We believe in freedom. Free press. Free speech. Free markets. If you share these values, join us today. | | This landlord says Labour’s punishing tax hikes could be fatal for his establishment | Dear Rachel Reeves,
When you stood up in November to deliver your Budget, we in the pubs industry expected you to give us a glimmer of hope. It went completely the opposite way.
In April, my business rates bill will jump from almost nothing to £800 per month. Alcohol duty is another cost. On top of this, the minimum wage is set to increase. There just isn’t enough money in the coffers to pay for these.
I took over my pub at the start of a worldwide pandemic and those times were hard, but this is harder. I’m probably charging £1.50 more per pint than I did then and I only make about 40 per cent of the profit. The past year has been, without a doubt, my toughest. Every possible bill has gone up.
I work 70 to 80 hours a week, and I pay myself just £6 an hour. Of course, running a pub isn’t about making money, but I do still have to feed my kids at the end of the day.
The reality is that small business owners, who already don’t have a spare penny, will just cut staff hours, stop hiring, fire existing staff or shut up shop altogether.
Pubs are a British institution – a place to relax, make new friends, meet old friends, listen to live music, discover how bloody awful pickled eggs are, take part in a quiz or (God forbid) a karaoke night. Essentially, the pub is a non-government-funded community centre.
I don’t want to imagine a future without the Great British pub. But if you don’t fully reverse your decision to impose higher costs on pubs, I will be shutting The Hog’s doors in April.
Read the full letter here ➤
20 great British pubs we must protect from Reeves’s tax raid, according to our writers ➤ |  | Data Editor Ben Butcher | The deadline for applying to primary schools is less than a week away, on Jan 15. If you’ve still not sent your application, or if you’ve got a nagging feeling about your choices and have been thinking about adjusting your picks, use The Telegraph’s league table of state primaries. This will help you assess local schools’ performance before making one of the most important decisions in your child’s life so far.
In our league table, schools are ranked using a unique 40-point scoring system, which is based on nine separate criteria measuring academic, behavioural and organisational performance.
The best primary school in the country, according to our metrics, is Meysey Hampton. Read on to find out what makes this school, about 13 miles north of Swindon, stand out.
Continue reading ➤ | | Roland Oliphant After 47 years, Iranian protesters believe the regime could meet its end at last. Here are the factors to watch for Continue reading ➤ Camilla Tominey Defect to Reform or shadow chancellor: What next on Jenrick’s long march Rightwards? Continue reading ➤ Robert Tom Britain and France are two different nations ruined by the same big state ideology Continue reading ➤ | | England’s apocalyptic display in the Ashes is the genuine hangover from Hell. The team was abysmal on the pitch and a rabble off it. Telegraph Sport’s revelations today lay bare a booze-fuelled culture that will shock England fans. Staying in a casino, ignoring orders and drinking non-stop, this is the inside story of an Ashes “stag do”. Continue reading ➤ | | | Cunningham says she understands the fear around Islam, adding: ‘Islamist terrorism is one of the biggest threats we face’ | | Reform’s “vigilante mum” talks to Camilla Tominey about her plan to beat Sadiq Khan in 2028 and break Labour’s 12-year grip on the capital. She would launch an “all-out war on crime” to turn around lawless London, including banning all face coverings. Continue reading ➤ | | | Alban Pruti, 48, says the Wizz Air annual pass has paid off, but will not renew it because of the new ‘no-show’ policy | | With a £435 all-you-can-fly annual pass, seeing the world suddenly costs less. Laurence Davies has used Wizz Air’s scheme to take 110 flights, visiting the Maldives and the Arctic while studying at 38,000ft. For those willing to navigate the daily Hunger Games-like booking scramble, the financial rewards are immense, even with the £9 fee per ticket. Yet for frequent fliers like Alban Pruti, a strict “no-show” rule means this travel hack requires nerves of steel. Continue reading ➤ | | | Donald Trump sought to humiliate Denmark this week by claiming that the only new defence tool it had bothered to set up in Greenland was a “dog sled”. In reality, the “dog sled” the US president was making fun of is part of a new unit for the Sirius Patrol, an elite Danish reconnaissance unit which survives on the island’s frozen wastes for months at a time.
Continue reading ➤ | | | The one-time Bond girl survived the predatory climate of 1970s Hollywood | | Former Bond girl Jane Seymour is one of showbusiness’s great survivors. She talks to Helen Brown about being dropped from the Broadway cast of Amadeus when she fell pregnant, how 007 cursed her career in Britain, and getting older: “I never think of my age, until someone asks what I’m doing for my 75th birthday”. Continue reading ➤ | | | The children of Sir Stirling Moss are locked in a bitter legal battle over his £20m-plus fortune and most treasured possessions. Now serious accusations have emerged against those close to one of Britain’s most revered sporting icons amid an acrimonious inheritance row over his late widow’s £27.8m estate. Continue reading ➤ | | | A sauna followed by a cold plunge has become an invigorating part of Tim Spector’s routine | Tim Spector, our columnist, has shared his weekly sauna routine and the reasons he puts his body through it. Not only does the research suggest he’s lowering his risk of heart attack and strokes, he also credits the practice with improving his sleep, boosting his energy and lowering his dementia risk. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles that I hope will be useful this weekend: - Our expert Xanthe Clay has found the perfect brew for your morning cuppa, and it’s not PG Tips. These are the 22 best and worst supermarket tea bags.
- Whether you prefer it poached, boiled, scrambled or fried, following the old adage of “going to work on an egg” could do wonders for your health. This is how.
| | Try a riff on a bread and butter pudding |  | Diana Henry The Telegraph’s award-winning cookery writer | Having pudding during the week is a thing of the past. A slice of cake on a Wednesday isn’t unusual (you have to get through January, after all) but apple crumble or poached plums and custard – both weeknight puddings of my childhood – seem too indulgent now, and most people don’t have the time to make them. But the weekend? That’s what it’s made for.
I have my favourites, dishes I could make in my sleep. I know the exact quantities for bread and butter pudding and make all sorts of riffs on it. One made with poached rhubarb and lemon curd is lovely right now, or try one with raisins and marsala. | Delicious seed cake was traditionally taken with a glass of Madeira | You have to have a cake that is easy to throw together in your repertoire. These can sound plain but over the years I’ve noticed that plain cakes are incredibly popular in the UK. Seed cake (made with caraway seeds) was traditionally taken with a glass of Madeira, and my apple, hazelnut and olive oil cake can be both pudding and afternoon tea.
| Perfect rhubard and lemon tart | A tart takes more effort because of the pastry, but I have a foolproof recipe here for rhubarb and lemon tart. If, as sometimes happens with a tart, you end up with slightly broken edges or bits of pastry that are too dark, a light dusting of icing sugar before serving will hide a multitude of sins.
Find me here every Saturday – and in the new Telegraph Recipes Newsletter which you can sign up to here.
Happy cooking! | Andrew Baker’s Saturday Quiz |
Gather round for the latest installment of my Saturday quiz.
You can find the answers at the end of the newsletter. - On this date in 1863 the world’s first underground railway opened in London. Paddington was at one end of the Metropolitan Railway line: which station was at the other?
- Which author created Paddington Bear?
- What kind of bear, found in south-east Asia, is the smallest currently living bear species?
- The soap opera EastEnders is set in which fictional London borough?
- Where is Puccini’s opera La Bohème set?
| | 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 PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was BRANCHING. 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 | Quiz answers: - Farringdon
- Michael Bond
- Sun bear
- Walford
- Paris
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