A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.
Leading the week
The second week of campaigning has seen party leaders traversing the country and taking in the joys of travel by train and other less traditional modes of transport, but the last few days for Keir Starmer have been dominated by a row over selections and accusations that the Labour leader is attempting a purge of left-wing candidates ahead of polling day. After Diane Abbott’s 13-month suspension was lifted earlier this week, she and fellow Corbynites including the former think tank director Faiza Shaheen, who narrowly lost in Iain Duncan Smith’s Chingford seat in 2019, complained publicly that they were being barred from standing as Labour candidates on July 4 while choice seats were allocated to pro-Starmer figures Luke Akehurst, Georgia Gould and Josh Simons. The party’s NEC is set to run the rule over the candidate selections at a meeting on Tuesday (June 4), though Starmer attempted to draw a line under one of the contentious issues by saying today that Abbott was ‘free to go forward’ as a Labour candidate.
Labour’s factionalism flare-up is sure to be one of Rishi Sunak’s main attack lines when the party leaders face off at the first TV debate of the campaign on Tuesday evening hosted by ITV’s election veteran Julie Etchingham. While the impact of TV debates on actual voting intentions may be questionable, the opportunity to land a lasting blow or deliver a quotable soundbite is still a useful prize at this stage of the campaign. We’re likely to see a lot of back and forth over the state of the economy and, particularly, plans for post-election taxation, but the presence of an audience means both leaders will need to be mindful of the possibility of being caught out on live TV. In an attempt to avoid any suggestion that ITV’s presidential format is excluding other voices, party leaders from Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Reform UK and the Greens have been invited to participate in a post-debate live programme.
The campaign should take a back seat later in the week as leaders prepare to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday (June 6) with events in the UK and Normandy. Rishi Sunak joins King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince of Wales for the UK’s national commemoration on Southsea Common on Wednesday (June 5), featuring testimonies from D-Day veterans and a Red Arrow display, followed by a community vigil and light show in the evening. A Battle of Britain memorial flight which was due to participate in the commemorations is now in question after the aircraft were temporarily grounded following the death of Squadron Leader Mark Long in Lincolnshire last weekend.
UK commemorations also take place in France on Wednesday, including a Royal British Legion ceremony at the Bayeux War Cemetery attended by Princess Anne and a Commonwealth War Graves Commission service at Bayeux Cathedral, followed by a candlelight vigil which will see 4,500 graves illuminated. The prime minister, King and Queen join in on Thursday – the trio attends the UK’s commemoration at the new British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, marking the monarch’s first overseas travel since he began cancer treatment earlier this year. Sunak and Prince William represent the UK at the main ceremony on Omaha Beach that afternoon.
Looking abroad
US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are among over two dozen world leaders expected at the Omaha Beach ceremony honouring the nearly 160,000 troops that landed in Normandy in 1944. Zelenskyy’s presence means the war in Ukraine is likely to loom large over the gathering given recent Russian advances and the US decision yesterday to allow Ukraine to strike certain targets inside Russia with Western-supplied weapons. Macron has promised to outline further details on France’s support for Ukraine when the pair meet next week.
On Friday (June 7), Biden will deliver what looks set to be a major speech on ‘the importance of defending freedom and democracy’ at Pointe du Hoc, the site of the daring and crucial assault on German gunners by the 2nd US Ranger Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel James E. Rudder. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who attended events marking the 70th anniversary of the landings despite the occupation of Crimea earlier that year, has not been invited this time around. He’s set to deliver an address at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, with comments on Ukraine and the US likely on top of his economic remarks.
Yet more election news next week, starting on Tuesday (June 4) when results from India’s marathon multi-phase polls are announced. Most observers expect Narendra Modi and his BJP to secure another majority despite lowered turnout partly linked to record-breaking heatwaves. On Thursday (June 6), European Parliament elections begin, with voting taking place across the bloc through Sunday (June 9). Far-right candidates across Europe are expected to do well, possibly winning more seats than the centre-right European People’s Party led by current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is seeking another term. A good performance from the far-right may complicate von der Leyen’s plans given the European Socialists, Greens, and Liberals have all said they would oppose her reelection if she moves to cooperate with the likes of the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR). Preliminary results are expected on Sunday night.
