We hold power to account. Our journalists investigate, interrogate and report without fear or favour. | | The Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, which takes fifth place |  | Oliver Smith Deputy Head of Travel | Britain’s towns have suffered dreadfully in recent years. Their shopping arcades hollowed out by online retail, their pubs and restaurants decimated by rising taxes, and their streets and flowerbeds neglected by cash-strapped councils.
One can therefore imagine that competition to become the UK’s inaugural Town of Culture for 2028 will be fierce. After all, the honour should trigger a year-long boom in visitor numbers, and the winner will be awarded millions of pounds. The Government has started inviting bids, with a victor to be announced early next year.
Which of our largest towns already have plenty to offer visitors, and which really need a bit of funding? UK travel expert Chris Moss has run the rule over the country’s 25 most populous towns – all of which are in England – and given each a mark out of 10 based on the quality of their architecture, attractions, culture, dining and all-round appeal.
See the full ranking here ➤ |  | Ben Riley-Smith Political Editor | What happens next for Sir Keir Starmer? Ministers on the Government front bench have been speaking to The Telegraph, making their views clear.
The Prime Minister has suffered a bruising week after Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein – one that the Prime Minister yesterday called deep and dark – was laid bare.
Starmer's decision to send the peer to Washington as his ambassador last February is under intense scrutiny, given Lord Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein was known at the time.
One Cabinet minister called for the maximum disclosure of documents linked to the appointment. Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is overseeing the process and awaiting files.
The Cabinet minister told The Telegraph of the Prime Minister: “He needs to be completely open about what he knew and when.”
The source also said of Starmer’s mood: “He’s furious. I’ve never seen him like this before, just how angry he is.”
Referring to the PM’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, another said: “Things are existential. Something needs to change and Morgan going is the bare minimum.”
A third member of Sir Keir’s Government, discussing his chances of political survival, said: “The only way any of this could be resolved is if the Cabinet decided to move.”
Angela Rayner has been seen as someone who might challenge Starmer’s leadership, but last night it emerged her tilt at No 10 has been hit by an unresolved investigation into her tax affairs.
Backbenchers have said they are ready to back her, but some MPs, including allies, have said the former deputy prime minister may feel unable to stand while she awaits the outcome of an HMRC inquiry into her failure to pay a £40,000 stamp duty bill on her flat.
As Cabinet ministers head back to their constituencies this weekend and talk to voters, they will be watching how the scandal is playing on the doorstep.
Defeat for Labour on Feb 26 at the Gorton and Denton by-election, at which Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, was blocked from standing, could become a flashpoint for those Labour MPs discontented with their leader.
Read the full story ➤ | | Ruby Borg As hundreds of taverns shut across the country, young people are being robbed of the chance to learn key life skills from bar jobs Continue reading ➤ Sketch by Tim Stanley End-of-pier show? More like end of Keir Continue reading ➤ Tom Stevenson We can see it’s a bubble, but no one knows when it will burst Continue reading ➤ | | For the latest headlines all day, sign up to From the Editor PM here for an early-evening briefing. | | Margot Robbie wore a sheer, corseted dress embroidered with braiding by London-based designer Dilara Findikoglu | | Russia secretly shipped billions of dollars in cash to Iran to help prop up the regime, The Telegraph can reveal. Nearly five tonnes of banknotes were sent in 34 bulk shipments over a four-month period in 2018, just after Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic for the first time. The covert payments reveal a much deeper relationship between Russia and Iran than previously thought – and there are fears that Putin may have restarted the flow of cash. Continue reading ➤ | | | Romantic fantasy books are more popular than ever and have become a lifeline for the publishing industry. However, some critics believe that the genre, which blends romance and fiction and focuses on recycled tropes, is dumbing down its primary audience: young women. Do they have a point? Continue reading ➤ | | | John Howard made his first million by the age of 25 by “flipping” properties. The strategy was simple: spot an undervalued home, snap it up, rent it out, sell for a profit. Repeat. However, as interest rates rose and regulation increased, he had to