Reforms come at a cost

Gianni Infantino plans to sell World Cup stake | Five exercises for better posture

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Wednesday, 29 July 2026 Issue No. 521

Good morning. Andy Burnham is not wrong to identify the importance of social care reform, but it will come at a cost. Any reform needs to be paid for somehow. Tony Diver, our Political Editor, has seen policies that the Department of Health is considering, including a tax rise that will hit millions of people. On the topic of money, Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa, is plotting to sell the World Cup to private investors in a move described as selling the game’s soul. That might not be the most scandalous sport story today, though. Find the cricket cheating scandal that has provoked a worldwide backlash below. Chris Evans, Editor P.S. Try a whole year of The Telegraph for £19 while our Summer Sale lasts. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.   In today’s edition Vintners and bakers join France’s war on fire — The sex test being used to keep transgender women out of women’s sport — Plus, the five exercises you need for better posture

Sale ends soon: One year for just £19 Think outside your inbox. Unlock full access to our free-thinking journalism, plus thousands of fun puzzles. Subscribe now   Workers face new tax to pay for social care Tony Diver Political Editor   Listen carefully over the next few days, and you will hear the cautious sound of pitch-rolling. Not on the nation’s cricket fields, but in Whitehall, where Andy Burnham is preparing the country for tax rises. When he appears at a care home today to announce his plans to reform Britain’s social care system, he will talk about the need for a “national conversation” about how to pay for it. Source: The King’s Fund analysis of DHSC figures I’ve obtained some details about the measures that the Department of Health is considering, and they include a tax rise that will hit millions of people every year. Alongside plans for a “death tax” – the widely reported 10 per cent levy on estates – there are proposals for a new income tax amounting to 1.8 per cent on earnings above £6,240 for anyone over the age of 34. Officials think workers could contribute to a new form of social insurance to pay for a £18bn care system that would be set up under Burnham’s plans. The policy is still at an early stage, and no final decisions have been taken. The “conversation” is coming – and the public will pay for it. This report is available only to subscribers. Continue reading ➤ Burnham urged to raise income tax as £24bn hole looms ➤ Boomers brace for PM’s almighty cash grab ➤   Gianni Infantino plans to sell World Cup stake in ‘nuclear bomb’ for football Gianni Infantino is Fifa president until 2031 | Credit: Emilee Chinn via Getty Images Tom Morgan Sports News Correspondent   With the dust barely settled on the most controversial and scandalous World Cup in the tournament’s 96-year history, Gianni Infantino’s latest bombshell has ignited the biggest furore of all. Yesterday, the Fifa president announced his plan to sell stakes in the tournament to private investors, which could include sovereign wealth funds. The new enterprise would be led by Joshua Kushner – the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. If approved by a majority of Fifa’s 211 member associations – which includes the Football Association – then they each stand to make at least £15m. They would also receive a share in the new entity that they could choose to sell for further financial rewards, or hold on to in the hope the value increases. In return, all commercial interests of the biggest football tournaments on the planet would fall into the hands of private investment, with the potential for the existing calendar to be ripped up, World Cups to be expanded and potentially played every one or two years. Football is now facing its biggest threat since the failed European Super League, and the backlash has begun. Continue reading ➤ Oliver Brown: Football must be saved from Infantino ➤   Opinion Allison Pearson We want a properly dressed statesman in No 10, not a mate Sorry, Andy – cringeworthy TikToks and casual T-shirts won’t fix illegal migration and our broken economy Continue reading ➤     Robin Aitken BBC Breakfast is finally free from the tyranny of Naga Munchetty Continue reading ➤     Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Badenoch must reverse course on net zero before she destroys the Tories Continue reading ➤   To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. In other news • Parents on benefits will be given £4,500 a year if their children become apprentices in plans to create 50,000 new opportunities. Grants worth £8,000 will also be given to small and medium-sized businesses that take on apprentices. The combined cost of the new plans is up to £1bn. • Zack Polanski has refused seven times to apologise for sharing a social media post that appeared to threaten Nigel Farage. The Green Party leader posted an image of a man wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine graphic alongside the caption: “We’re only making plans for Nigel.” The ‘beyond belief’ post shared by Zack Polanski • The US has said it had successfully intercepted a “surprise attack” by Iran on American forces in the Middle East. The overnight strikes mark yet another return to conflict, despite Donald Trump saying on Monday that there were “very friendly negotiations going on” during a lull in fighting. • Pressure is growing on the University of Cambridge to commission an independent inquiry into plagiarism claims surrounding one of its most high-profile professors. The university has so far refused to re-examine the academic credentials of Prof Jason Arday, who has been accused of copying parts of his PhD thesis from another student. • Finally, two controversial cricket stories. The MCC could ask Parliament to let women skip the membership queue as part of a diversity drive, and the club cricketer at the centre of the “Clicky Ponting” cheating scandal can be named as Brian Devine. Footage emerged on Monday of Devine appearing to click his fingers to trick umpires into thinking there was an edge off the bat. A close-up shot appears to show the slip fielder putting his hands together and clicking his fingers as the ball passes the bat, mimicking the sound of an edge   Essential reads Firefighters are trying to beat back the worst wildfires in French history Vintners and bakers join France’s war on fire Dressed in red helmets, protective clothing and respirators, the Gironde fire and rescue department is working systematically through the blackened forest of Cap Ferret, 40 miles west of Bordeaux, writes Cameron Henderson. Last week the region became the centre of the worst wildfires in modern French history. Of the thousands of firefighters