The reality of DEI at Oxbridge

Starmer’s creative accounting on defence | ‘What happened when I exercised for 10 hours a week at 63’

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Wednesday, 1 July 2026 Issue No. 493

Good morning. Diversity schemes are meant to break down systemic barriers, giving everyone the opportunity to thrive. Today, Albert Tait, our Education Editor, reveals that white working-class students are being excluded from almost all Oxbridge diversity scholarships, despite being one of the most underrepresented groups in higher education. Below, one student tells his story about how he found DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) schemes to be anything but. Elsewhere, Hans van Leeuwen, our International Economics Editor, finds Sir Keir Starmer’s defence plan guilty of creative accounting. Shuffling money around, he says, is not the same as adding to the pot. Chris Evans, Editor P.S. We’re giving you a year of The Telegraph for £1.99 per month. Hurry, this email-exclusive offer must end soon. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.   In today’s edition The scramble to avoid Reeves’s pension death tax — ‘What happened when I exercised for 10 hours a week at 63’ — Plus, EasyJet is under threat – this is what it means for your holidays

Ends soon: A year for £1.99 per month Stay ahead of every crucial update as Burnham closes in on No 10 Subscribe now   White working-class students excluded from Oxbridge diversity schemes Albert Tait Education Editor   For more than a decade, Oxford and Cambridge have been running outreach programmes, scholarships and bursaries specifically for ethnic minority students. These have ranged from taster days and webinars to £20,000-a-year scholarships, including one created by the rapper Stormzy at Cambridge, exclusively for students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Diversity schemes aim to recruit more students from groups that are underrepresented at these universities. Arguably, these students are now overrepresented, making up more than 30 per cent of the home-based intake at both establishments, despite people from a BAME background comprising only 17 per cent of Britain’s population. Source: Hesa, Census. UK domiciled students only White working-class students, who are one of the most underrepresented groups in higher education, remain excluded from almost all of the schemes. The universities have been accused of having a “two-tier academic society” and running “racially discriminatory programmes”, particularly as other universities have started to offer scholarships specifically for white working-class men. The revelation is just the latest case of companies and public bodies running diversity schemes that exclude white people. Writing in The Telegraph today, a 20-year-old white student from a working-class family has described how such schemes have left him feeling like a “second-class citizen”. Anonymous   I am white and working class, and took my A-levels at an inner-city comprehensive last year, where I got all A* and A grades. Not many people from my background go to a Russell Group university, let alone Cambridge. Nevertheless, that was my dream, and, in the lower sixth, I looked into outreach programmes and financial-aid schemes, supposedly designed for pupils from deprived backgrounds, to see if I could get some advice and support. Repeatedly, I found they were only available to applicants from black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds. Unfortunately, it is clear that the DEI machine has chosen the groups it wishes to advance quite independently of the data. So, far from tackling disadvantage, DEI is entrenching it for the group that the evidence singles out as the most disadvantaged of all: white, working-class boys. Looking ahead to see what training schemes, internships and placements might be on offer while I’m at university, I realise that I will face the same discrimination. This report is available to subscribers only. Continue reading ➤ I’m a white, working-class male with straight As. In Britain, I’m a second-class citizen ➤   The creative accounting behind Starmer’s defence plan Hans van Leeuwen International Economics Editor   Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer gave Dan Jarvis, his Defence Secretary, an extra £15bn of cash to spend. The former Para duly stood up in Parliament and rattled off a volley of new defence projects. As the smoke cleared from his fusillade, there was something hard to miss in the middle of the battlefield: a big black hole. Only two-thirds of the defence investment plan kitty has been funded. The task of scraping together the remaining £4.7bn has now shifted from Starmer’s too-hard basket to Andy Burnham’s No 10 welcome hamper. This year’s Budget will seek to plug the first £1.8bn of this shortfall. That sounds a lot like a tax hike, a spending cut, or a forgone boost to spending elsewhere. Even for the £10bn that was funded, Labour has been creative with the accounting. Some of it is not new spending, but new “spending power”. This is essentially shuffling money around rather than adding to the pot. If the cash-strapped Government is to hit the target of spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035, it will need every ounce of leeway in Nato’s spending rules. Fortunately, one of the most potent weapons in Whitehall remains the Government’s impressive array of smoke and