Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on his way to deliver a statement in the House of Commons announcing measures against Israel including an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories © ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
New Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories, alongside Canada and France, as part of a package of measures against Israel as a result of the “death, destruction and dehumanisation on an appalling scale” in Gaza and Israel’s permissive attitude in relation to the “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank.” Further measures announced include the designation of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank as “unlawful”, sanctions against companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion, and the refusal of arms sale licence applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation. During a statement to Parliament, Miliband sought to emphasise that these measures are in response to the Israeli government’s actions, which he argued threaten the two-state solution, not the Israeli people. This marks a notable shift in the Government’s approach to the situation in Palestine and Israel and is the first time since the 7 October attacks a minister has explicitly accepted there has been “ethnic cleansing” carried out against the Palestinians – although to be clear, Miliband did not say this was by the Israeli Government, but by settler terrorists. Israel hit back by saying it would close Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem, and asserting that Britain would no longer participate in the US-led coordination mission for Gaza, alongside the banning of certain British officials (including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) from entering the country.
John Healey delivered his first major speech as Chancellor, declaring that his defining mission at the Treasury is to “make Great Britain, Growth Britain again”, as he pledged greater devolution and public control and a “strong, strategic centre of government.” Specific pledges announced by Healey included: setting out a roadmap for fiscal devolution at the Budget (including greater business rates retention for local councils); bringing medium-sized businesses into a single growth community led by the Great North Partnership of Mayors with the launch of the ‘Northern 500’; South Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North East England and the Cardiff Capital Region becoming the latest strategic partners of the National Wealth Fund; the British Business Bank investing £150m to help businesses in the North; changes to the Treasury Green Book, including reducing the discount rate from 3.5% to 3%; the extension of judicial review reforms from energy projects to all major infrastructure; and an end to the “consultation culture” in the Treasury and beyond, supported by new Attorney General guidance clarifying that legal risks were not the sole consideration in ministerial decisions.
The Assisted Dying Bill’s brief return to Parliament was stopped in its tracks, as MPs voted down Lauren Edwards’ Private Member’s Bill at second reading. Several by-elections, former ministers unchained from Government impartiality, and a few changed minds meant that neither side of the campaign knew which way the vote would go as the Bill was debated on Friday morning. In the end, the Bill was voted down by 286 votes to 270. With no official Government line on the Bill, and the Prime Minister abstaining from the vote, it is unlikely the Bill will return, ending the prospect of the UK legalising euthanasia any time soon.
1.5 million – number of casualties that Russia has suffered in its conflict with Ukraine as of this week, according to the Defence Secretary on Thursday.
25 – years since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York.
10% – likelihood that AI could ‘kill all humans’ in the next decade, according to a top safety researcher at Anthropic.
$5,000 – amount that Donald Trump has promised to pay to every adult American citizen if the Republicans win control over Congress in November’s elections.
159 – total number of NHS mental health centres that will open across England from this autumn.
£5.6m – overall financial deficit of Scotland’s 19 colleges, up from £1.9m in the previous year.
50 – number of essential items that the Scottish Government want to implement a price cap on in supermarkets, including milk, eggs, cheese and rice.
55.5% – percentage of primary school children (around 2.5 million out of a total of the 4.5 million eligible) who received a flu vaccine last winter.
Labour announced their candidate for the Holborn & St Pancras by-election earlier this week – council leader Sagal Abdi-Wali. That’s about as strong of a surname as it gets in terms of ballot positioning (unless anyone knows an Aaron Aardvark?). Indeed, Sagal outpolled her fellow Labour candidate, Tricia Leman, by 42 votes in May (890 vs 848).
Whilst this effect is well known, this week, I wanted to look further in depth about just how strong it is – and what surnames performed best at the 2026 Local Elections in London, in-case you were thinking of taking a trip to the deed-poll office.
Because parties run slates in London’s multi-member wards, you can compare candidates of the same party, in the same ward, on the same ballot, campaigning on the same leaflet. The only thing separating them is the order their names were printed in.
