Hard work should pay. Unlock quality journalism that champions free enterprise. |  | Lord Cameron has accused Labour of taking a “spite-laden wrecking ball” to British education, writes Poppy Wood, Education Editor.
Writing for The Telegraph in a rare intervention, the former prime minister becomes the latest politician to attack Labour’s flagship schools bill, as it returns to the House of Lords today.
The bill’s shake-up of academies would “systematically dismantle” reforms brought in by Sir Tony Blair that have driven up education standards over the past few decades, he said.
Under the plans, academies would be forced to follow the national curriculum for the first time and end their freedom to recruit expert teachers who lack official qualifications, such as retired university lecturers.
The Tory peer also took aim at Labour’s decision to axe dozens of free schools, including a planned sixth form college in Middlesbrough spearheaded by his alma mater, Eton College.
What’s behind these measures? A Government intent on “curbing aspiration, curtailing excellence, levelling down and denying so many children the opportunities they deserve”, according to the former prime minister.  | David Cameron | “You were the future once.” It’s just over 20 years since I looked across the House of Commons at Prime Minister Tony Blair and said those words. Some people remember the occasion – my first-ever outing at Prime Minister’s Questions as leader of the Opposition.
Quite understandably, hardly anyone remembers the context. I was offering to support Blair’s education reforms, principally creating more independent academy schools within the state sector. I dared him to be bolder and more radical because, with our support, he could ignore the blockers in the trade union movement and on his own back benches. (That day he focused on the past; I told him to think about the future – and that’s where the soundbite came from.) In the event, we backed his bill and some vital changes to schools started to take place.
Fast forward two decades and we see a totally different picture. Not just how rare it is to see political parties working together for the common good, but the totally destructive attitude of Keir Starmer’s Government to the education reforms that Tony Blair started and under which I put rocket boosters.
Continue reading ➤
Read the full details of the story here ➤ |  | Laura Donnelly Health Editor | Cancer is surging among women under 50, with a 16 per cent rise since 2000, without any such rise for men.
This is according to a startling report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) analysing cancer trends across Europe from 2000 to 2022.
The situation for men can be explained by competing trends: while prostate and skin cancer are on the rise, lung and stomach cancer are falling, largely thanks to the demise of smoking. As a result, trends look stable across Europe.
For women, the situation looks quite different, particularly in some of the most common cancers: bowel, breast and skin. The numbers are bleak on home shores too, with other data showing Britain’s poor record on cancer survival from late diagnosis has resulted in us shamefully lagging behind our international peers.
Tomorrow, however, ministers will publish a National Cancer Plan setting out measures to improve diagnosis and survival rates from a disease that will affect one in two of us.
This will only succeed if scientists make far more progress understanding the factors such as genetics, diet and environment that are driving the rise of cancer rates among young women.
Continue reading ➤ | | Sean Thomas A pervasive sense of decline and disorder lingers over the capital Continue reading ➤ Robbie Collin Hollywood’s ‘race police’ are ruining cinema Continue reading ➤ Michael Mosbacher Free potatoes are wasted on the Germans Continue reading ➤ | | Donald Trump plans to build a 250ft-tall arch in Washington DC | | We always knew Lord Mandelson was bedazzled by wealth and driven by a sociopathic need to run with the impossibly rich, writes Suzanne Moore. But the latest revelations of his sordid friendship with Jeffrey Epstein – forwarding internal government information while serving in Gordon Brown’s Cabinet – go deeper than mere vanity. Time and again, Labour leaders ignored every warning sign to rehabilitate the Prince of Darkness. The electorate has been utterly disrespected.
Continue reading ➤
Plus, don’t miss Tim Stanley’s wry take on the scandal:
“Waiting to fly to Berlin,” Mandy once typed, “Upset cos lost the number of the Russian guy I knew there so no fun (again) for Petey”. How sad. He also said he was “desp[erate]” for a Cuban American. Please God let him mean a cigar, not Marco Rubio.
“You are a controversial figure,” Epstein messaged in history’s first recorded instance of a pot calling the kettle, “the prince of darkness.”
