A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
Leading the week
After a newsy summer that saw Keir Starmer cancel his holidays to deal with the rioting that followed the Southport knife attack, the House of Commons returns on Monday (September 2) and Labour can get down to the business of governing – at least for a couple of weeks. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has vowed to table a prayer motion as soon as Parliament returns to voice opposition to the government’s plans to cut winter fuel payments, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves can expect further questions on those cuts and mooted tax rises as she faces Treasury Questions on Tuesday (September 3).
Starmer is then at the despatch box on Wednesday (September 4) for his second session of PMQs since becoming prime minister, and Rishi Sunak – remember him? – will struggle with just six questions to cover not only tax rises, but the whole recess-worth of news, including public sector pay rises, the fallout from far-right riots, early release of prisoners, alleged cronyism in the civil service, and Starmer’s plans for the UK’s relationship with the EU. The Business Statement on Thursday (September 5) will give us an indication of what policies the government is keen to talk about before the conference recess – no word yet on whether that will include the Tobacco and Vapes bill after news this week that ministers could ban smoking from pub gardens.
Starmer will have a chance to switch gears when he travels to Dublin on Saturday (September 7) for talks with Taoiseach Simon Harris on the UK-Irish partnership. The pair will also take in England’s Nations League match – the team’s first without Gareth Southgate – against Ireland Saturday evening.
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While you’d be forgiven for forgetting Sunak is still the Tory leader, the race to replace him heats up next week as James Cleverly, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat officially launch their campaigns ahead of the first MPs’ ballot on Wednesday (September 4). Another three ballots are planned the following week to whittle the field down to two candidates who will address the party’s conference in Birmingham from September 29 to October 2.
The long-running independent inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster is set to conclude on Wednesday (September 4) with the publication of the final report from the inquiry’s second phase. The inquiry was set up in the wake of the fire on June 14, 2017, which claimed the lives of 72 people, and the first phase report published in October 2019 found that the tower’s aluminium composite cladding was the primary reason for the fire spreading, while the London Fire Brigade’s ‘stay put’ advice ultimately cost lives.
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The second phase of the inquiry focuses on how the building came to be in the condition which allowed the fire to spread. Inquiry head Sir Martin Moore-Bick will also make recommendations for the government to implement to prevent a similar event from happening again. A chilling reminder of the widespread dangers the fire uncovered came just this week, when parts of a Dagenham tower block with ‘non-compliant cladding’ were engulfed in flames. With the inquiry coming to a close, many survivors had hoped criminal charges would follow. But while a criminal investigation, Operation Northleigh, has been running alongside the inquiry, the Met Police and CPS have said no charges will be announced until at least 2026 as they await next week’s findings.
Looking abroad
The ninth annual Eastern Economic Forum takes place in Vladivostok, Russia, from Tuesday to Friday (September 3-6), with President Vladimir Putin’s intervention during the event’s yet-to-be-announced plenary session and ‘international programme’ likely to be closely watched given deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing. The gathering may also provide insight into Russia’s growing links with North Korea; Putin used his visit to the country’s east for last year’s conference to host talks with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, and earlier this year Putin visited Pyongyang for the first time in over two decades. Back in Europe, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is due to hold an in-person meeting of the US-chaired Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base on Friday (September 6), when the recent escalation in Russian attacks on Ukraine and Ukraine’s bold incursion into Kursk are likely to be addressed.
Pope Francis departs Rome on Monday (September 2) headed to Indonesia, the first stop on a four-country tour that will also see him visit Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore. The trip had initially been planned for 2020 but, like so many other events, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After he lands in Jakarta on Tuesday (September 3), highlights of the 87-year-old Pontiff’s trip include a meeting with outgoing President Joko Widodo on Wednesday (September 4), an interfaith meeting at the iconic Istiqlal Mosque on Thursday (September 5), and a mass at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium that evening.