The candidate listed first outpolled their own running mates 72% of the time. If ballot position meant nothing, that figure would be 40%.
This phenomenon takes place across the board - Reform's first-listed candidates topped their slate 77% of the time, the Greens' 76%, Labour's 75%, the Liberal Democrats' 70%, and the Conservatives' 68%.
A candidate whose surname begins with B ran 6.1% ahead of their own party's average in the same ward. One beginning with Z ran 8.7% behind.
The gradient down the alphabet is almost unbroken: the first eight letters all out-perform, and from I onwards every letter under-performs. 68% of candidates named something beginning with B topped their slate whilst just 6% of the Zs did.
It might seem trivial, but this genuinely does matter. There were 270 party slates where some candidates made it, and some didn’t. In 206 of those, the candidate(s) who got in was alphabetically ahead of the ones who missed out.
The statistically best surname (only including names shared by 5 or more candidates)? Coleman – finishing 17.2% ahead of the slate average. That’s followed by Austin (+16.8%) and Cohen (+14.9%). The worst performing surnames compared to the slate average were Joshi (-11.8%), Muhammed (-10.8%) and Qureshi (-10.5%).
Luckily for Zack Polanski, there are no party slates for single member contests like the upcoming by-election in Holborn, otherwise he might have come to rue the day he changed his surname from Paulden... Every letter counts!
The Prime Minister spoke with the big-hitters this week, briefing President Trump on his plans to slap sanctions on Israel – and apparently succeeding, with the Donald’s reaction being considerably more muted than expected. Burnham also held his first call with President Xi, although what they really discussed will have to be left to our imagination, as the clarity of official releases always reaches new lows when it comes to China. In addition, he caught up with the leaders of Cyprus, Sweden and Qatar.
Furious at the Government’s sanctions, Israel reached out to the opposition, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaking to Kemi Badenoch and Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat, who presumably conveyed their intention to roll back the sanctions if they return to office. Not to be outdone, Nigel Farage had his own call with Saar the next day.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting chaired his first meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which coordinates military aid to Ukraine, alongside his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, while Defence Procurement Minister Luke Pollard visited Poland. Meanwhile, Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge met with the Australian defence minister to discuss AUKUS.
Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty visited Oman and spoke with the Jordanian ambassador, as both countries continue to weather irregular attacks by Iran as the war drags on.
The Caribbean was a focus this week, with Americas Minister Chris Elmore meeting with Jamaican Minister Olivia Grange to discuss the ‘strong and long-standing UK-Jamaica relationship’ – which is awkward, as Jamaica handed the King a petition demanding reparations over slavery this week. Meanwhile, fellow Foreign Minister Uma Kumaran visited the Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic.
Beyond a busy week tackling rumours of AI-driven human extinction, AI Minister Kanishka Narayan welcomed the chairman of the Korea Development Bank to Downing Street to discuss how it could work with the AI Taskforce to support growth in the AI sector.
Culture Minister Steph Peacock met with her Japanese counterpart to discuss boosting tourism and increasing participation in sporting events.
After their previous chairs were all appointed to Andy Burnham’s Government, there are three elections for Select Committee chairs currently taking place. Rachel Blake, Jonathan Brash, Naushabah Khan, Abena Oppong-Asare, Alan Strickland and Catherine West are on the extensive list standing for the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee; Catherine Atkinson, Mary Creagh, Janet Daby and Sarah Russell are competing for the Justice Committee; while Olivia Bailey, Anneliese Dodds and Preet Kaur Gill are battling it out for the Women and Equalities Committee.
And in another election preceded by Keir Starmer leaving a position, the candidates for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election have begun to be announced. Leader of Camden Council Sagal Abdi-Wali was selected for Labour, while Green Party leader Zack Polanski won selection, despite facing a challenger. Andrew Feinstein, the independent candidate who finished second to Starmer in 2024, has confirmed he is not running.
