Foresight News provides a look-ahead to the key events that need to be in your news diary for next week…
A decade ago, the world was in the grip of a financial crisis which led to the nationalisation of Northern Rock in the UK and the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the United States.
Monday marks the ten-year anniversary of the announcement by then-chancellor Alistair Darling of a £500bn rescue package which was “designed to restore confidence in the banking system” and calm panicked investors and shareholders.
Darling’s announcement was followed days later by confirmation that the Government had taken a 43 per cent stake in Lloyds for £20.3bn. The bank was only returned to full private ownership in May last year.
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The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change publishes its sixth assessment report which focuses on the impact of global warming at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
The IPCC’s last report, published in 2014, warned that climate change would lead to higher food prices and contribute to a rise in poverty. Its findings were a factor in negotiations the following year which led to the Paris Agreement on limiting global warming to 2C. This report is likely to go even further.
Security Minister Ben Wallace addresses this year’s National Security Summit on Tuesday.
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His remarks will be closely watched for any sign of a Government response to last week’s allegations by British, Dutch and US agencies of serious cyber-attacks by Russian intelligence officers, who were accused of targeting international organisations, including the OPCW and WADA.
In an address that is billed as an update on the UK’s national security, Wallace may also discuss the recent disputed hacking of global businesses by Chinese intelligence.
Party conference season finally draws to a close with Nicola Sturgeon’s speech to the Scottish National Party conference in Glasgow.
Amid allegations of sexual assault against former party leader Alex Salmond and talk of a potential future SNP-Labour parliamentary alliance, the defining issue for delegates may still be whether a second independence referendum will be granted.
Wednesday marks the first Prime Minister’s Questions since the return of the Commons from the party conference recess.
Theresa May danced her way into some breathing space with a relatively successful and mercifully cough-free speech to Conservative Conference last week – but both sides of the House can be expected to press the Prime Minister for solutions on the Irish backstop issue as time ticks away before the crunch European Council later this month.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the “gay cake “case which concerns whether the Christian owners of Ashers bakery in Belfast are guilty of discriminating a customer for refusing to make a cake decorated with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage”.
The case has divided opinion in Northern Ireland since the incident took place in 2014, and courts have already twice ruled in favour of Gareth Lee, the LGBT rights activist who brought the initial discrimination claim.
Former Vice-President Joe Biden takes a break from canvassing to give a talk at Chatham House in London.
Biden, who has been on the campaign trail for a number of Democratic candidates ahead of November’s midterm elections, is expected to speak about the ‘critical importance of the transatlantic relationship’ and ‘the future of the rules-based global order’.
On Thursday, London plays host to this year’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference.
The two-day international event will be attended by the UK’s environment Sscretary Michael Gove, who recently introduced legislation to ban the sale of ivory products, as well as senior figures from government and conservation from across the globe.
The conference will consider ways to stop illegal trafficking and increase protection for endangered species around the world.
On the same day, the Presidents of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary gather in Bratislava for a Visegrad Group leaders’ summit. The four eastern members of the European Union, all former communist countries, have increasingly been drawn into confrontation with the bloc’s Franco-German hegemony.
Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PIS) party has become embroiled in a long-running feud with the EU over planned reforms to the country’s Supreme Court, while Hungary’s right-wing premier Viktor Orban has been one of the most vocal critics of Brussels’ migration policy.
The second royal wedding of 2018 takes place on Friday with Windsor Castle the setting once again as Princess Eugenie marries Jack Brooksbank (both pictured).
The couple will tie the knot in St George’s Chapel before a carriage procession through the town. The day finishes with a reception hosted by the Queen in the grounds of Windsor Castle, and royalists can follow proceedings on ITV.
Gareth Southgate’s England have a chance for revenge as they face their 2018 FIFA World Cup conquerors Croatia in the new UEFA Nations League competition.
Three uncapped players have been included in the squad, including Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and under 21 international James Maddison. The match comes after the FA announced that Southgate had agreed a new four-year contract.
The weekend begins with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage speaking in Torquay on Saturday at a “Save Brexit” rally organised by Leave Means Leave.
The event is part of a wider regional campaign opposing Theresa May’s Chequers Plan – it is a proposal which Farage has warned could cost the Prime Minister her political career, and which Rees-Mogg has branded ‘a mistake’.
On the opposite end of the Brexit spectrum, centrists and Remainers gather in Aberystwyth for the start of the Welsh Lib Dem autumn conference. Vince Cable is scheduled to address the event and is likely to echo his comments made in September that the party faces a “big rebuilding job” on the other side of the Severn.
The northern hemisphere’s Rugby League season also reaches its climax as Old Trafford hosts the Super League Grand Final. Elsewhere, England’s cricketers take on Sri Lanka in the latest One Day International at Pallekele.
Voters in Bavaria head to the polls in closely-watched German regional elections on Sunday. The election presents problems for the Christian Social Union, the sister party of Angela Merkel’s CDU, which has been polling below the 40 per cent mark ahead of the vote.
Commentators have warned a collapse in the CSU’s support could lead to a reshuffling in the party’s leadership, including at cabinet level in Berlin where current leader Horst Seehoffer serves as Angela Merkel’s interior minister.
Merkel though could be pre-occupied with events in her own party in the not too distant future, amid reports that her leadership of the CDU faces an imminent challenge.
Luxembourg also goes to the polls on Sunday in Parliamentary elections, with all 60 seats of the Chamber of Deputies up for grabs.
And the NFL comes to London for the first of the league’s three overseas fixtures this month. The Oakland Raiders take on the Seattle Seahawks in what is the latter’s first trip across the pond, while the Raiders make their third appearance at Wembley.
The news diary is provided in association with Foresight News.
Picture: Reuters/Jonathan Brady/Pool
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