News
Good morning and welcome to your Unbound Daily Briefing - topics for today include:
- Are we getting a new Prime Minister?
- Talks not going well between USA and Iran...again
- Small boat arrivals soar again
- The Rejoin March Flop
- The 10th Anniversary of the Brexit Referendum
Are we getting a new Prime Minister?
If reports are to be believed, then the election of Andy Burnham on Thursday into the Makerfield constituency will have resulted in the resignation of the current Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer. As a cross-party campaign group we have no opinion on which MP the Labour Party chooses to put forward as their leader, but we will of course expect the Labour Party to hold onto the manifesto pledges that they were elected upon, and so hold whoever the Prime Minister is to that expectation.
The prospect of a Labour leadership competition has refuelled the argument about EU membership, having been used somewhat cynically some weeks ago as a method of differentiation between potential leadership candidates. We hope that any leadership competition includes a period of engagement with the public ahead of a vote, and is not a coronation of a single candidate. We would like to see all candidate given the opportunity to explain and defend their positions, and to have those positions reviewed under a critical eye.
Talks not going well between USA and Iran...again
Reports are also not positive on the ongoing frictions between the USA and Iran, with heated discussions and loaded commentary giving no sign at time of writing of leading to a lasting ceasefire and removal of frictions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Small boat arrivals soar again
The week of 14-20 June saw over 1600 illegal migrants arrive on the shores of the UK, having departed the northern shores of continental Europe in so-called "small boats". This renewed volume if repeated through the year would see records broken for annual arrivals, so this level is a further bad sign for the current government who have repeatedly tried to suggest that they have "stopped the boats" and "smashed the gangs". With over 1600 migrants, last week was in the Top 30 for highest weekly arrivals ever.
- Read more about the inconvenient truth on EU membership, and the new Migration Pact now in effect
The Rejoin March Flop
The organizers and attendees of the March for Rejoin will be wishing that they stayed at home this weekend, as the majority of coverage they received for the march on Saturday afternoon was around just how few people turned up. The Metropolitan Police stated that they estimated the attendance at 1,500 people, and attempts by AI tool Grok to count those videoed in the procession resulted in an estimation of roughly 700 people.
- Read our news item on the flop of a march
The 10th Anniversary of the Brexit Referendum
As was always expected to be the case, the anniversary of the Brexit referendum is culminating in a crescendo of news reports, reflections, new studies and a wealth of interviews and statements. We at Britain Unbound will be on hand all week to publish some of the reflections from our Advisory Council on the events 10 years ago, as well as bringing you insights from the authors of many Brexit books in our book festival, as well as turning a much needed critical eye on some of the many poorly structured and repackaged forecasts