Also look out for…
June 3
- Ben Wallace at Afghanistan inquiry
- Hunter Biden’s gun charges trial begins
- Anthony Fauci testifies at House committee on Covid
- Rafael Grossi addresses IAEA board meeting
- UNFCCC climate conference
- ILO labour conference
- Love Island series 11 begins
June 4
- Berlin memorial concert for Alexei Navalny
- US FDA committee reviews MDMA-assisted therapy treatment
- England v Scotland at ICC T20 World Cup
- 35 years ago: Tiananmen Square massacre
June 5
- Vaughan Gething faces motion of no confidence in Welsh Assembly
- Votes on PSR and VAR at Premier League AGM
- WMO’s Global Climate Update report
- Emmanuel Macron attends D-Day events in Morbihan and Saint-Lo
- Verdict expected in slander case against Amanda Knox
- Controversial Jerusalem Day parade
- Naksa Day
June 6
- ECB interest rate decision; rate cut forecast
- Hearing in FDA challenge to Safety of Rwanda Act
- Strike action by junior doctors in Northern Ireland
- Prince of Wales and Justin Trudeau attend Canadian D-Day ceremony
- Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron attend American D-Day ceremony
- UN General Assembly elects new Security Council members
June 7
- Deadline for general election candidate nominations
- Taylor Swift begins UK gigs in Edinburgh
- Biden and Macron attend D-Day events in Cherbourg and Bayeux
- EURO 2024 squad announcement deadline
- England v Iceland EURO 2024 warm-up friendly
- European Athletics Championships
June 8
- National demonstration for Palestine (London)
- Trooping the Colour dress rehearsal
- Biden and Macron hold bilateral meeting in Paris
- Deadline for Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt Benny Gantz plan for Gaza
- England v Australia at ICC T20 World Cup
- MLB London games
June 9
- Parliamentary elections in Belgium
- Swiss referendum on vaccines and renewable energy
- GMB Congress opens
- Roger Federer delivers Dartmouth commencement address
- Canadian Grand Prix
Stats, reports and results
June 3
- UK manufacturing PMI
- UK Finance household finance review
- CBI monthly growth indicator
June 4
- QS World University Rankings 2025
- IEA report on COP28 renewable capacity pledges
- BRC Retail Sales Monitor
- South Africa Q1 GDP
- Fortune 500 listing
June 5
- FTSE UK Index Series Annual Review
- Walmart and Centrica AGMs
- WHSmith trading statement
- SMMT car sales figures
- Australia Q1 GDP
June 6
- Italy annual economic forecast
- IEA World Energy Investment report
- UK construction PMI
- Quarterly update on GP workforce
- Annual ‘What Kids Are Reading’ report
- Results from: Mitie
June 7
- Moody’s sovereign reviews of the UK and Ukraine
- Halifax house price index
- US unemployment figures
- FAO food price index
- EU Q1 GDP and main aggregates/employment
- Alphabet (Google) annual shareholders’ meeting
Anniversaries and awareness campaigns
June 3
- Seven years ago: London Bridge terror attack
- Child Safety Week (to June 9)
- National BBQ Week (to June 9)
- Museum Week (to June 9)
- Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence (US – to June 9)
June 4
- One month to go: UK general election
- Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor turns three
- International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
June 5
- Global Running Day
- World Environment Day
June 6
- 50 days to go until Paris 2024 Olympic Games
- One year ago: Nova Kakhovka dam destroyed
- World Tetris Day
June 7
- UN World Food Safety Day
- National Donut Day
- National Fish and Chip Day
- Childhood Day
- National Gun Violence Awareness Day (US)
June 8
- National Best Friends Day
- World Oceans Day
- World Gin Day
- International Tampon Alert Day
- 95 years ago: Britain’s first female cabinet minister appointed
June 9
- Five years ago: huge protest in Hong Kong in opposition to extradition changes
The news diary is provided in association with Foresight News.
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