On Friday (September 6), the Pope lands in Papua New Guinea in what will be his first visit to the country, though Pope John Paul II visited in 1984 and 1995. He begins his trip in the capital, Port Moresby, where a morning mass is scheduled on Sunday (September 8) ahead of a visit to Vanimo in the country’s north-west to meet with missionaries before returning to the capital.
The following week will see the Pontiff visit Timor-Leste from September 9 and Singapore from September 11. Pope Francis typically holds a press conference with travelling journalists on the flight home from his trips, so keep an eye out for lines on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East on September 13.
Also look out for…
September 2
- Kamala Harris and Joe Biden hold joint event in Pennsylvania
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on the Minimum Income Standard
- Met Office publishes summer climate statistics
- Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Guterres speak at Bled Strategic Forum
- Rafael Grossi and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in Kyiv (this week)
September 3
- Rail nationalisation bill in the Commons
- Inquest for man who died after Jeremy Kyle appearance
- Antonio Guterres visits China
- Trial of former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn begins in Germany
- UN Child Rights Committee reviews Israel
- ESA launches final Vega rocket
- Tour of Britain begins
- 85 years ago: Britain and France declared war on Germany
September 4
- Ballot opens in Scottish Conservative Party leadership election
- Donald Trump holds Fox News town hall
- Hearing in DOJ suit against Google over allegedly monopolizing digital ads
- Joker: Folie à Deux screened at Venice Film Festival
- Russell Brand appears on Tucker Carlson’s live tour
September 5
- Commons considers GB Energy Bill
- Prince of Wales visits homelessness exhibition
- Sentencing for Prince Philip pallbearer guilty of disgraceful conduct
- Hearing in Trump’s federal election case following new indictments
- Jury selection begins in Hunter Biden’s tax trial
- Xi Jinping addresses China-Africa summit
September 6
- Oral arguments in Trump appeal against E. Jean Carroll defamation verdict
- Co-leaders speak at the Green Party Autumn Conference
- Voting begins in Russian regional elections; Kursk voting postponed
- Ambrosetti Forum begins; Viktor Orban and Mike Johnson among speakers
- EU deadline for Meta measures to comply with data access under DSA
September 7
- Wes Streeting speaks at the FT Weekend Festival
- ‘Pro-UK’ far-right march and counter protest
- Planned protest by French left supporters
- Algeria holds presidential election
- US Open women’s final
September 8
- Trades Union Congress opens
- Final day of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games
- US Open men’s final
- Great North Run
Statistics, reports and results
September 2
- UK manufacturing PMI
- CBI Monthly Growth Indicator
- Tukey Q2 GDP
September 3
- BRC retail sales monitor
- Annual stats on Alzheimer’s and other dementia deaths in Scotland
- Brazil and South Africa Q2 GDP
- Forbes Highest-Paid NFL Players
September 4
- UK Finance household finance review
- Housing benefit recoveries
- Canada interest rate decision
- Beige Book (US)
- OECD consumer price indices
- Results from: Barratt Developments, Direct Line Insurance
September 5
- Quarterly GP workforce update
- Quarterly civil justice stats
- SMMT car sales
- Ifo Economic Forecast
- US weekly unemployment insurance claims
- Currys trading statement
September 6
- Halifax house price index
- EU Q2 GDP and main aggregates/employment
- US unemployment figures
- FAO Food Price Index
Anniversaries and awareness days
September 2
- VJ Day (US)
- Labor Day (US)
- Vietnam National Day
- Defunct Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Independence Day
- National Payroll Week (to September 6)
September 3
- Cromwell Day Service
- Merchant Navy Day
September 4
- 25 years ago: Russian apartment bombings began
September 5
- International Day of Charity
- Two years ago: Chris Kaba shot dead by Met Police
September 6
- Big River Watch UK & Ireland (to September 12)
- Two years ago: Boris Johnson left office
September 7
- Brazilian Independence Day
- World Beard Day
September 8
- One year ago: Morocco earthquake
- Two years ago: Queen Elizabeth II died
- International Literacy Day
- Education Sunday
The news diary is provided in association with Foresight News.
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