mobilised from across the country, around 80 per cent are volunteers, and would otherwise be working in professions such as vintners and bakers in the famous region. The Telegraph joined them as they persevered with their efforts. Continue reading ➤ Wildfires close in on French missile and rocket factories ➤ Europe’s wildfire nightmare in maps and charts ➤   If the war continues at the current rate, the cost could climb to $311.3bn by the end of the year Five months on: The real cost of the Iran war Back in February, Donald Trump predicted that Operation Epic Fury would only last “four to five weeks”. Five months later, the war in Iran still rages on, leaving American taxpayers to shoulder an ever-growing bill that is increasingly damaging to the economy. The Pentagon’s $37.5bn estimate is the “tip of the iceberg”, with an analysis by The Telegraph putting the true bill at $151.3bn. For subscribers only ➤   Telegraph Sport’s Fiona Tomas has her cheek swabbed as part of the genetic sex testing process The sex test being used to keep transgender women out of women’s sport The International Olympic Committee confirmed in March that any athlete wanting to compete in the female category in any sport at Los Angeles 2028 would have to take a sex test to prove their eligibility, but what does it actually involve? Fiona Tomas went to find out. Continue reading ➤   Holly Willoughby’s dire YouTube show makes Meghan look good ★☆☆☆☆ Holly Willoughby’s new YouTube lifestyle show, Together, promised a fresh start, but not even Stanley Tucci can redeem this 50-minute borefest, writes Anita Singh, our Arts and Entertainment Editor. From forced small talk to reading out pie ingredients, this awkward viewing experience suggests Willoughby is a presenter desperately in need of a script. Is it time for a comeback, Meghan? Continue reading ➤   Seize the day Why everything we know about yo-yo dieting is wrong For many of us losing weight is easy – the hard part is keeping it off. However, is yo-yo dieting as harmful as we have been led to believe? A recent review of studies revealed that losing and regaining weight still offers health benefits, and could even lead to permanent weight loss. One of the paper’s authors explains what’s really happening to our bodies. Continue reading ➤ Here is another article I hope you’ll find helpful this morning: Feel like you could improve your posture? Caroline Idiens, fitness columnist and personal trainer, details five exercises you can do to help you stand taller.   The English high street Leominster, Herefordshire – understated continuity of centuries Leominster has charming historic buildings, but decaying hotels betray its vulnerability to change Christopher Howse   The little town of Leominster, in Herefordshire, is not quite what it seems. Even the way it is pronounced is a surprise – Lemster. Behind the Georgian facades of the shops in the pretty streets are ancient timbers of far older buildings. The road from the railway station was a speculative development – in the 13th century. Its two historic inns are both closed to ordinary customers. One was, until a few years ago, used to house migrant women and children. The other is empty and decaying, despite being a listed building. Leominster is overwhelmingly white. In the town of 12,000, the 2021 census discovered 16 British Chinese people, six British Pakistanis and six Arabs. The people of Leominster continue to shop locally at independent butchers or greengrocers in the High Street. Their biggest worry seems to be somewhere to park. From behind the old buildings, the bells ring out from Leominster Priory. In the Elizabethan Chequers pub, regulars sup local beer and cider. It is as though the continuity of centuries will always be with them. The ancient town is vulnerable to economic pressures that can end a traditional way of life for many. Continue reading ➤   Your say Trip hazard 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... I was never a great fan of school trips, and became quite adept at wriggling out of them (my teachers didn’t seem to wonder how I knew I would have a terrible headache on the day of departure). Later, my fellow pupils would report back with tales of ashtray-scented buses, fourth-tier historical sites and miserable camping arrangements. Only occasionally would I feel anything other than totally vindicated.   It might have been different if those trips had been more like the ones described by Telegraph readers, during what must have surely been a golden age. Stephen Ford, for instance, recalled an expedition to Greece, “where the English teacher took some of us to a local bar to enjoy the delights of ouzo and other aspects of Greek culture. We must have been about 15. Unthinkable now”.   Nigel Brown, meanwhile, “had a very memorable trip in 1966. It was for members of our school’s Air Training Corps. I was 16, and about a dozen of us were flown to Oslo, housed overnight in military barracks, and transported to a log cabin in the mountains. We had a week there doing cross-country skiing.”   Closer to home, during the 1970s, Alan Bolton enjoyed “a day trip to the Wills cigarette factory. The teachers picked up the samples on offer. I wonder what the outcry would be if a similar trip were proposed today”.   It wasn’t just schools that took a more relaxed approach. Sally Bigham added: “In the 1960s, our Guide troop went off to summer camp in the back of a large removal lorry owned by one of the parents. Bouncing about loose in the back and hanging over the tailgate waving to the cars behind, we loved it. Seems mad now.” Would your school trips be allowed today? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter. Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.   On this day 1907 | The Boy Scouts is formed 1933 | Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Bonnie and Clyde) escape in Iowa after a police shootout 1974 | Richard Nixon is charged over the Watergate scandal (and our front page coverage the following day) 2024 | The Southport knife attack at a dance class where three children are killed Birthdays: Fernando Alonso (45), Stephen Dorff (53), Sally Gunnell (60) What has Lucy Powell, the new Education Secretary, said about spelling tests for primary school leavers? 1. They are “too easy” 2. “Not needed” 3. “Too obscure” 4. “Very boring” Click one of the options to reveal the answer...   Puzzles 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 The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.   Yesterday’s Panagram was HINDERING. 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 at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. Sale ends soon: One year for just £19 Think outside your inbox. Unlock full access to our free-thinking journalism, plus thousands of fun puzzles. Subscribe now

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