Prime Minister Andy Burnham shakes hands with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv © Imago / Alamy Stock Photo
On Sunday it emerged that Moscow’s ambassador to Britain had been withdrawn to Russia with little love lost, setting the tone for a week in which foreign affairs dominated the agenda for the largely domestically-focused Prime Minister. Andy Burnham was in Kyiv on Monday, marking 35 years since the restoration of Ukrainian independence alongside other friendly leaders. However, the Prime Minister came armed with more than good intentions – it was announced that the UK had offered blueprints for key parts of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles which have been used by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia, and which the Ukrainians are looking to produce domestically. In exchange, Britain won access to Ukraine’s prized battlefield data, held by its Avengers AI Labs database. Predictably, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov fulminated that Britain had become “involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime” and accused London of “methodically and regularly [adding] fuel to the fire.” This followed what Burnham characterised in Kyiv as “outrageous threats” from Russia, with the Prime Minister pledging the continuation of support to Ukraine against Russia’s illegal invasion.
Burnham also made the slightly less daunting trips to Wales and Northern Ireland on Thursday. In Northern Ireland, he ruled out calling a referendum on Irish unification, stating that a border poll was “off the table” and that the focus should instead be on public services and tackling cost-of-living pressures. In Wales, he promised to bring together devolved leaders this autumn for a summit aimed at boosting the UK economy. He also floated the idea of Wales and Scotland following England’s model of deeper devolution to cities and regions, while saying he was “open to the conversation” about handing policing powers in Wales to the Welsh government.
4% – increase in Ofgem’s energy price cap from 1 October, with the rise attributed to higher wholesale gas prices due to the conflict in the Middle East
981,000 – number of young people aged 16 to 24 who were not in education, employment or training between April and June 2026
~50% – drop in the number of graduate job vacancies listed by jobs website Adzuna over the past year, with 8,383 roles advertised in July compared with 15,397 a year earlier
16,000 – number of asylum seekers currently housed in hotels, down 50% in the last year and 71% since its peak
£932 – amount Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe earns per hour from posting on X
21.1C – average surface temperature of the world’s oceans outside the polar regions, making them the hottest ever recorded
172,000 – number of solar installations fitted across Great Britain so far this year
240 – number of crypto millionaires in the UK, according to HMRC’s first figures on taxable cryptoassets
Mayors across England will be given new powers to intervene in major planning applications, with the Government proposing the introduction of ‘call in’ powers regarding schemes with more than 150 homes, more than 15,000 square metres of commercial space, or buildings over 30 metres tall. Mayors will be able to grant upfront planning permission for certain developments, and also, outside London, introduce a levy on development to fund major infrastructure.
The first wave of funding from the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme was unveiled, with 33 housing associations and councils allocated as ‘strategic partners’ and granted nearly £10bn to deliver over 70,000 council, social and affordable homes.
Not to be outdone, Reform UK unveiled plans to build an extra 50,000 affordable social homes a year for a decade, with Deputy Leader Richard Tice adding that British-born workers under 35, British veterans and married couples with children will be prioritised in social housing allocations. He set out that the homes would be delivered through: reactivating a Right to Buy housing programme, a 5-6% increase in debt levels of housing associations, and a consolidation of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Reform UK’s Treasury Spokesperson Robert Jenrick also delivered a speech, in which he outlined the party’s plans to support small businesses, including proposals to make it easier for families to invest in new businesses, allow experienced non-executive directors to mentor small firms, and replace GDPR rules with legislation modelled on New Zealand’s Privacy Act. He also proposed a £30 tax credit for anyone waiting more than 30 minutes for HMRC to answer a call.
The Government cracked down on rogue builders and bailiffs, with a new code which will allow businesses to demonstrate that they meet higher standards of customer service, transparency and dispute resolution, while builders will be regulated by a new system which will see payments directly linked to key project milestones.
