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Eir Nolsøe Economics Correspondent |
Andy Burnham’s first week in No 10 has given the new Prime Minister a crash course in the difference between running for the Labour leadership and running the nation.
A new policy was unveiled almost each day. Capped bus fares. Lower business rates for pubs. VAT off electricity bills.
Burnham wants to squeeze more from the borrowing rules inherited from Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor, who rewrote the financial targets in 2024.
“I’ve said we’ll stick to the fiscal rules, and by that I mean the existing fiscal rules, and use obviously any flexibility within them,” Burnham said upon taking office.
Yet borrowing costs – measured by the yield on Britain’s benchmark 10-year debt – rose above 5 per cent again in Burnham’s first week in charge.
This means that whatever extra borrowing Burnham does undertake will be expensive, adding to a debt-interest burden of £130bn per year.
Attempts to slow the rise in welfare wrecked Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity in his own party and retaining the triple lock was a manifesto commitment.
The costly promises made during Burnham’s first days in power and the ensuing backlash suggest there are no easy answers.
Without a stronger economy helping to pay the bills, Burnham risks testing to destruction the idea there is much “flexibility” in Britain’s overstretched finances.
Continue reading ➤ |
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Cannell Benmore |
When my daughter celebrated her wedding in the back garden of our Richmond house, the apple tree at its centre was small enough to fit inside the marquee.
Now, the tree has grown much too large to fit under a tent. I have watched it grow over the decades since my wife and I bought the house as newlyweds for £15,000 in 1968.
She had a little bit of money, I had a bit of money, and we used all of it to buy this house, which is just down the road from where I grew up in Kew. We’ve been married for nearly 60 years and we still live here, in the same house.
Suddenly, having cleared a 30-year mortgage through hard work and sacrifice, and retired on our savings, we face a sudden additional tax bill of at least £2,500 a year. This is because of the so-called “mansion tax” in force from April 2028.
Introduced at last year’s Budget by Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor, it disproportionately affects homeowners like us in London and the South East, where property prices are higher.
About 165,000 homes will pay it. This mansion tax has come with many technical questions. How can a house that hasn’t been sold for nearly 60 years be valued properly? How will valuations be done, and how can that many homes be accurately valued? How can homeowners appeal and how many will?
For subscribers only ➤ |
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Janet Daley Pubs are not just part of ‘working class culture’. The PM’s words were outdated, patronising and divisive Continue reading ➤
Robert Jenrick Reform will fight Burnham’s universal death tax Continue reading ➤
Jeff Blackett Sadiq Khan’s ‘genocide’ claim against Israel makes us all less safe Continue reading ➤ |
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The Ukrainian way of waging war may never be the same again after protests forced Volodymyr Zelensky to sack the country’s top general, writes Adrian Blomfield, our Senior Foreign Correspondent. In doing so, he defused a crisis largely of his own making. More significantly, he may have accelerated a generational shift in Ukraine’s military leadership, ushering in a new era of tactical innovation and doctrinal reform.
This analysis is for subscribers only➤ |
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Iggy Pop credits his flexibility to qigong, a martial art similar to tai chi |
This summer, everyone from Sir Roger Daltrey (82) to Bob Dylan (85) and Sir Tom Jones (86) will be on tour – their stamina unmatched and their voices as good as ever, writes Eleanor Halls. I spoke to music insiders, tour promoters and festival bosses to find out how these artists are still selling out arenas and, in some cases, making more money than ever. Continue reading ➤ |
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Ingrid McLaughlin says it is ‘dreadful’ what her grandchildren will inherit |
In Wetherby, a picturesque market town of just 12,000 people, life is about to change. There are plans to build 1,000 new homes on the outskirts of the town, and these new homeowners will not pay a penny of council tax towards its upkeep. A councillor warns: “Wetherby could end up with the equivalent of a whole new small town bolted on to it, putting huge pressure on schools and health services.” Residents seem powerless to stop it. Continue reading ➤ |
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As Old Deuteronomy, Dame Judi Dench became an unlikely face of the backlash |
In 2019, The Telegraph’s Tim Robey awarded the cinematic version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Cats zero stars, describing it as “a rare and star-spangled calamity, which will leave jaws littered across floors and agents unemployed”. Now, as a new staging opens in Regent’s Park, Tim reflects on the cat-astrophic events surrounding the film’s release, and how it affected those involved. Continue reading ➤ |
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The stress of trawling through various streamers is not going away. You have thousands upon thousands of shows at your fingertips, and the scale of choice can be overwhelming. Luckily, The Telegraph boasts two television addicts in the form of Ed Power and Marianka Swain. Here, they cut through the fluff and hype to tell you about the shows you really need to see.