Continue reading the sketch here ➤ | |  | | Dr Steven Lu, a longevity doctor, often sees patients who believe they are doing everything “right”. They eat well and exercise daily, yet still feel drained and unwell. In many of these cases, sleep is the missing piece of the puzzle. In fact, Dr Lu believes a good night’s rest is essential to a healthy lifestyle. He encourages patients to follow the “3-2-1 protocol”, a set of rules that focuses on limiting your eating, drinking and screen time before bed. Here are more of his tips for better sleep and overall health. Continue reading ➤ | | | | | When Steven Bartlett was expelled from his Plymouth comprehensive, his teachers could not have foreseen his global success. Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast has more than three million daily listeners and seemed, ostensibly, like a sane voice in a world of bumptious podcast “bros”. But now Bartlett is accused of not pushing back against extreme views and misinformation from guests. As one critic puts it: “[It’s] incel propaganda dressed up as intellectual debate.” Continue reading ➤ | | | Weight-loss jabs might be about to deliver the unexpected perk of cheaper holidays. That is the suggestion made in a recent headline-grabbing research paper looking at how our embrace of fat jabs might affect the aviation sector. Why? Because lighter passengers mean less money spent on fuel, and, potentially, lower airfares. Robert Jackman weighs up the chances of it coming to pass. Continue reading ➤ | | | | | Marius Borg Høiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whose husband, Prince Haakon, will become Norway’s next king | | Compared with the tribulations of the House of Windsor, Norway’s royal family has led a fairly quiet life. All that will change today, when Marius Borg Høiby, the 29-year-old son of the Crown Princess of Norway, stands trial in Oslo on four counts of rape, among dozens of other alleged offences. It is arguably the largest scandal ever faced by Norway’s otherwise understated, low-key royal family, and has been exacerbated by revelations over the weekend that the Princess had a warm relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading ➤ | | | Rosamund Dean (left) with Kate Rowe-Ham, founder of Owning Your Menopause, a strength-led lifestyle programme | After surviving cancer, Rosamund Dean couldn’t understand why she still felt terrible long after her treatment finished, with feelings of brain fog and fatigue persisting even after she’d physically recovered. In fact, chemotherapy had triggered a “crash menopause” and sent her hormones into freefall, with distressing symptoms hitting like a ton of bricks. Determined to take control of her health, Rosamund signed up to a three-month diet and exercise plan claiming to reduce day-to-day menopause symptoms. Here’s how she got on. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more helpful articles for you this morning: |  | Chris Moss Destination Expert | There are few sights more thrilling than a waterfall. Their hyperactive crashing and thundering makes them as suggestive of geological drama as volcanoes – but a lot safer. So which should be top of your holiday wish list? Here are 10 of the most spectacular, and the best way to visit them.
My picks include epic Victoria Falls – the “smoke that thunders” – arguably Africa’s most celebrated natural wonder, reached by David Livingstone in 1855. There are also lesser-known options such as Nong Khiaw, a collection of 100 drops in the jungle of Laos that can be explored on a trekking circuit.
There is also one British entry on our list, so you needn’t travel too far to be wowed. Continue reading ➤ | |
A 91-year-old former sporting champion has made a winning comeback – 40 years after his last competition. In which sport did he win a gold medal? | Justice for audiobooks 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...
There has been much debate about the Queen’s recent suggestion that listening to audiobooks counts as reading. My instinctive response to this was one of scepticism – but then, when it comes to books, my habits are perhaps perversely old-fashioned. I insist on toiling to the end of every one I pick up, and I must always read from a hard copy (I never took to Kindles either). The result – at the moment, at least – is that I don’t manage to get through nearly as many books as I’d like. Untouched volumes glare at me from every shelf in my flat. Is it time for me to grit my teeth and take out an Audible subscription?
Danny Harvey made a very reasonable point: “Listening to a book has to be far better than nothing at all.”
Helen Townshend added: “Audiobooks do have a place, and may well lead people to reading.”
I think Ian Lander was right, though, to argue that “the use of audiobooks is an act of listening, which is completely different”. Some things are simply better read. I find that comic novels, for instance, are nearly always funnier on the page.
Catherine Kidson discussed the merits of audiobooks in an educational setting: “One of the joys of being a primary school teacher is helping pupils to develop a genuine love of books. In my classes, I often play an audiobook, while each child follows the text in their own copy. This is particularly valuable for children who find reading challenging, as it builds up their confidence, while keeping them fully engaged with the story.”
Alan Belk wasn’t so sure about this: “When my teacher was reading to us, he would frequently stop and explain the plot, nuances, unusual spellings, alliteration and so on, and ask questions to make sure that we had not been daydreaming. This was teaching with amazing passion, resulting in better learning.” Is the Queen right about audiobooks? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | | 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 ROUTINELY. 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 here. | |
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