mirrors. For subscribers only ➤ Starmer leaves Burnham with £5bn defence black hole ➤   Opinion Allison Pearson Shabana Mahmood’s migration plan will light the spark on civil unrest With her new measures accelerating the numbers of unwanted refugees, the Home Secretary has as good as declared war on the British people Continue reading ➤     Michael Deacon Should white people really stop having children? Continue reading ➤     Celia Walden Psst, you didn’t hear this from me, but gossiping is good for you Continue reading ➤     To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. Headlines Britain suffers biggest fall in wealth in the rich world Mahmood under pressure to close loophole and deport grooming gang leader Axel Springer completes Telegraph takeover Starmer offers EU students cut-price tuition fees in Brexit reset talks Farage was paid £270k for 12 hours of work Summer of sport Thomas Tuchel: I doubted if I was good enough for England Tuchel was left searching for answers after England laboured to a 1-0 win over New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up match Matt Law Football Correspondent   Thomas Tuchel is not a man to hide from expectation and he knows only too well that England go into their last-32 World Cup tie against DR Congo as overwhelming favourites. He expects England to win in Atlanta. The players expect England to win and the fans expect England to win. Tuchel is the man who must make sure England deliver. Fortunately, these are the games Tuchel was appointed for. His record in knockout cup football is excellent and England’s head coach thrives on everything being on the line. Captain Harry Kane won’t need any more motivation to add to his three goals at this World Cup against Congo. He will have watched Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland add to their tallies and will want to respond. Then there’s Jude Bellingham, the man so often at the centre of England’s big moments. Five of his eight international goals have come at major tournaments and who would bet against him making it six from nine? The pressure is on, but England have the head coach and the players to embrace it. Continue reading ➤ France, Mexico and Norway all progressed to the round of 16 overnight Sonia Twigg Women’s Sport Reporter at Wimbledon   Centre Court felt like the centre of the universe as 15,000 fans lapped up the highly-anticipated return of seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams. Serena Williams put up a decent fight, but ultimately age caught up with her on Centre Court The crowd had a night to remember as Williams fought back repeatedly before falling to a three-set defeat against Australian Maya Joint. After a grim first day for British tennis, Tuesday was much better as three wildcards – Katie Swan, Arthur Fery and Jacob Fearnley – booked their place in the second round. Read the full report ➤   Essential reads The scramble to avoid Reeves’s pension death tax Before Rachel Reeves’s Budget announcement, retirement savings were considered a safe haven from inheritance tax, but in less than 12 months, pension pots will become fair game. Beneficiaries of more modest estates risk being caught in the death levy, turning a previously efficient legacy into a complex, costly administrative nightmare. In preparation, savers are upending financial plans, giving away their wealth, spending with abandon or making risky investments. Continue reading ➤   Louise Thompson is a fierce campaigner for better NHS maternity care Louise Thompson: ‘I nearly died giving birth and couldn’t engage with my son for months’ Nothing could have prepared Louise Thompson for the trauma of childbirth. After losing 75 per cent of her blood and undergoing multiple operations, she was left unable to bond with her baby boy. Now, the former Made in Chelsea personality has channeled her experience into a relentless campaign to reform NHS maternity care. Continue reading ➤   ‘What happened when I exercised for 10 hours a week to boost my heart health’ When my editor set me a challenge – at 63! – to exercise for one hour and 20 minutes a day and stay sane, my heart sank, writes Liz Hoggard. Something in me also sparked. A new study found that 560 minutes of exercise per week slashed the risk of heart problems, and my genetic inheritance isn’t good. Could squeezing spin classes and gym sessions into my busy week help reduce my own risk? Continue reading ➤   A US investment fund, Castlelake, has made a series of bids for easyJet EasyJet is under threat – this is what it means for your holidays For 30 years, easyJet has transformed the way Britons travel, but despite its loyal customers and healthy profits, the airline now finds itself in the sights of a takeover bidder. As questions swirl over its future, Simon Calder, our Travel Correspondent, argues that easyJet is more than just another budget carrier, it’s a British success story worth protecting. Continue reading ➤ Sign up to Travel with Simon Calder for expert recommendations every week ➤   Seize the day Add these thought-provoking books to your reading list You don’t have to switch off your brain at the seaside. In fact, it’s our best chance to gain perspective on our world, writes Cal Revely-Calder, our Literary Editor. For instance, if you’ve made it abroad, listen to the speech around you. It was created by centuries of culture and history, but, as Sophia Smith Galer warns in How to Kill a Language, thousands of tongues are under threat. She shows us what we could lose. Read the full review ➤ As you fly back to a house chock-full of gadgets, clothes and stuff, ask yourself: has any of it made you fulfilled? I’ll wager not. The Life You Want, an extraordinary essay by Adam Phillips, will tell you why. Read the full review ➤ Here is another article I hope you’ll find helpful this morning: At 53, George Chesterton was tired of people telling him that he looks terrible. He swapped soap for a multi-step skincare routine and found he looked and felt brighter. This is his regimen.   