Continue reading ➤
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Larry the cat Chief Mouser |
After a decade of drama, instability and personnel changes in Westminster, few British political figures still hold the same position they did 15 years ago. I may be the only one. My name is Larry, I am 19-years-old, I always land on my feet, and believe me when I say I have seen it all.
You may have seen me around. I am a recognisable figure in and out of SW1. A white and grey domestic tabby, I’ve served as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office since 2011. That means I’ve rubbed up against seven prime ministers, two monarchs, and caught more mice than I care to remember (it’s 9,192; I do, in fact, care to remember).
Even as Andy Burnham was sworn in as Prime Minister, all eyes were on me |
Mine is a unique vantage point in the corridors of power – specifically, 15cm above the carpets – and if I do say so myself, I offer a rare, furry thread of continuity on the most changeable street in the country. So what did I make of this week, when yet another new boss moved in?
Despite regularly delighting the media with my skills outside the No 10 door, as a civil servant I do not give interviews. Generously, though, I have agreed to keep a diary of the last five days, which I can exclusively share with Telegraph readers today.
A week is a long time in politics. Trust me, it’s even longer if you’re a cat.
As imagined by Guy Kelly.
Read Larry’s diary of the week in full ➤ |
Ondaatje at home in Chelsea |
Sir Christopher Ondaatje, who has died aged 93, was a financier, explorer, sportsman and stunningly generous philanthropist. The brother of The English Patient author Michael Ondaatje, he left Britain for Canada with £10 in his pocket. There he made a fortune playing the stock market and building a publishing empire before devoting himself to his real passions.
He represented Canada in the Olympic bobsleigh event and wrote a succession of brilliant books about writers and adventurers such as Sir Richard Burton, with whom he was obsessed, and Ernest Hemingway. He explored the Nile and the rift valleys of east and central Africa, narrowly escaping the unwanted attentions of rebels in Zaire, and tracked the Semliki River where, he claimed, “no other explorer had been – not Burton, not Livingstone, not Stanley”. He once told the Telegraph: “Getting bumped around, dysentery, ticks all over you, being filthy dirty – I crave all that.”
He also said: “I don’t want to die with financier written on my gravestone.” Back home in Britain, he sold up his businesses in 1988 and began ploughing his money into projects that ranged from the epic – the National Portrait Gallery wing that bears his name, and supporting the Victoria and Albert Museum – to the decidedly small-scale, such as rescuing local cricket clubs in trouble. His causes were so many and various that one commentator observed: “He has enough wings named after him to start an airline.”
Read his full obituary here ➤ |
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1865 | The capital of New Zealand moves from Auckland to Wellington
1914 | Winston Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, orders British fleet to remain in state of readiness as threat of war in Europe grows
1945 | On the same day Japan is told to surrender, Churchill resigns as prime minister after election defeat, and Clement Attlee replaces him (as seen on our front page the following day, below)
1972 | Priscilla and Elvis Presley separate
Birthdays: Jacinda Ardern (46), Liz Truss (51), Kate Beckinsale (53), Jason Statham (59), Sandra Bullock (62)
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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 DIRIGIBLE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Allister Heath, Sunday Telegraph Editor
P.S. Please share your thoughts on the newsletter at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. |
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