• About
  • Newsletter
  • Contact us
Advance UK News Diary

August 1-7: Conservative leadership balloting begins, David Trimble funeral and Premier League returns

July 29, 2022
  • Slice 1

A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News.

Leading the week 

The gloves came off during a suitably dramatic first full week of campaigning as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss squared off in TV debates and elaborated on the policies that they hope will sway the Tory party members who will decide which candidate gets the keys to No.10 in September. Monday’s BBC debate between the pair was a feisty affair, with testy clashes over inflation and taxes likely to have further worried Parliamentary colleagues about the impact of blue-on-blue attacks on the party’s reputation as it moves on from Boris Johnson’s leadership. After a second head-to-head this week was unfortunately cut short when TalkTV host Kate McCann fainted, the stage is set for a Sky News debate on Thursday (August 4). 

Truss and Sunak have also had the opportunity to get more specific on regional issues (and Love Island) as membership hustings started this week. Having had a go at proving which of them is more northern for the first event in Leeds, they’ll need to come up with some new angles for this week’s hustings in Exeter, Cardiff and Eastbourne (August 1, 3 and 5 respectively). Next week’s events represent the final opportunity for the candidates to generate favourable headlines before ballots are sent out to members by Friday (August 5), and we could see the contest intensify as the former Cabinet colleagues seek to gain the upper hand in the early stages of voting.  

Black and white picture of David Trimble in side profile
Photo: Steve Punter

The funeral of former Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble takes place in Lisburn on Monday (August 1) following his death on July 25 at the age of 77. Lord Trimble played an instrumental role in the negotiations surrounding the Good Friday Agreement; among countless tributes from across the globe, Tony Blair described Lord Trimble’s contribution to the UK and Northern Ireland as ‘immense, unforgettable, and frankly irreplaceable’, while former US President Bill Clinton said that his ‘lifetime of service helped bring peace to Northern Ireland’. A special session of the Northern Ireland Assembly also takes place on Tuesday (August 2) for Members to pay tribute. 

The new Premier League season kicks off in London on Friday (August 5) as Crystal Palace welcome Arsenal to Selhurst Park. Liverpool, last year’s bridesmaids in both the Premier League and the Champions League, begin their campaign away to Fulham on Saturday (August 6) while defending champions Manchester City face West Ham on Sunday (August 7). Other highlights across the weekend include newcomers Nottingham Forest facing Newcastle in their first Premier League match for 23 years, while Erik Ten Hag takes charge of his first home game as Manchester United manager on Sunday as Brighton visit Old Trafford.


Looking abroad 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Sochi on Friday (August 5) to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, their second meeting in just over two weeks. Erdogan’s relationship with Putin has allowed Ankara to take a leading diplomatic role in the Ukraine conflict – Turkey hosted talks with both sides and the UN last week, which led to the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on Friday and the inauguration of a Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul earlier this week to organise the safe resumption of grain exports from Ukraine. Officials are hoping the first ship could leave as early as today, but the agreement – which also helps to smooth the way for Russian fertiliser and food exports – is expected to feature prominently on the agenda. 

Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Southeast Asian foreign ministers wrap up a week of meetings in Phnom Penh on Friday (August 5) with the ASEAN Regional Forum, which includes 11 partner countries for talks on Indo-Pacific security. There’s no shortage of regional issues to discuss: North Korea-watchers are concerned that Pyongyang is once again refusing to send a high-level representative as the country looks to be preparing another nuclear test, while Myanmar’s foreign minister had already been excluded from the meetings before four high-profile activists and politicians were executed this week despite ASEAN’s plea to reconsider their sentences. But there will be a fair amount of attention on the sidelines of the gathering, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov both due to attend. The pair avoided each other at last month’s G20 meeting in Bali, but there is speculation that a meeting could be on the cards next week after Blinken announced plans for a call to discuss a potential prisoner swap to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan.


 

Also look out for...

August 1

Strike action by BT Group workers and criminal barristers 

China assumes UN Security Council presidency 

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) in High Court hearing 

10th NPT Review Conference opens 

August 2

Health Select Committee report on body image and mental health 

Hashem Abedi’s brother in court over failed inquiry appearance 

Brittney Griner trial continues 

BP results 

August 3

Northern Ireland Assembly recall sitting to elect new Speaker 

OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial meetings  

100m finals at Commonwealth Games 

The Hundred (cricket) competition begins 

August 4

UK interest rate decision and Monetary Policy Report 

Viktor Orban opens CPAC Texas  

Nigerian senator in court over alleged organ harvesting 

ASEAN foreign ministers meeting 

August 5

Boris Johnson’s premiership surpasses Theresa May’s 

Archbishop of Canterbury keynote address to Lambeth Conference 

Edinburgh International Festival opens 

August 6

Brighton Pride Parade 

London Triathlon 

August 7

Lambeth Conference closing service 

New Colombian President’s term begins  

British MotoGP 

Ashura

Statistics, reports and results

August 1

Hong Kong GDP Q2 

Results from: HSBC 

August 2

NIESR quarterly economic forecast 

Results from: Uber, Starbucks, PayPal 

August 3

Deaths related to drug poisoning 2021 

UK services PMI 

Results from: Taylor Wimpey, Société Générale, BMW, eBay, New York Times Co. 

August 4

ONS data on long covid 

Results from: Next plc, Glencore, Lufthansa, ConocoPhillips, Alibaba 

August 5

HMICFRS reports on national child protection inspection 

FAO Food Price Index 

Results from: AngloGold Ashanti 

Anniversaries and Awareness Days

August 1

PLA Day (China) 

Yorkshire Day 

World Breastfeeding Week begins (runs to August 7) 

August 3

Three years ago: El Paso mass shooting 

55 years ago: Aberfan Disaster Tribunal findings 

August 4

National Cycle to Work Day 

Barack Obama turns 61 

Duchess of Sussex turns 41 

Two years ago: Beirut explosion 

Three years ago: Dayton mass shooting 

August 5

International Beer Day 

National Underwear Day 

August 7

One month ago: Boris Johnson resigned Conservative leadership 


Foresight News is an intelligence tool for media, government, PR and public affairs professionals to plan editorial coverage and media engagement. 

If you'd like to receive this newsletter by email, you can click here to sign up for free. 

If you’d like to speak to us about a subscription, email enquiries@foresightnews.com for a free demo and trial access. 

Tags

  • Conservative Party
  • Northern Ireland
  • Premier League
  • Russia
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website terms & conditions

Designed by Interconnect. Powered by Standfirst.