No council houses for foreigners, say Tories

The plan to storm Europe’s border | The Cambridge diversity scramble that led to Arday fiasco

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Friday, 7 August 2026 Issue No. 530

Good morning. Kemi Badenoch has pledged to evict foreign nationals from council housing, under plans to end Britain’s status as a “cash machine for the world”. The Conservatives would eject almost 230,000 non-EU foreign national households, which the party said would free up homes for British families. Tony Diver, our Political Editor, reports. Elsewhere, we reveal the weeks of planning behind the mass migrant crossing from Morocco to Ceuta, and Gordon Rayner unpacks the diversity scramble that led to Jason Arday quitting the University of Cambridge. Chris Evans, Editor P.S. We’re giving you a whole year of The Telegraph for less than £2.50 per month. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.   In today’s edition ‘Jason Arday is merely a symptom of the Left’s corruption of excellence’ — Sadiq Khan: British Muslims are being made to feel like second-class citizens — Plus, why women find midlife weight gain so hard to shift

Get 1 year for just £29 Unlock free-thinking insights, expert analysis and our daily puzzles – all for less than £2.50 per month. Subscribe now   Tories promise to ban foreign nationals from social housing Tony Diver Political Editor   With Labour, the Tories and Reform now locked in a three-way battle for first place in the polls, Kemi Badenoch has turned to a familiar policy announcement to appeal to Right-wing voters. The Conservatives have pledged to evict foreigners from council homes if they win the next election, as part of a plan to end Britain’s status as a “cash machine for the world”. The plans would see almost 230,000 foreign national households ejected from social housing, which the party said would free up homes for British families. Badenoch’s plans may appeal to voters who are concerned about Britain’s rising benefits bill and the welfare state’s allowances for foreigners. It comes as the waiting list for social housing stands at 1.3 million households. However, it has also set noses out of joint in Reform UK’s headquarters, because Nigel Farage announced a similar, tougher plan more than a month ago. Unlike the Tories, Reform would also remove eligibility from EU nationals, by cancelling the indefinite leave to remain immigration status — and give families less time to vacate their homes. With MPs on their summer break, the parties are competing for voters’ attention and trying to build credibility on the crucial intersection between migration and welfare. Success for either Badenoch or Farage could be the difference between winning and losing the next election. This report is available only to subscribers. Continue reading ➤ Elsewhere, the following story exposes the weeks of planning that went into the mass arrival of migrants into the Spanish enclave Ceuta.   Opinion Tomiwa Owolade Jason Arday is merely a symptom of the Left’s corruption of excellence Labour’s war on school standards is built on the same toxic assumptions that created his academic career Continue reading ➤     Jeremy Warner The West’s breathless AI spending spree can end only one way Continue reading ➤     Simon Briggs Gianni Infantino is just a Trump wannabe Continue reading ➤     To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. In other news • A co-founder of Restore Britain has been accused of suggesting Nigel Farage was “bought” by Jewish supporters. Charlie Downes responded to a post on X by the Reform leader, in which Farage had said he could not be bought, with an image showing him in front of signs for the Reform Jewish Alliance. • The Conservatives will attempt to block the early release of Pc Andrew Harper’s killers, with an amendment that would exclude those guilty of manslaughter of an emergency worker from the scheme. • Anti-migrant protesters were arrested after a mob attacked homes they believed were housing asylum seekers in Thetford, Norfolk. • Donald Trump has dropped his claim that the BBC caused financial harm to his businesses as part of his $10bn defamation battle with the broadcaster. • Dramatic footage has shown Japanese surgeons clinging to a patient after an earthquake rocked the operating theatre. The surgery later resumed and was completed successfully. Credit: JCHO Kumamoto General Hospital via m3.com   Essential reads The Cambridge diversity scramble that led to Arday fiasco The scandal surrounding Jason Arday has engulfed one of Britain’s elite universities. Following revelations over alleged plagiarism and embellished credentials, attention has shifted from one academic to the institution that championed him. It is claimed that diversity goals eclipsed academic scrutiny, with students’ concerns dismissed. Gordon Rayner, our Associate Editor, reports. For subscribers only ➤   Sadiq Khan says ‘London is fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous’ than before he became mayor Sadiq Khan: British Muslims are being made to feel like second-class citizens Ten years and three elections into his stint as London mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan shows no sign of stopping. At his office in City Hall, the soon-to-be Lord Khan of Tooting told Ed Cumming about his plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street, his Hajj to Mecca earlier this year, and whether he will run for a fourth term in 2028. Continue reading ➤   Rogue AIs aren’t just outsmarting humans – they’re teaming up For two days last week, the world’s most powerful AI