Thursday evening news briefing: Starmer plots vast expansion of nanny state in battle to save NHS
Good evening. Sir Keir Starmer is preparing a raft of “nanny state” interventions on public health as he scrambles to save the NHS from collapse.
Elsewhere in today’s newsletter, the OBR has warned that British families face a tough choice to avoid a “spiral” of public debt, and we bring you Sven-Goran Eriksson’s final message.
If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here.
Starmer plots vast expansion of nanny state in battle to save NHS
The Government promised a “prevention revolution” – saying measures would be bold, controversial and not universally popular. Ministers announced plans to introduce a 9pm watershed on junk food advertising – and a total ban on paid-for online ads – by October 2025. The Prime Minister has also promised a string of further measures.
Britain’s choice: spiralling debt or £40bn in spending cuts or tax rises every 10 years
The OBR said pressures from an ageing population, surging debt interest and the shift to net zero meant Britain’s £2.5 trillion debt pile would keep rising without improvements in productivity or higher taxes. Richard Hughes, the OBR chairman, warned that the public finances were on an “unsustainable path”. See the graph that shows how Britain’s public debt could “spiral”.
Evening Briefing: Today’s essential headlines
World | Why one US city believes migrants are eating their cats
Kenneth Cope | Carry On and Coronation Street star dies aged 93
Miss Switzerland | Finalist was dismembered by husband and put in blender
Property | Landlords banned from evicting non-paying tenants for three months under Labour
David Knowles | British counter-terror police assist in investigating death of Telegraph journalist
‘A perfect world’: Billionaire reacts to view during ‘risky’ SpaceX mission
Jared Isaacman, who completed the first spacewalk by a private citizen in history, said “Earth sure looks like a perfect world” from his view in space. Mr Isaacman made the observation after opening the hatch of his space capsule and taking a glimpse of earth. He then got out and carried out a 12-minute spacewalk. Here’s a full recap of the mission.
Comment and analysis
Tom Harris | Everything Labour touches turns into disaster
David Axe | There’s a much better alternative to the Storm Shadow for Ukraine
Nigel Farage | The public were failed by the official silence over the Southport atrocity
Lisa Haseldine | If the West wants to save Ukraine, it must act now. It’ll soon be too late
Camilla Tominey | The NHS should be the pride of Britain. Instead, it’s the death of us
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s final message: ‘Life is always, always to be celebrated’
Sven wrote a final Telegraph column reflecting on his life and his family have given permission for it to be published before his funeral.
“Life is to be celebrated. I always had that attitude. How do I best illustrate that? Well, you may have heard the story one of my old players, Didier Hamann, tells about me when I was sacked by Manchester City in 2008” – continue reading here.
Sport Briefing: Today’s essential headlines
Football | Mikel Arteta agrees new Arsenal contract
Rugby | Premiership considering proposal to become an Anglo-Welsh league
Crime | Spanish footballer guilty of groping breasts of female mascot inside parakeet costume
Why Britain is standing aside as the West battles cheap Chinese electric cars
Within weeks, nearly all of Britain’s closest allies will have hit Chinese electric vehicles with crippling trade tariffs. The import duties being imposed by the United States, Canada and the European Union are designed to stop China flooding Western markets with ultra-cheap cars that undermine domestic manufacturers. Despite this, Britain is conspicuously absent from the crackdown.
If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here.