From the sport desk ‘My surreal night camping in the Wimbledon queue with the Novak Nutters’ Annie Hayes became well acquainted with a group of Novak Djokovic fans during her time spent queueing in Wimbledon Park Annie Hayes   Squashed between the Novak Nutters fan group and the Sinner Slammers, I hoped camping out in the Wimbledon queue in the dead of night would bag me one of the 500 coveted Centre Court tickets on offer. You can only get one if you’re prepared to be British and queue, with tents counted in order of appearance and a man doling out the prized slips like a lottery win. I scraped through with ticket number 420 – seven rows from the front, near the grunts of Sinner, Sabalenka and Djokovic, a whisper from the Royal Box and doing a Mexican wave with David Beckham. Someone even made a marriage proposal during Djokovic’s match, a moment that promptly went viral, Novak playing on regardless. Camping or tennis – which did I enjoy more? Despite the warm wine, cold bed and no sleep, there’s something about the graft and the “Carry On” camaraderie of the queue that’s fairly priceless. Continue reading ➤   Your say So long, long wave Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes... BBC long-wave radio is no more. After 92 years, the final transmission came in the early hours of last Saturday. Although this development wasn’t exactly a surprise, Telegraph readers have allowed themselves a moment of nostalgia for earlier, cracklier times.   Bob Repper recalled: “Some years ago, while I was in conversation with a multimillionaire who was regaling me with stories about his exotic car collection, he paused to ask about my most memorable moment. ‘That’s easy’, I replied. ‘It was driving my ancient convertible along a French autoroute in Normandy, top down, sun shining, while listening to Stuart Broad demolishing the Australians via Test Match Special on Radio 4 Long Wave.’ ‘Phew,’ he replied, ‘I can’t match that.’”   I also enjoyed this, from Alan Broderick: “In the olden days, commercial airliners were fitted with automatic direction-finding receivers. These could be tuned into Radio 4 Long Wave (and Test Match Special) during the less demanding stages of a flight. “One evening, when I was a junior first officer and we were setting off across the Atlantic into a glorious sunset, the captain on my left was gazing out of the window with a wistful, almost tearful expression. I asked him if he was feeling OK. He turned and replied: ‘Yes, lad. There’s a lovely piece by Debussy on ADF 1.’ The comments of the flight engineer in the seat behind us are unprintable.”   Michael Fopp, meanwhile, sounded a note of concern: “The closure of BBC Radio 4’s long-wave service marks the end of an era. For generations, its transmission on 198 kHz carried the Shipping Forecast far beyond the shores of Britain, providing a reliable source of weather information to countless fishermen, yachtsmen and others. “Today, commercial shipping relies on satellite communications. The Shipping Forecast is no longer an operational necessity for the merchant fleet. Yet for many smaller vessels, and indeed for millions of listeners ashore, it remains both a practical service and a cherished part of our heritage. “Now that long wave has been switched off, the forecast’s usefulness to those offshore will inevitably diminish. It would be a sad day if, having consigned long wave to history, the broadcaster were eventually to conclude that the forecast itself had become expendable.” Agreed. Will you miss BBC Long Wave? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter. Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.   On this day 1916 | Battle of the Somme begins 1969 | Investiture of Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales in Caernarfon (see our front page from the following day below) 1980 | Steve Ovett breaks Seb Coe’s world record for the mile, running 3:48.8 in Oslo 2007 | Smoking is banned in all public indoor spaces in England Birthdays: Debbie Harry (81), Dan Aykroyd (74), Pamela Anderson (59) Plus, in the news today, Heathrow is offering compensation to residents whose homes will be demolished if a third runway is built. What will they give to these individuals? Protest signs adorn lamp posts in the village of Harmondsworth, where homes will be flattened if Heathrow’s third runway goes ahead 1. A complementary flight 2. Free therapy 3. £10,000 4. Lifetime lounge access Click one of the options to reveal the answer...   Puzzles Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.   Yesterday’s Panagram was MUNICIPAL. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.   Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. Ends soon: A year for £1.99 per month Stay ahead of every crucial update as Burnham closes in on No 10 Subscribe now

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