Traveling

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Burnham’s creaky Cabinet

Families defeat HMRC in ‘landmark’ inheritance tax ruling | Why we should be optimistic about Britain's pubs
 ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏

Britain’s most popular daily newsletter, read by more than 850,000

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

Issue No. 514

Good morning.

Andy Burnham’s Cabinet met for the first time yesterday, but it’s what these ministers have said in the past that makes the most interesting reading. Where does John Healey, the Chancellor, stand on income tax? Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Energy Secretary, on net zero? Lucy Powell, the Education Secretary, on private school tax? Nick Gutteridge, our Chief Political Correspondent, reveals how their past comments may already be catching up with them.

Chris Evans, Editor

P.S. Don’t miss this season’s hottest offer. Try a whole year of The Telegraph for £19 – only in our Summer Sale. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.


 

In today’s edition

Pc Andrew Harper’s mother: It’s an insult to let his killers out of prison early

Families defeat HMRC in ‘landmark’ inheritance tax ruling

Plus, why we should be optimistic about Britain’s pubs

Summer Sale: One year for just £19

Think outside your inbox. Unlock full access to our free-thinking journalism, plus thousands of fun puzzles.

 

Burnham’s creaky Cabinet

Andy Burnham leads his first Cabinet meeting | Credit: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

Nick Gutteridge

Nick Gutteridge

Chief Political Correspondent

 

Andy Burnham was in a jovial mood as he opened his first Cabinet meeting by joking that he expected a round of applause from his top team every week.

Having spent the past few days agonising over who would be in and who would be out of the highest offices in the land, the Prime Minister now finds himself facing more than a few headaches as the consequences of those choices begin to bite.

A fraudulent past

Louise Haigh (L) resigned as Sir Keir Starmer’s transport secretary after it emerged she had a historical conviction for fraud | Credit: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

To his right sat Louise Haigh, whom he elevated to First Secretary of State despite her fraud conviction. She was handed the keys to the Cabinet Office, but faced embarrassment just hours later when it was announced that responsibility for tackling public sector fraud was being transferred to another department.
Read Haigh’s profile here

Fahnbulleh’s net zero dream

Miatta Fahnbulleh has called for wealth taxes and higher borrowing

Further down the table to his left was Miatta Fahnbulleh, the policy brains behind his platform for No 10, who was rewarded with the position of Energy Secretary. She previously called for Britain to hit net zero by the mid-2030s, a whole 15 years earlier than planned, despite all the costs that would have involved.
Read Fahnbulleh’s profile here

Private schools’ worst nightmare

Lucy Powell was shadow education secretary under Jeremy Corbyn

Lucy Powell, the new Education Secretary, was also present. She once backed an even bigger tax raid on private schools than the imposition of VAT on fees, arguing they should lose their charitable status entirely.
Read Powell’s profile here

The unexpected Chancellor

John Healey was a leading member of Jeremy Corbyn’s far-Left shadow cabinet | Credit: Chris Ratcliffe / Shutterstock

Finally, directly opposite Burnham was John Healey, the unexpected Chancellor. In the past, he has backed a 50 per cent top rate of income tax, campaigned for higher benefit spending, and was a leading member of Jeremy Corbyn’s far-Left shadow cabinet.
Read Healey’s profile here

 

Opinion

Jeremy Warner Headshot

Jeremy Warner

Good luck with your ‘circuit-breaker’, Burnham

If the new Prime Minister’s reset really is the biggest in 40 years, he has no mandate for it

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Jake Wallis Simons</span> Headshot

Jake Wallis Simons

The sinister, Israelophobic Left stands to benefit from Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Joanna Marchong</span> Headshot

Joanna Marchong

Why students aren’t repaying their loans

Continue reading

 
Matt Cartoon
 

To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here.

Headlines

Essential reads

David Lloyd George, pictured with Winston Churchill, was the last to attempt a land-value tax

What happened the last time Britain tried a land value tax

Andy Burnham has spent recent weeks giving us a history lesson on how “40 years of neoliberalism” failed the country. To undo the damage, the Prime Minister wants to turn the clock back to 1970. 1909 provides a far better picture of how his radical Left-wing tax agenda could backfire. We take a look at what happened last time Britain tried a land value tax.