come up with new ways to keep making profits. Here’s how he did it. Continue reading ➤ | | | Tonight, the Winter Olympics will officially be under way in Italy, with the opening ceremony set to begin at 7pm. However, an extraordinary story has already been brewing in the athletes’ village. Ski jumpers have been accused of injecting their genitalia with acid to enlarge their penises, which would allow competitors to wear larger suits that could help them reach longer distances in jumps. Jeremy Wilson takes a deep dive into what has inevitably been dubbed Crotch-gate. Continue reading ➤ | | | Betty, Agata Losa’s Bengal, was stolen shortly after she moved to Catford | | Video from a doorbell camera shared online last month showed an Amazon driver apparently stealing a customer’s cat in West Yorkshire. Readers were shocked by the story, but the reality is the number of “cat-nappings” in Britain has shot up in recent years, overtaking dog theft. Abigail Buchanan investigates the rise and uncovers reports of mass breeding programmes using abducted pets. Continue reading ➤ | | | John Lewis’s new season collection is always a bellwether for what middle-Britain might wear in the coming months. This week, the store unveiled its new pieces, including low-rise jeans, crochet trainers and swing coats. Our fashion editors have picked their hits to grab before they sell out and misses to leave on the shelves. Continue reading ➤ Here are two more helpful articles for you this morning: | | Isis Hainsworth stars as the bright-eyed Thomasina Coverly in the late Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia | Theatre Arcadia ★★★★☆ Tom Stoppard’s intellectually thrilling and romantically stirring masterpiece is back on the London stage. What a shame the playwright, who died in November at the age of 88, didn’t live to see its triumphant return. Carrie Cracknell’s revival at the Old Vic isn’t as A-list as the first National Theatre production in 1993, which starred Felicity Kendal, Bill Nighy and Rufus Sewell. It dazzles even so, with outstanding work from its young leads, Isis Hainsworth and Seamus Dillane.
Read Dominic Cavendish’s review ➤ Television The Trial ★★★★☆ Before the glossy Michael Jackson biopic comes in April, there’s the grubby counter-narrative. Channel 4’s small-screen series is a retelling of Jackson’s 2005 trial in California for alleged child molestation, supplying a minor with alcohol and false imprisonment. This thoroughly researched documentary lays bare the star’s obsession with children, taking you into the squalid heart of Neverland.
Read James Hall’s review ➤ Book The Colour of Home by Sajid Javid ★★★★☆ The Conservatives have an existential problem, and it looks a lot like Sajid Javid. As the former chancellor writes in his fascinating memoir, he was an outsider from a minority background who rose meritocratically to the Tory heights. Yet, with the party’s reputation for economic competence shot, why would such a candidate – or the voters like him, whose support they need – come to the rescue of Kemi and co?
Read Tomiwa Owolade’s review ➤ | Chin up 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...
We are, it seems fair to say, living through a reasonably unedifying moment in Britain. Things don’t look great elsewhere, either. It’s February. It’s grey. In other words: excuses abound for failing to look entirely on the bright side.
Fortunately, The Telegraph’s Emily Craig has consulted a crack squad of happiness experts, each with their own advice on how to stay cheerful. I’ve particularly enjoyed readers’ responses to this article, all eminently sensible.
Jamie Thomas Fearn wrote: “Nice that many of the things that help me are listed: music, nature, moving more. Maybe journaling could be included too.”
Another added: “A friend of mine who is a counsellor once gave me a good piece of advice: if you have a problem and can fix it, sort it out. If you have a problem that’s not under your control, try to let it go.”
Pat Kent advised: “Exercise is a natural way to lift your mood. It doesn’t cost anything, and you are not dependent on anything or anybody to do it.”
Carol Stott took issue with one point: “There’s some great advice in this piece, but the introduction is a bit focused on being with others for me. Being alone can also be restorative.”
Finally, I felt very uplifted when I read this, from Ann Hanley: “I have just walked the dog along the river path. The early-morning mist was beginning to burn off. There is blue sky overhead, and the sun has just risen above the trees. I saw a cormorant and a kingfisher. The dog got muddy. It’s going to be a lovely day.” What do you do to raise the spirits? 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 FENUGREEK. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Please let me know what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here.
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor | |
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