There will be a new President of the Supreme Court in 2027, after Lord Briggs of Westbourne was confirmed as Lord Reed’s replacement. Lord Briggs has been a Justice on the Supreme Court since 2017.
There have been some big moves in the civil service, with Tom Riordan named as the new Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Cat Little becoming Permanent Secretary in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Riordan and Little are both familiar faces already, as the former has been Northern Growth Envoy while the latter was Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office and the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer. Joining them at the top is Lindy Cameron, who was named the new Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. She is currently the British High Commissioner to India and is also the former CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre.
The UK has a new National Statistician, as André Loranger takes up the role, having been the Chief Statistician of Canada.
With the Early Release Scheme approaching and the role of probation expanding, Martin Jones has been reappointed as the Chief Inspector of Probation. He will serve a second three-year term from 2027-30.
Neil Sachdev’s time as Chair of HM Land Registry has been extended for a further four years, having taken up the role in 2022.
The MP for Richmond Park Sarah Olney launched her bid to become the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London.
Alex Sobel has become the new Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, taking over from Lord Alton of Liverpool.
Ruth Evans has been named as the new Chair of the Gambling Commission, with her previous roles including Chair of IPSA and Chair of the Bar Standards Board.
One way in which John Healey is following in the footsteps of his predecessor Rachel Reeves is by reappointing Alex Depledge as Entrepreneurship Advisor to the Treasury.
The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority has five new members on its Expert Advisory Council – Professor Jim Hall, Fiona Driscoll, Simon Wright, James Wardlaw and Philippa Powell.
Charles Randell is the new Lead Non-Executive Board Member at the Department for Transport, while Harjit Sandhu has joined as Non-Executive Board Member and Group Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee Chair.
Derek Wilson has had his term as Chair of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority Board extended for a third term of three years.
The National Armaments Director announced the appointment of Ian Brimicombe as the organisation’s new Chief Financial Officer, having been CFO at the Abercrombie & Kent Group.
Greig Sharman is joining the National Audit Office as Chief Digital and Information Officer, taking up the role on 1 October.
The UK has a new Ambassador to Türkiye, as Jennifer Anderson took up her role this week and presented her credentials to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Plans for local government reorganisation have been paused in 14 areas, along with Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and West Sussex, while decisions on Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have been withdrawn, following new legal advice received by MHCLG. Reorganisation in Surrey will not be affected, with the two new unitary authorities of East and West Surrey still due to go live in April 2027. The Government’s forthcoming Rewiring the State White Paper on devolution will set out its plans for the future of local government, while local council elections in May 2027 will proceed on existing council boundaries.
Mayors will gain new powers to introduce overnight visitor levies, with the proceeds funding interventions aligned with regional growth strategies. Before introducing a levy, mayors will be required to consult locally; once agreed, it will apply to all short-term visitor accommodation, subject to certain national and discretionary local exemptions, and is expected to be charged as a percentage of the accommodation cost.
A UK Space Strategy has been published, setting out plans to make the UK a more competitive space power. The strategy includes targeted investment in key space capabilities and high-growth sectors, support for local space clusters and pro-growth regulation, and a coordinated approach to international partnerships. Satellite communications, space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing, and access to space have been identified as the four priority subsectors.
The Met Police has opened a criminal investigation into Reform UK over allegations of illegal foreign donations, following last week’s Channel 4 News investigation which appeared to show senior Reform members discussing ways around electoral law to secure donations, including one worth £500,000. Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and says it will cooperate with the investigation, which is being folded into an existing inquiry into donations to the party.
Thousands of flights were disrupted this week following a technical failure of the UK's air traffic control system, with more than 2,000 cancellations and hundreds of thousands of passengers affected. After speaking with NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe, Transport Sec Heidi Alexander has ordered an independent review into the outage, saying she did not believe the disruption was “unavoidable”. Rolfe has also been given a week to report back on the reasons for the failure, while airlines including Ryanair and Wizz Air have called for him to resign.