For subscribers only

 

Britain bursts German-Franco alliance with mega missile project

When it comes to Europe’s defence, much of the past decade has been marked by squabbling. First it was Brexit, then arguments between Berlin and Paris over a joint fighter jet programme, and disputes about how best to counter Russia while Donald Trump shuffles away from Nato. Now, Britain and Germany promise to embark on a “golden era” of defence cooperation, with a flagship missile that can strike targets more than 1,200 miles away at the heart of their partnership.

Continue reading

 

Jamie East felt healthy but a routine blood test shocked him

‘I thought my tiredness was burnout but it was incurable cancer’

Last summer, I thought I was in the best shape of my life, writes Jamie East. I was running 10ks and had notched up eight years sober. When I felt unusually tired on my holiday, I assumed I was pushing myself too hard at work. Aren’t all 51-year-old men knackered? Then, a routine blood test brought some shocking news.

For subscribers only

 

Families defeat HMRC in ‘landmark’ inheritance tax ruling

Thousands of families who took out “home loan schemes” in the 1990s and 2000s thought they were doing the right thing. The clever arrangement to shield their wealth from inheritance tax was promoted by reputable wealth managers and appeared legitimate. HMRC didn’t see it that way, and hit many unwitting victims with devastating tax bills. Now, these families have been thrown a lifeline after a landmark High Court ruling, which is expected to unleash a flood of legal challenges against the taxman.

Continue reading

 

Seize the day

Annabel Croft: ‘My daughters saved my style from being stuck in the Eighties’

Annabel Croft

Presenter Annabel Croft interviews players on court following matches at Wimbledon

Annabel Croft has just turned 60, and the former tennis player is looking more radiant than ever. She’s shared some of her most valuable style lessons with Jessica Burrell. These include how she’s avoided her wardrobe staying stuck in the Eighties and the reason she always focuses on finding clothes with feminine details. Read on for more of her wisdom.

Continue reading

Here is another article I hope you’ll find helpful this morning:

 

Save our pubs

Five of The Telegraph’s best 500 pubs have closed, but there is still cause for optimism

Will Hawkes outside The King’s Arms pub in Bethnal Green, London, a new entry in The Telegraph’s guide

Will Hawkes

Will Hawkes

Pubs expert

 

Is there ever good news for pubs? Two of them close every day, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. Energy bills, inflation and business rates go up while margins get narrower and narrower, or, increasingly, disappear altogether. Young people don’t drink and older customers are cutting back.

The Telegraph’s Save Our Pubs campaign has aimed to turn the tide. Despite these efforts, pubs like The Berry, in Walmer, Kent – a multi-award-winning venue that was included in The Telegraph’s Best 500 pubs in England guide last year – continue to close.

Nevertheless, there are still hundreds of superb, characterful venues all over the UK, from Portrush and Ramsgate to Shetland and Pembrokeshire. Many of us, clearly, are still committed to the pub as the most significant social institution on these islands.

Why wouldn’t we be? At their best, pubs can’t be beaten. They combine superb hospitality with great drinks – beer, in particular, but not just beer – and, often, food too. They are atmospheric, welcoming, comfortable places. They are repositories of the UK’s history, but they’re not museums. They are a happy discovery at the end of a long walk, or a much-loved local.

So, these are difficult times for Britain’s pubs, to put it mildly, but there is still cause for optimism. Read on as I explain why.
Continue reading

You can also explore The Telegraph’s expanded guide to the Best Pubs guide here

 

Your say

Great British condiments

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...
British condiments, contended Johanna Derry Hall, are the envy of the world. Yes, this nation may have its shortcomings, but we also have Colman’s and Lea & Perrins. Her article extolled no fewer than nine store-cupboard stalwarts, enliveners of sandwiches and steaks alike.

Telegraph readers have rallied in culinary pride. “In general”, wrote Patrick White, “I agree with these choices. However, I insist that ready-mixed mustard is not a patch on its powdered variety (which is becoming more and more difficult to find), and Haywards represents the pinnacle of piccalilli. There is no substitute for homemade mint or horseradish sauce, and both are so simple to make.”


 

Paul Berry offered a theory as to why our country might have a knack for this particular foodstuff: “It has long been my view that, if our climate had been more conducive to producing wine to moderate the fatty elements of our meat, we might not have bothered to invent all our interesting acidic sauces. For instance, one doesn’t need horseradish with beef if a nice bottle of red is available.”

Intriguing – though it seems only fair to point out that the French are no slouches in this department, either.


 

My love of condiments is not unconditional. I agree entirely with Simon Long, for instance, that “piccalilli is an abomination”.

