrainian regions and that Ukraine must demilitarise. The catalyst for the meeting therefore appears to be Trump’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners, which would impact Russia’s ability to keep its economy afloat and maintain the war effort. Of course, being Trump, the plans for the meeting could dissolve in a heartbeat.
21.2% – amount (former) Homelessness Minister Rushanara Ali is alleged to have increased rent by on a 4-bed property she owns, having told the previous tenants their lease would not be renewed.
£950 – amount that victims of car finance mis-selling are expected to receive per deal, following the Supreme Court’s ruling last Friday.
25% – additional tariff that President Trump has signed an Executive Order to impose on India from 27 August, due to India’s purchasing of Russian oil.
5 – cuts to interest rates since Labour won the 2024 general election, with rates now at their lowest level in two years.
140,000 – fewer schoolchildren reported as persistently absent compared to last year.
1 – US Vice President in the UK this weekend, as JD Vance is on a private family holiday, although he is meeting with Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Rushanara Ali resigned as Homelessness and Democracy Minister after raising the rent on one of her properties from £3,300 to £4000 a month ‘within weeks’ of her ending the previous tenants’ fixed-term contract. Unfortunately for Ali, this practice is exactly what the Government’s Renters’ Rights Bill is trying to outlaw. She insisted she’d followed ‘all relevant legal requirements’ (as they currently stand) but accepted that her position would become ‘a distraction’. The irony isn’t lost on anyone…
The UK-France migrant returns treaty officially came into effect this week, enabling a ‘one-in, one-out’ approach to small boat crossings. Anyone entering the UK on a small boat can now be sent back to France, with detentions having already commenced, in exchange for the UK accepting an equal number of migrants who haven’t attempted a crossing before.
Also on the Channel: New criminal offences are coming for anyone publishing or promoting services that breach UK immigration law, including online ads for small boat crossings, fake travel documents, or illegal jobs. The Home Office paired the announcement with a £100m boost to border enforcement – 300 new NCA officers, new tech, and the obligatory promise to ‘smash the networks.’
Those living near new pylons will get up to £2,500 off their bills over 10 years under a consultation on proposals in in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill launched today. Alongside this, new obligations will be placed on energy suppliers to improve every stage of the smart meter process, such as waiting times for installation appointments, to transform the consumer experience.
Angela Rayner demanded answers from the Chinese government after it submitted planning documents for its controversial ‘super-embassy’ in east London with several rooms redacted for ‘security reasons.’ The Housing Secretary, who is set to decide on the project early next month, has requested a response from Beijing by 20 August. Unstoppable force (the most powerful authoritarian government in the world) meets immovable object (the British planning system).
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes announced she won’t stand for re-election in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, citing a desire not to miss ‘any more of the precious early years of family life.’
The Government issued fresh instructions to the Low Pay Commission this week, outlining areas to consider when consulting on narrowing the gap between the 18–20-year-old minimum wage and the full National Living Wage, as part of a longer-term plan to deliver a single adult pay band. Meanwhile, the Commission’s updated projection for the 2026 National Living Wage put it at £12.71.
Youth services are getting an £88m boost as part of the Government’s Building Creative Futures package, aimed at helping young people to ‘reconnect with the world around them.’ The funding includes £19m (co-funded with the National Lottery) for over a million new hours of youth work in areas with high levels of anti-social behaviour; £7.5m for expanding Scouts, Guides and Cadet groups; and £30.5m to improve youth club infrastructure in the most deprived areas.
Israel intends to militarily occupy the whole of the Gaza Strip, Benjamin Netanyahu announced following a meeting of the country’s security cabinet. Domestic opposition to the conflict is increasing as the perception that Netanyahu is prolonging it to maintain the survival of his government strengthens, while the UN warned such an expansion risks ‘catastrophic consequences’ for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages. Starmer also labelled it “wrong” and urged the Israeli government to “reconsider immediately.”
The world marked the 80th anniversary of the US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday, with the corresponding anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki taking place on Saturday. A silent prayer was held in Japan, with Hiroshima’s mayor warning against “the idea that nuclear weapons are essential for national defence.”
Veep JD Vance has arrived in the UK for his summer holiday in the Cotswolds (we assume the Maldives were booked up). He will stay with the Foreign Secretary at Chevening over the weekend for a working start to his getaway, with Ukraine, the Middle East and UK-US trade expected to be on the agenda.
The Government will miss its fiscal rules by £41.2bn unless there are tax rises, according to research from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. In a wide-ranging report, the NIESR also estimated that inflation would be 3.3% in 2025 and 2.8% in 2026; that the living standards of the poorest 10% of UK households were declining; and that the UK economy would grow 1.3% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026.
Inner London will be the biggest losers from the Government’s proposed reforms to council funding allocation, as a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that councils such as Westminster, Wandsworth and Camden will see their overall funding 11–12% lower in real terms in 2028–29 than this year, even if they increased council tax by the maximum amount allowed each year. Councils in the East Midlands are set to see the biggest real-terms increases in overall funding, while the IFS predict that rural areas ‘may fare better than expected’.
Nigel Farage’s popularity against other party leaders has been increasing, though the latest polling from YouGov still has Keir Starmer as the person that people believe would make the best Prime Minister. Starmer holds a 7 point lead over Farage, down from 15 points in May. Farage also now beats Badenoch in a head-to-head poll.
Nigel Farage was delighted on Monday to announce yet another defection to Reform UK, this time Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews, who in a press conference declared that “we need to cut the dark heart of wokeness out of our criminal justice system.” Unfortunately for Rupert, the news of his defection also spotlighted some of his more abstract beliefs, having written a number of books on ghost sightings, alien conspiracy theories, UFOs and cryptozoology, and run an online course about the paranormal for the International Metaphysical University. The best and brightest…
And he might have left Reform now, but Rupert Lowe is still hot on the heels of illegal migrants, as he recently shared a picture on X showing a boat off the coast of his Great Yarmouth constituency with the caption ‘Dinghies coming into Great Yarmouth, RIGHT NOW’. It was then revealed the boat was actually a team of charity rowers attempting to row from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Oops…or not, as he declared “I make no apologies over being vigilant for my constituents”. He later promised to donate £1,000 to the crew’s charity of choice.
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