The only way is up (we hope) for Northern Ireland, as the DUP pave the way to powersharing. Labour in Westminster, though, seem to be forging a path a little less straight... Read all about it in Who's Top, Who's Not!
Flying High: Jeffrey Donaldson
Shhh! Whisper! We hardly dare speak about it in case the whole thing falls through…
After negotiations consisting of five hours of PowerPoint presentations (we’ve all been there) and much more waiting besides, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Sir Jeffrey Donaldson finally convinced his party to end their two-year suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly. What’s more, Donaldson has used the negotiations as a move to demand a limit on future regulatory divergence between Northern Ireland and Great Britain – a win for the unionists.
The breakthrough paves the way to a working Northern Irish government, but beware the stumbling blocks that remain in the way. The Northern Ireland parties will still need to select a neutral assembly speaker, which has proven tricky in the past.
Donaldson will rightly lap up the applause for now, but the real winner could be Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill, now set to become the first ever Northern Irish republican to become First Minister.
You probably owe Sir Jeff a drink, Ms O’Neill…
Middle Ranking: Lord Cameron
In a significant shift, Foreign Secretary Cameron has this week hinted that Britain will consider recognising a Palestinian state as part of efforts to bring about an “irreversible” peace settlement in the Middle East.
The change in position will be warmly welcomed by many and, if it has the desired effect, could strengthen Britain’s and Cameron’s reputation on the world stage as leaders in the push for a sustainable peace agreement between Israel and Gaza.
Others, however, have dismissed Cameron’s remarks as nothing more than “a nonsensical, PR position”, claiming contradiction in adopting such a position while continuing to bat away calls for a permanent ceasefire and suspending funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
What’s more, his comments have sparked a backlash from Tory MPs, who warn Cameron and Sunak against pushing “too far or too fast”, while claiming that such recognition would “reward Hamas’ atrocities”. There is also a limit to how much diplomatic impact the UK can have here, especially with a war raging. It does, however, demonstrate that only in government can one truly set the political agenda.
Sinking Quickly: Rachel Reeves
British politics must be getting dizzy at this point, as Rachel Reeves conducts the latest U-turn in Westminster.
The Shadow Chancellor sparked a Labour backlash after declaring the party will not scrap former Tory prime minister Liz Truss’s decision to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses. Reeves confidently declared that while the cap on bonuses was “the right thing to do to rebuild the public finances […] that has gone now and we don’t have any intention of bringing that back”. A blip of amnesia, perhaps, for the Shadow Chancellor who just months ago said that scrapping the bonus cap “tells you everything you need to know about this government”.
The change in stance has been scathingly criticised by the Corbynite wing of the party, but others point out there is a big difference between pro-actively introducing a policy and refusing to reverse a pre-existing policy - especially when Labour is continuing to rebuild its economic reputation. This issue is ultimately small beer; the bigger issue will come as Labour’s commitment to its £28 billion green prosperity fund is further tested in the coming weeks.