London Calling is a weekly rundown of the top ten emerging issues from the past seven days shaping US-UK commercial relations.
London Calling is for global communication strategists and C-Suite executives.
#LondonCalling #Caracal #USUK #Johnson #Biden #10DowningStreet #No10 #WhiteHouse #Westminster #LabourParty #AngelaRayner #KeirStarmer #P5 #UKAmbassadors #Taiwan #G7 #COP26 #IndoPacific #Scotland #IndependenceReferendum #SNP #Greens #NicolaSturgeon #WilliamHague #GordonBrown
London Calling | Edition 14 | May 12, 2021
1. Will Boris Johnson's election-winning bubble ever burst? Tim Shipman writes, demonized by the chatterati, Boris Johnson keeps on winning by appealing to the man in the street. Sleaze scandals don't seem to stick, but the prime minister knows he's still on probation.
To some senior Tories, the electoral success flows from one key factor. "People like Boris," one aide said.
2. What's the point of the Labour Party? Matthew Goodwin writes in a world no longer running on traditional class lines, the party has lost its low-income voters to the Tories, is reduced to a rump in Scotland, and even fears being squeezed by the Greens. Its confused values now appeal to nobody.
3. Weekend of whispering after Angela Rayner carries the can for Labour's election catastrophe: The Times writes Labour's deputy leader was taken aside at party HQ on Saturday and sacked from a campaign role, triggering yet another round of recrimination.
4. With Rayner's reshuffle, Starmer has destabilized his base within Labour: Sienna Rodgers writes with more evidence of poor political management emerging over the weekend. It was remarked by several party insiders the leader's office needed a reshuffle more than the shadow cabinet did. "Keir is going to have his work cut out to not end up being our IDS," one frontbencher told me when the chaos had died down.
5. For the first time, all of the UK's ambassadors to the P5, the permanent members of the UN's security council (America, Russia, China, and France, on top of the UK), are women.
Vogue: In the traditionally male field of diplomacy, women are taking their place at the top.
6. Britain should invite Taiwan to the G7 and COP26: Azeem Ibrahim writes the UK is in the middle of its most important foreign policy pivot of this century, as it moves away from the EU and tries to carve out an independent place in the world stage. Ministers like to call this new vision "Global Britain." And one of the most significant changes in strategic stance has been a shift of attention towards the Indo-Pacific region. If Britain wants to play a significant role in that area, it should get as close as possible to Taiwan.
7. Nicola Sturgeon paved the way for an independence showdown with Boris Johnson as early as next year. Sturgeon's Scottish National party fell one seat short of an overall majority in elections to the 129-seat Holyrood parliament but said her 64-seat haul represented a "landslide" victory. With the support of the pro-independence Greens, there is a renewed parliamentary majority for a second referendum on Scotland separating from the rest of the UK with eight seats.
8. Scots need to know what independence means: William Hague writes if the SNP is to have another referendum, other parties must demand answers to tough questions about Scotland's future.
9. Senior Conservatives have backed Gordon Brown's plan to reform devolution to strengthen the Union. The idea proposed by Brown, the former Labour prime minister, would involve establishing a forum to bring together the first ministers of the UK, the regional English mayors, and the prime minister to collaborate on critical priorities such as climate change, economic recovery, and poverty.
10. Westminster polling intention:
CON: 45% (+5)
LAB: 34% (-4)
LDEM: 8% (+1)
GRN: 5% (-)
REFUK: 2% (-1)
via Redfield & Wilton Strategies, May 10 | Changes with May 3