Simon rightly adds, though, that “Worcester sauce improves pretty much everything other than desserts. I still remember the television advert from decades ago in which it was described as an ‘instant marinade’ – not wrong.”


 

Nick Flynn, meanwhile, raised a concern that has been expressed by several readers in recent years: “Sadly, Colman’s mustard has been watered down to the extent that a generous lashing in your sandwich is needed to give the sort of nose-fizzing hit that a smidgeon would have provided a few decades ago. It’s now quite bland, whereas beforehand it had a wasabi-esque punch.”

Are British condiments best? 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

1933 | Wiley Post completes the first solo flight around the world, taking seven days and 19 hours

1965 | Alec Douglas-Home resigns as leader of the Conservative Party (see our front page the following day below)

1992
| Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from prison

1994 | Former American football player and actor OJ Simpson pleads “absolutely 100 per cent not guilty” to murder

Birthdays: Prince George (13), John Leguizamo (66), Willem Dafoe (71)

Telegraph front page

Plus, in the news today, Greek drivers are ignoring warnings and crossing a collapsed bridge instead of taking a long detour. How long is the alternative route?

Local officials have called for the government to either repair the bridge or fully enforce its closure

1. 2 miles
2. 7 miles
3. 11 miles
4. 13 miles

Click one of the options to reveal the answer...

 

Puzzles

Panagram

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 LIVERWORT. 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.

Summer Sale: One year for just £19

Think outside your inbox. Unlock full access to our free-thinking journalism, plus thousands of fun puzzles.

 

We have sent you this email because you have either asked us to or because we think it will interest you.

Unsubscribe from this newsletter.

Update your preferences.

If you are a Telegraph subscriber and are asked to sign in when you click the links in our newsletters, please log in and click "accept cookies". This will ensure you can access The Telegraph uninterrupted in the future.

For any other questions, please visit our help page here.

Any offers included in this email come with their own Terms and Conditions, which you can see by clicking on the offer link. We may withdraw offers without notice.

Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited or its group companies - 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT. Registered in England under No 14551860.

Save up to £450pp on your river cruise

Choose from selected sailings in October & November 2026
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

View in browser      Unsubscribe

Travel Solutions by Telegraph Media Group - Tours and Cruises from our trusted partner Riviera Travel
Strasbourg, France

Save on your autumn river cruise

Autumn is a glorious time to explore Europe. The heat of summer has abated, the crowds have shrunk at popular landmarks, and the leaves have turned gold and crimson. With up to £450pp off selected October and November river cruises in 2026, now is the time to book.

A journey on the Rhine takes you to charming German towns and the soaring mountains of Switzerland. Foodies and wine buffs will love cruising the Rhône or the Douro, while solo travellers can discover the historic cities of the Danube.

 
Danube Gorges, Romania

Departs October 12, 2026

Budapest to the Black Sea

Along the Danube, discover striking scenery, fine architecture and a rich heritage in lands once behind the Iron Curtain.

Was from £4,399pp
Now from £3,999pp

 
Wiener Ringstrasse, Vienna

Departs November 4, 2026

The Blue Danube for solo travellers

Take tours of Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Dürnstein. Explore Salzburg or Linz, and visit Melk Abbey and Esztergom Basilica.

Was from £2,499pp
Now from £2,249pp

 

 
Colmar, France

Departs October 10, 2026

Rhine, Strasbourg and Heidelberg

As you cruise the Rhine, admire half-timbered houses, a great seat of learning, and a cathedral with carvings akin to lace.

Was from £2,399pp
Now from £2,199pp

 
Beaune, France

Departs October 13, 2026

Lyon, Provençal Rhône & the Camargue

Cruise from Lyon to Provence through vineyards and the ancient cities of Avignon and Arles. Visit the thriving Camargue wetlands.

Was from £3,299pp
Now from £2,999pp

 

 
Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain

Departs October 27, 2026

Highlights of the Douro Valley & Salamanca

In Portugal, cruise past terraced vineyards and taste local wine. In Spain, discover the ancient university city of Salamanca.

Was from £3,249pp
Now from £2,949pp

 
Lucerne, Switzerland

Departs October 24, 2026

Rhine cruise to Switzerland

Cruise from Cologne and call at Strasbourg and pretty German towns before arriving among the lakes and peaks of Switzerland.

Was from £1,999pp
Now from £1,799pp

 

Advertisement

AllClear 20% off banner