The Telegraph

The front page of today's Daily Telegraph: 'Starmer’s pledge on tax thrown into chaos' #TomorrowsPapersToday

🚨 BREAKING: The Bank of England has cut interest rates to their lowest level in more than two years as policymakers seek to revive Britain’s sluggish economy. Policymakers on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut the base rate from 4.25pc to 4pc on Thursday in a move that is expected to lower borrowing costs for mortgage holders. It is the MPC’s fifth cut since last August and rates are now at their lowest level since March 2023. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eWD65YgJ

✍️ 'It’s a Wednesday, and I’m loitering with colleagues outside a Pret in the City of London, fiercely debating what we all feel like eating this particular lunchtime. 'Hushed debate, pensive silence, the jury returns a unanimous verdict: Wasabi. Not because it’s any good, but because, at £7.80, it doesn’t feel like financial self-harm. 'Let’s be honest, Britain isn’t for the young. The tax burden is the highest since the Second World War, rents are climbing faster than careers and a casual Sainsbury’s top-up the other day had me thinking I had been robbed by one of the six items in my shopping basket (I’m looking at you, Lurpak).' | Writes Sam Rhydderch Find out more about Sam's escape from Britain at the link below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eVr3Xy_k

🍻 'It’s not a case of just opening your doors and expecting people to come in for a drink any more. You’ve got to work at it and be different.' 'Gastropubs can be ridiculed for masquerading as restaurants, but my view is you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. An open pub is better than one turned into a house or left to rot.' Read the full story here ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/dPVkUtKM

"It’s the first week of August and many #parents, knee deep into school summer holiday season, are struggling to keep their children entertained. It’s no secret that keeping little ones busy all summer long can be a slog, and of course, this makes parents prime targets for businesses trying to cash in on their desperation. "I got done last week when I treated my little boy to a special day out to a #dinosaur park which had arrived in town. "Called “The Lost Kingdom”, the outdoor event in south-west #London offered the chance to see life-sized animatronic dinosaurs for a limited time only. "I paid £31 for one adult and one child ticket with expectations of a professional-level event, noting that the cost for a family of four would have been over £60, including booking #fees. But when we arrived, the reality did not match up to expectations." | Writes Katie Morley Read the full story at the link below 👇 https://lnkd.in/gnVsdfYp

🗣️ “𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁, 𝗶𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲” Labour should scrap its ban on the sale of new petrol cars by 2030 amid growing concerns over the shift to electric vehicles, the boss of a British engineering giant has said. Liam Butterworth, the chief executive of London-listed Dowlais Group plc, a car parts supplier, has urged Sir Keir Starmer to review the “impossible” target to ensure the UK isn’t out of step with the rest of Europe and America. He said the Government must relax the ban in response to escalating turmoil across the auto industry, which has recently seen UK car production fall to its lowest level since 1952. Read the full interview ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e2j6H3yE

🧱 “There were bits all over the coffee table. For me, it was not relaxing.” Lego is a feature of most of our childhoods, but a surprising number of adults - David Beckham included - never give it up, sparking the “Lego widow” phenomenon. Anna Raby* was looking forward to a peaceful break in a small Cornish cottage, escaping the hustle and bustle of Sheffield. What the 35-year-old history teacher hadn’t bargained for was her husband Harry* bringing with him “a massive box of Lego”, taking over not only the space, but also the time. “I got very annoyed,” she admits. “He was making some kind of car and there were bits all over the coffee table. For me, it was not relaxing.” Anna is one of many “Lego widows” who have been pushed close to the edge by their partner’s passion for playing with the Danish toy bricks. At home, she is generally tolerant. “He loves [the table-top game] Warhammer and builds the models. He also has a whole collection of anime figures in his office, and he likes building enormous Lego structures.” Read the full article ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eQJzgA5q

📱 Oxford Street shoppers told: ‘Mind the grab’ and guard your phone Britain’s biggest electrical retailer has warned people not to use mobile phones near the edge of pavements after a surge of thefts in the capital. Purple lines have been painted along Oxford Street to remind pedestrians to step back from the kerb and keep their mobiles hidden. The coloured strip, modelled on the Tube’s long-standing yellow “mind the gap” lines, is part of a campaign sponsored by Currys, the electric goods retailer. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eD24iTuY

🔻 Rachel Reeves must raise taxes immediately to plug a fresh £50bn hole in the public finances, according to one of Britain’s most respected economics organisations. Slowing economic growth, a weak jobs market and the cost of Labour’s about-turns on welfare spending have combined to plunge government finances deeper into the red, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warned. The Chancellor is now on course to miss her borrowing targets by £41.2bn, the think tank predicted. If she wants to restore the £9.9bn of headroom maintained since last year’s Budget, Ms Reeves must therefore raise taxes or cut spending by £51.1bn. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eQDJgr-r

✍️ jeremy warner writes: Political debate – and argument – over how and whether to expand airport capacity at London’s Heathrow has encompassed virtually my entire working career. Acres of rainforest have been consumed, accommodating the sheer volume of newspaper column inches that have been devoted to this seemingly never-ending saga. And all to no avail. Still, we seem no closer to a resolution. The economic case for a third runway has long been strong, but the political and financial obstacles have always been, and continue to be, formidable. I’d be amazed if it happens in my lifetime. Read the column: https://lnkd.in/egM4dYA5