Finding good news in Britain at the moment can sometimes feel like looking for sunshine in a week of rain.
Under this dreadful Labour Government, the national headlines seem to deliver a relentless diet of political chaos, economic anxiety and fresh reasons to wonder what on earth those in charge are doing.
But Britain is not its Government, and we must never forget it.
That is why every week the Conservative Post goes searching for the stories that remind us of the country beneath the Westminster gloom, the Britain that is still building, serving, discovering, competing and succeeding. The wins may sometimes feel few and far between, but they deserve celebrating, and this week there are plenty.
Once again there is something of a military theme, beginning with a £190 million agreement securing support for the RAF’s Atlas A400M transport fleet until 2031. The deal will sustain around 400 highly skilled jobs, largely at RAF Brize Norton, while keeping one of Britain’s most important military aircraft fleets ready to carry troops, equipment and humanitarian supplies around the world.
And from the skies to beneath the waves, British engineering has produced another monster.
HMS Agamemnon, the Royal Navy’s newest Astute-class hunter-killer submarine, has arrived at HM Naval Base Clyde following her journey from Barrow-in-Furness. More than a decade of British engineering has gone into this extraordinary machine, one of the most sophisticated submarines ever built for the Royal Navy.
As if that were not enough, the Senior Service made history this week by successfully firing a torpedo from an uncrewed underwater submarine for the first time. The trial represents another step towards a future in which autonomous systems work alongside crewed warships and submarines.
That is Britain at its best, centuries of naval tradition meeting cutting-edge technology.
There was another heartwarming military story when the Princess Royal opened a new state-of-the-art facility for Britain’s military working dogs. These remarkable animals serve alongside our Armed Forces in roles ranging from detecting explosives to protecting personnel, and the new facilities are a fitting investment in some of the military’s most loyal four-legged recruits.
Britain’s scientists, meanwhile, have been reminding us that our horizons extend rather further than these islands.
UK researchers are among the international scientists selected to contribute to NASA’s PRIMA mission, a pioneering far-infrared space telescope intended to investigate questions including how planets form and how galaxies and black holes evolved. Once again, British brains will be helping humanity peer deeper into the Universe.
Back on Earth, researchers from the University of Manchester, working with industry and scientists at the UK’s ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, have shed new light on how disinfectants attack microbial membranes. Their work could help scientists better understand how combinations of disinfectants work against infection.
And British researchers have also been probing one of humanity’s oldest ambitions, how to live longer and healthier lives. Scientists from the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences and Imperial College London were among an international team that found activating the metabolic sensor AMPK could extend lifespan across several laboratory organisms, including yeast, worms and flies. It is early-stage research, not a fountain of youth, but it is fascinating science with British researchers helping to lead the way.
There was plenty to cheer outside the laboratory too. September proved a superb month for British sport, with our athletes delivering victories and medals across disciplines around the world. Whatever the arena, the Union Flag continues to find its way onto podiums.
There was a particularly magnificent display of that flag in Glasgow, where Great British PAC launched its register-to-vote campaign during the city’s university freshers season. The enormous Union Flag certainly attracted attention, but the underlying message was simple and non-partisan: democracy works best when people participate in it. Register, turn up and use your vote.
The fight over Chagos also continued this week, with Great British PAC committing a further £10,000 towards the Chagossians’ judicial review challenge. The future of the islands remains the subject of fierce political and legal argument, and the latest funding means the claimants can continue pursuing their case through the courts.
And amid all the science, submarines and politics came a splendid reminder of Britain’s unique role in the Commonwealth.
Buckingham Palace has announced that the King and Queen will undertake an autumn tour later this month, visiting Antigua and Barbuda, while His Majesty will also visit The Bahamas and Guyana. The programme will include the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and engagements celebrating young people, communities, environmental conservation and the ties that connect nations across the Commonwealth.
It is a fitting note on which to end.
Because look beyond the political gloom and this is still Britain.
We are building nuclear-powered submarines in Cumbria. We are developing the future of underwater warfare. We are supporting aircraft that carry British personnel around the globe. Our scientists are working with NASA to understand the Universe, investigating how to defeat infection and exploring the biology of ageing. Our athletes are winning around the world. Our servicemen and women continue to protect us, and our King continues to represent this country and strengthen friendships overseas.
These are the stories that should be making headlines.
So stay strong.
This difficult political period will not last forever. Governments are temporary, but the qualities that have carried Britain through far darker chapters of its history are deeper than any administration.
Our engineers still build. Our scientists still discover. Our Armed Forces still serve. Our athletes still triumph. Our people still care passionately about their country.
Britain still leads. Britain still innovates. Britain still serves. Britain still achieves.
And, as this week’s Great British News proves once again, we still have an enormous amount to be proud of.
Here are our best-read and most shared positive stories from this week (28 September – 4 October 2026):
By Claire Bullivant
For last week’s Great British News (21 – 27 September 2026) click here.
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