The Prime Minister visited Sainsbury’s to mark the launch of its new ‘Modern Work Experience Programme’, which will see the supermarket create around 10,000 work experience and skills opportunities over the next year for young people who may otherwise struggle to access employer networks and work experience. Not long ago, that was called ‘a Saturday job’.
A row broke out between a Home Office minister and the Shadow Justice Secretary, after the latter, Nick Timothy, accused the former of placing the five men who died in the A66 crash after driving on the wrong side of the road ‘on a par’ with the two police officers who also died. Minister Anna Turley retorted that he had ‘sought to create media hits and political points’ which was ‘beneath contempt.’ Violence has seemingly escalated in Middlesbrough since the crash as police came down hard on organised crime, with 200 additional officers from other forces drafted into the town.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to visit the UK next week to attend the formal opening of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, marking the first visit by an EU leader during Burnham’s tenure. The PM will receive him in London for a bilateral, with the continuing ‘reset’ with the EU and tackling illegal immigration likely the top items on the agenda.
Changes to the prisoner early release scheme will also be set out next week as Parliament returns from the summer recess. Justice Secretary Alex Norris is expected to address MPs on Tuesday and set out how rape, serious child sex and other grooming offenders will be excluded, although domestic abuse campaigners have warned that the releases will endanger victims. Alongside this, the deadline for the introduction of offers specialising in rape and sexual offence investigations to every police force in England and Wales will be sped up, bringing the current deadline of summer 2029 forward to the end of 2027.
Party conference season is almost upon us (to the misery of public affairs professionals everywhere). Reform is up first next week from 3-5 September in Birmingham, the Liberal Democrats are holding theirs in Brighton from 19-22 September, Labour is holding their fifth (and potentially final) conference in Liverpool from 27-30 September, the Greens follow the Lib Dems in Brighton from 2-4 October, and the Tories bring the season to a close in Birmingham from 4-7 October.
The 2026/27 football league is now well under way, so for this week’s contribution, I thought I’d take the opportunity to look at all 92 grounds from the top 4 leagues, and find out who represents them in Parliament.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the urban nature of football grounds, Labour holds a whopping 84 of the 92. If you want to ensure you’re in Labour territory, standing on the centre spot is probably a safe bet.
Interestingly, 4 of the 8 non-Labour grounds are in seats Labour lost to independents in 2024: Arsenal now plays in Jeremy Corbyn's constituency, Aston Villa in Ayoub Khan's, Leicester City in Shockat Adam's and Blackburn Rovers in Adnan Hussain's. The independents hold twice as many league clubs as the Conservatives, who manage 2 (Bromley & Barnet) – matching the Lib Dems (Wimbledon & Cheltenham).
The most marginal seat of the 92 was North West Cambridgeshire, home to Peterborough United, decided by just 39 votes. At the other end of the spectrum, Liverpool Riverside, home to both Everton and Liverpool, was won by 14,793.
The only other constituency home to 2 grounds is Ben Coleman’s Chelsea and Fulham constituency (no prizes for guessing which teams play there…). Labour has its strongest showing from constituencies with Premier League grounds, scoring 46.1% - falling to 40.1% by the time you get to League Two. Conversely, Reform and the Conservatives rise from 10.7% and 18.2%, to 16.9% and 23.3%, respectively.
Could Labour’s domination of the league be coming to an end? 29 of the 92 would change hands on the current nowcast. Labour's 84 becomes 57, Reform go from 3 club seats to 17, the independents are up 1 to reach 5, the Greens qualify for the Champions League, up from 0 to 4, the Tories just 3, Plaid Cymru 2, with the Lib Dems remaining on 2.
So still a clear win for Labour, but no longer challenging the Invincibles for total domination.
With Parliament’s return next week and Andy Burnham expected to welcome President Macron to the UK, we’re pleased to present our newest addition to the Weekly Roundup: a summary of ministerial comings and goings over the past week, setting out which foreign leaders, ministers and dignitaries they’ve been in contact with and what they chatted about. Please let us know if you find it useful!
