Good morning. Stephen is off on his travels this week, so that you’ve bought me for the following couple of days till I head off myself — on this case with Rishi Sunak to Washington. Final week noticed an uncommon lull in British politics — a mixture of a half-term Commons recess plus a uncommon sighting of summer time — however Westminster is again in motion at this time. 

Sunak’s Washington agenda

Rishi Sunak will launch the UK political summer time season at this time by updating the nation on his efforts to “cease the boats”, together with tackling the asylum backlog and reducing using motels. Getting single males to share rooms is the newest wheeze.

However the large occasion this week would be the prime minister’s two-day go to to the US, together with a gathering with President Biden, chats with enterprise and political luminaries and a visit to observe a baseball sport on the residence of the Washington Nationals. Sunak could get to throw the primary pitch. 

I reckon this would be the fifth time he has met Biden, following final 12 months’s G20 in Bali, the March Aukus defence summit in San Diego, the Belfast occasions in April on the twentieth anniversary of the Good Friday Settlement and final month’s G7 in Hiroshima.

Bilateral relations have been a bit scratchy at occasions. Biden and the Democrats are not any followers of Brexit and resent the truth that Sunak and fellow Brexiters destabilised Northern Eire and made the UK a much less influential ally in Europe.

Biden claimed final month that he had travelled to Eire in April to verify “the Brits didn’t screw round” over Northern Eire and didn’t stroll away from their commitments. British officers rolled their eyes and one stated Biden had simply come to Eire “for a vacation”.

Apparently, Downing Avenue insiders stated Sunak won’t make a giant subject in Washington about Biden’s Inflation Discount Act, a $369bn inexperienced subsidy package deal which has been broadly criticised by British ministers as protectionist.

Once I travelled to Washington with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves final month, she was satisfied that Conservative sniping at Biden’s flagship plan had contributed to Britain changing into much less related within the US capital.

Nonetheless, the problem of Ukraine has introduced the 2 sides nearer collectively and Biden is alleged to strongly worth the Aukus defence pact, which noticed the UK and Australia signal as much as a submarine deal to strengthen the west’s presence within the Pacific.

Sunak’s daring political transfer to deal with the post-Brexit mess of the Northern Eire protocol with the so-called Windsor framework did win respect within the US.

However there may be one other subject which Sunak is predicted to place entrance and centre of his go to and which he hopes can provide Britain a viable world “management” function: regulating and growing synthetic intelligence.

The British prime minister has spent appreciable time just lately speaking to AI bosses — together with ChatGPT’s Sam Altman — and is alleged to be energised by the prospect of grabbing the alternatives and managing the dangers of the brand new know-how.

In Washington he’ll argue the case for worldwide alignment on regulation and provide the UK as a doable centre for any new our bodies — maybe modelled on the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Authority — which might be created for the aim.

As I’ve reported, Sunak can be within the thought floating round in AI circles of making a “Cern for AI” — an internationally backed analysis centre, working beneath strict moral controls, growing the brand new know-how safely for the advantage of humankind.

Quantity 10 says he’s inquisitive about each concepts however isn’t backing both of them at this stage. Within the first occasion, Sunak simply desires to get some world settlement on the necessity for regulatory alignment and co-operation.

The argument amongst UK ministers runs that the US wouldn’t be trusted because the centre of world regulation, given that it’s the residence to the large AI companies and is at loggerheads with China. And Britain is perhaps seen as an trustworthy dealer in any US vs EU regulatory spat, making it a really perfect place to deploy world management. Behold, a advantage of Brexit!

Starmer within the cash

As all of the events gear up for the costly enterprise of preventing an election subsequent 12 months, a hitherto little-known South African-born businessman, Gary Lubner, has opened his cheque ebook to assist Keir Starmer get to Downing Avenue.

New Electoral Fee figures out on Thursday will present that: Lubner gave £500,000 to Labour within the first quarter of 2023, he has given much more within the second quarter and — on his present trajectory of giving — his complete help may effectively exceed £5mn earlier than polling day.

That might put him alongside longstanding donor Lord David Sainsbury within the record of rich people backing Labour, and I’d count on to see fairly just a few different names showing within the official record of social gathering donations this week.

Lubner has largely prevented the media all through his enterprise profession however — provided that his identify is about to hit the headlines — he determined to provide one interview to clarify what’s motivating him. I spoke to him final Friday and it’s an attention-grabbing story.

Now do this

I can’t match Stephen’s polymath vary of suggestions — though stand by tomorrow for my tackle the distinctive new movie Actuality — however I’ll give a plug to one of many underestimated pleasures of the summer time in England.

On Friday I bombed down the A303 to Taunton to observe Somerset thrash Middlesex within the T20 Vitality Blast. Even non-cricket lovers will discover one thing to take pleasure in from this microform of the sport, often performed at weekends or after work.

Seize a beer (or cider, clearly, within the case of Somerset), be careful for sixes peppering the gang, and benefit from the spectacle. I can even advocate the Oval (if you will get tickets) for a rowdy evening in South London, and Edgbaston in Birmingham. However keep away from staid previous Lords.

By the way Somerset, the Arsenal of the county cricket world, are standing on the sting of greatness on this 12 months’s T20, having gained their first six video games. What may presumably go incorrect?

High tales at this time

• Yousaf waylaid in bid to deal with low rape conviction price | Humza Yousaf is standing agency over authorities plans to introduce juryless rape trials after attorneys in Scotland threatened to boycott the proposal.

• CBI challenger steps up | The CBI enterprise foyer group was hit with a brand new risk to its future yesterday as its rival, the British Chambers of Commerce, created a brand new grouping in a daring transfer to grow to be the voice of the UK’s most outstanding firms.

• Cupboard Workplace chides Boris Johnson over WhatsApp disclosure | Johnson has been warned by Whitehall that he may lose publicly funded authorized help if he undermines the federal government’s place on the Covid-19 inquiry.

• AI ‘productiveness revolution’ will take time to repay | A increase in generative synthetic intelligence and pandemic-induced office shifts will unleash a brand new period of quicker productiveness development throughout the wealthy world, economists say, although it may take a decade or extra for superior economies to reap the total advantages.

• Argy-bargy over Labour’s inexperienced vitality plan | Gary Smith, normal secretary of the GMB, joined Unite’s Sharon Graham yesterday in criticising Keir Starmer’s pledge to ban new licences for oil and fuel extraction within the North Sea (right here’s the clip from Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday), saying Labour had been “naive”. In the meantime, the Guardian’s Kiran Stacey was first to report Starmer’s plan has the backing of an eclectic vary of high-profile teams, together with environmental campaigners, and even the Ladies’s Institute.