A new national landlord registration service will begin rolling out in December, with the Government saying it will make it easier for renters to challenge rent increases, resolve disputes and make informed choices about where they live. The scheme will also give councils more information to identify rogue landlords, while helping landlords demonstrate that they meet the required standards.
The Government will invest £1.5bn to help the NHS withstand year-round pressures, including more than £200m for 10 major projects, such as new operating theatres and children’s wards, alongside improved maternity and mental health facilities, and £1.3bn for maintenance, safety and resilience work across the NHS estate. Of this funding, £32m will support improvements to cooling and ventilation systems, strengthening hospitals’ resilience during periods of extreme heat.
The Government is directing all departments to cut back on ‘box-ticking’ consultations in an effort to ‘accelerate decision-making and deliver real change at pace’. The move forms part of a new approach to public participation and is intended to help departments deliver promised reforms more quickly.
Get your calendars out – the parliamentary recess dates for the year ahead have just dropped! Leader of the House of Commons Alan Campbell announced this week that the November recess will run from 4 to 10 November, Christmas from 17 December to 5 January, February recess from 11 to 22 February, Easter from 25 March to 12 April, May recess from 29 April to 4 May, Whitsun from 27 May to 7 June, and Summer from 22 July until a date yet to be confirmed (we’re looking forward to that one already).
The Prime Minister apparently ruled out cutting welfare to fund defence at PMQs this week, giving Tory MPs ample opportunity to punch the bruise when Wes Streeting gave his first statement as Defence Secretary on Thursday. Tuesday’s business was focused on international affairs, as the Lib Dems’ Urgent Question on the Falkland Islands was followed by Miliband’s statement on Israel, which lasted over two hours. Aviation was also a theme, with the Civil Aviation Bill beginning its Commons journey on Wednesday and the aviation minister facing outrage from MPs on the air traffic control system crash on Thursday. Meanwhile, with the Assisted Dying Bill going down for a second time, Jeremy Corbyn’s Private Member’s Bill demanding an inquiry into the UK’s role in the Gaza conflict will now receive considerably more parliamentary time.
In the House of Lords, the Armed Forces Bill and the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill completed their committee stages, the Financial Services and Markets Bill concluded its report stage, and the Representation of the People Bill, which will extend the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, began its journey through the upper chamber. Thursday also saw debates on the UK’s fiscal outlook, the use of patient data for research, and levels of home ownership.
No time has been wasted by committees during Parliament’s brief interregnum between recess periods, with a flurry of reports published and inquiries launched this week. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee declared that the Executive’s failure to agree a budget is holding Northern Ireland back; the Joint Committee on Human Rights called for improvements to be made to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill; the Public Accounts Committee considered Government compensation schemes and criticised the regulation of water, energy and broadband; the Women and Equalities Committee issued a follow-up report on high-risk cosmetic procedures; and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee reported on the work of the UK Statistics Authority. Meanwhile, the Environmental Audit Committee launched an inquiry into how the UK should adapt to climate change, while the Defence Committee will consider the UK’s defence presence and posture in the Gulf.
Members and observers have sometimes lamented declining standards of contributions in the House of Commons, from identikit AI catchphrases to suspiciously short, TikTok-friendly soundbites. However, this week independent MP James McMurdock took this trend one, then two, then a few steps further by promptly walking out of the chamber once he had finished asking a question. Attempting an answer, Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner trailed off in bemusement, while Deputy Speaker Judith Cummins sharply rebuked McMurdock after he’d made a hasty return to his seat.
While one might expect Kemi Badenoch to be cracking open the champagne after a difficult couple of weeks for both the Government and Reform UK, the Conservatives’ celebratory beverage of choice appears to be… BuzzBallz. Young Conservative group Blue Beyond posted to advertise a raffle at Tory conference, with lucky winners set to receive an exclusive 1.75-litre ‘Biggie Ball’ signed by Kemi herself. Somehow, we can’t imagine Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher giving these away at conferences past…
