A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.
Leading the week
While riots across the country appear to be dying down, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned the nation needs to remain on high alert amid fears far-right demonstrations could coincide with the return of the football season. The outcome of events planned this weekend in Newcastle, Liverpool, Salford and Shrewsbury will dictate whether the narrative next week is still dominated by the policing and political response to the disorder.
After a mixed bag of economic news recently, next week will reveal more about the wider state of the economy with the release of a series of key indicators from the ONS. Labour market statistics on Tuesday (August 13) are the first since Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall pledged to tackle economic inactivity to boost employment levels, and while the figures come too quickly to gauge the impact of the new government’s efforts, they’ll at least reveal the scope of the challenge in the context of a cooling jobs market.
Next up are inflation figures on Wednesday (August 14), which are doubly significant this month after the Bank of England’s first rate cut since 2020 and confirmation of large public sector pay increases. This month’s RPI figure is also used to calculate next year’s rail fare increases, which may return to normal levels after being capped for two years amid sky-high inflation rates. GDP data for the second quarter of this year is released on Thursday (August 15) – a continuation of the recent upward trend in growth will be welcomed, though another quarter of meagre growth will only demonstrate that the UK’s economic challenges remain firmly in the long term.
It may seem like the season ended only last week, but another Premier League campaign begins on Friday (August 16) as Manchester United face Fulham at Old Trafford. The main talking points this year will revolve around last season’s winners Manchester City, who will be aiming to break their own record by winning an incredible fifth consecutive Premier League title. But with the looming spectre of a court battle with the league over Financial Fair Play and a chasing pack hungrier than ever to end their period of dominance, fans of other teams are cheering for a change in the status quo.
This year’s promoted teams, Leicester City, Ipswich and Southampton, will be hoping their time in the top division lasts longer than one season after Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United suffered immediate relegation back to the Championship last year. No matter what happens on the pitch, we’re bound to be talking about VAR in a week’s time, with clubs voting to keep the controversial video refereeing system for this season.
Looking abroad
The Russian defence ministry-hosted Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS) takes place on Tuesday (August 13), with new Defence Minister Andrei Belousov expected to address the annual event. This year’s gathering is once again expected to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine and follows this week’s incursion by pro-Ukrainian forces into Kursk, which prompted President Vladimir Putin to call an emergency meeting of his security council to discuss the ‘major provocation’. Putin delivered a virtual address to participants at last year’s conference and may well speak again this year, though he is slated to host talks on Tuesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas is visiting Russia next week before heading to Turkey, where he meets with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday (August 14) before addressing the country’s national assembly on Thursday (August 15). Erdogan expressed outrage following the assassination last week of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which has prompted a flurry of diplomatic efforts to avert a wider regional conflict. Thursday is also slated to see the resumption of negotiations on a hostage release/ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas – the first since Yahya Sinwar was confirmed as Haniyeh’s successor – after the US, Egypt and Qatar issued an unusual joint statement calling for talks to continue.
Despite its enormous toll on Sudan’s population, the civil war raging in the country has received scant coverage amid the focus on the situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. That may change on Wednesday (August 14), when talks are planned in Switzerland aimed at negotiating a ceasefire agreement between the warring parties. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, who commands the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), threatened to pull out of the negotiations following the recent attempt on his life, with many pointing the finger at the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Given the mistrust between the parties, just getting them to the table for the first meaningful talks since the Saudi-hosted effort last year might be considered a success of sorts, though that will be of little comfort to those who have been suffering in Sudan over the past 16 months.