The Prime Minister visited Ukraine to mark its Independence Day as his first overseas visit (should you discount his holiday), where he was hosted by President Zelenskyy and co-chaired his first Coalition of the Willing meeting. On his way to Kyiv, he also met with European Council President Antonio Costa and held a call with Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband spoke with his Nepali counterpart following the devastating flash flooding which has left over 1,000 people missing across Nepal and Tibet.
Kemi Badenoch took a summer excursion to Italy and Greece for meetings with leaders Giorgia Meloni and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with press reports suggesting the former told her to “stand her ground” and not make a deal with Reform UK, only for this version of events to be roundly refuted by Meloni.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney welcomed US Ambassador Warren Stephens to Bute House to discuss Scottish-US economic ties, during which he presented Stephens with the America 250 Tartan to mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant met Ireland’s Foreign Minister and Justice Minister in Dublin, where they discussed economic growth, joint security, and ‘both governments’ commitments to addressing legacy.’
Foreign Minister Baroness Winterton arrived in Cambodia to push for peaceful dialogue with Thailand following a brief war between the two countries last year. While there, she met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and discussed future UK-Cambodian relations. Meanwhile, International Development Minister Kirsty McNeil visited Somalia for a meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to discuss the country’s political, security and humanitarian challenges, where she also met leaders from the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
Foreign Minister Uma Kumaran welcomed St Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister to the FCDO for her first in-person meeting, and also met with the Haitian ambassador to discuss the country’s stability and security. Alongside this, Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty met with the Egyptian ambassador following his recent visit to the country, with their meeting focusing on security, trade and migration.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks met with his Norwegian counterpart to discuss North Sea oil and gas, during a conference in Norway.
Ben Macpherson resigned as Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education in the Scottish Government, due to health-related reasons. His replacement is yet to be confirmed.
On his way out is David Dinsmore, after it was confirmed he was stepping down as Permanent Secretary for Government Communications. Dinsmore was appointed by Keir Starmer last November.
The Vice Chair of Skills England Sir David Bell confirmed he has stood down.
Luke Jensen has had his term as Interim Chair to the Board of National Savings and Investments extended for two months, and is now due to leave the role on 31 October.
Alyson Kilpatrick’s tenure as Chief Commissioner to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is continuing after she was reappointed by the Northern Ireland Secretary. There are also four new Commissioners - Orla Drummond, Gavin Gray, Ben Warwick and Jacqueline Witherow.
And in more Northern Irish news, Diana Armstrong is the new Chair of the Assembly’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, after Robbie Butler was made Health Minister.
The Department for Work and Pensions has a new Chief Medical Advisor, as Professor David Strain is taking up the role.
Over in the Southern Hemisphere, Louise Cantillon is the new British High Commissioner to New Zealand, as well as Governor of the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie & Oeno Islands.
The leader of the Social Democratic Party William Clouston has stepped down, just two weeks after receiving 256 votes in the Clacton by-election.
And… there are rumours of a reshuffle of the Conservative frontbench next week, while Reform UK are expected to announce some more spokespeople at their Conference, so keep your eyes on this section next week.
Some might be asking Manchester what it has to answer for, after the UK’s latest (ch)arming man played The Smiths’ ‘Rusholme Ruffians’ on guitar for Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on Monday. Fresh from showcasing his musical talents at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, where he was caught singing ‘Spirit of the Blues’, Andy Burnham was clearly keen to prove that this is a relationship that will never go out. We’ll certainly hope they’re not miserable now!
The Prime Minister has had a busy week, embarking on visits to Wales and Northern Ireland after returning from Ukraine. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however, as he accidentally crashed a wedding while arriving to meet Northern Ireland Executive ministers. Remarkably, it wasn’t even his first wedding crash of the week – on Saturday, he sent a video message to another set of newlyweds who had invited him to their wedding after their venue became the regional headquarters for No. 10 North.