went on a hacking spree, without its owners knowing. Anthropic’s Mythos 5 model, which was being put through its paces by Britain’s AI Security Institute, created multiple fake identities in an attempt to hack real-world targets. Then, researchers at OpenAI found that a “swarm” of AI agents had spent weeks secretly scheming, before one of them hacked another company. Cases of “rogue AI” are seemingly happening on a daily basis in what is being called “a wake-up call for the industry”. Continue reading ➤   India Hicks with her late mother, Lady Pamela Hicks, whose death in June has left her reflecting on a remarkable generation India Hicks: ‘My mother’s generation was much tougher and less spoilt’ The interior designer and philanthropist reflects on the extraordinary world she grew up in, the lessons inherited from Lady Pamela Hicks and the royal occasions she witnessed. Now, as she publishes her new guide to entertaining, she reveals why life’s messiness has taught her to abandon perfection and embrace a little chaos instead. Continue reading ➤   Seize the day Why women find midlife weight gain so hard to shift (and what really works) Gaining weight in midlife is so common it even has its own name: middle-aged spread. While a thickening waistline has long been considered an inevitable part of growing older, for women in particular there are things that can be done to avoid developing a “menobelly”. First, you need to understand the biology behind it, writes Luisa Metcalfe. Continue reading ➤ Here is another article you may find helpful this morning: The wording on a wine label is supposed to be there to inform your choice, but it doesn’t always feel helpful. Here’s how to decode it.   Reviews of the week The Shards is full of nepo-babies and tedious Eighties nostalgia Kaia Gerber (daughter of Cindy Crawford) as Susan in The Shards Television The Shards ★☆☆☆☆ Bret Easton Ellis is 62, but can’t say goodbye to his teenage years. In this semi-autobiographical adaptation of his 2022 novel, we’re back yet again in the world of privileged Los Angeles high schoolers whose days and nights are a monotonous rota of mall visits and coke-fuelled pool parties, accessorised with Mercedes convertibles. He and series co-creator Ryan Murphy throw in a horror plot about a serial killer stalking these young people, but the ennui is catching: honestly, who cares? Read Anita Singh’s full review ➤ Theatre Cats ★★★★☆ Any new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats will inevitably be compared with Tom Hooper’s disastrous 2019 film version of the show, an adaptation so appalling that my colleague Tim Robey awarded the “computer-aided hellscape” a rare zero-star review. Which, clearly, is no bad thing for this new iteration in London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. The only way is up. Back on the terra fur-ma of a stage, this rebooted Cats repaired some of the reputational damage done by the Hollywood folly. Dignity is restored. But if a pacy plot’s your thing, you’d get more of a story watching Crufts. Read James Hall’s review ➤ Ballet The Car Man ★★★★★ What better programming for this hot summer than Matthew Bourne’s steamy, sweaty, lust-drenched thriller The Car Man? First seen in 2000, this devilishly entertaining dance show – which fuses George Bizet’s Carmen with the pulp-noir aesthetic of films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice – transfers the action to 1950s America and adds brooding homoeroticism to the combustible blend of desire, revenge, jealousy, and murder. Read Marianka Swain’s full review ➤   Your say The case for The Hundred 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 have already confessed in this newsletter – with real trepidation – that I’ve never quite succeeded in seeing the point of cricket, despite my best efforts. In the past few days, though, I’ve found myself adjudicating a robustly argued dispute on the Letters page between fans of the game: the purists and the modernisers. It centres on The Hundred, the streamlined, family-friendly form of cricket recently decried by The Telegraph’s Alan Tyers.   Gill Opie took issue with his article, arguing: “There is no future for cricket in this country without a growing fan base of youngsters from state schools having a fabulous day out and loving the sport forever. “The Hundred offers speed, excitement, sound and fire effects, flags and team shirts. That the stadiums are often full to capacity shows its appeal. The crowd is made up of youngsters, families, adults after work, groups at weekends and grandparents looking after the children during the holidays. They all love it. Long may it continue.”   John Sheridan Smith was not persuaded: “Gill Opie suggests that if children are attracted to a cricket ground by noise, special effects and limited overs slogging, they will go on to develop a lifelong love of timed multi-day cricket played without such intrusive frills. “This argument mirrors one that was pushed in the musical world in the 1970s. Arts bosses claimed that if children heard a symphony orchestra playing the latest pop hits, they would return the following week eager to enjoy Mahler and Mozart, which, of course, they did not. The Hundred is not cricket but something else, and cricketing authorities should admit the fact.”   James Sayer, meanwhile, was puzzled: “T20 cricket attracts full stadiums with a similar crowd make-up to that of The Hundred, including pupils from state schools. Why introduce another form of ‘cricket’ that no other cricket-playing country plays?”   Tim Leete added: “The Hundred is to cricket what Classic FM is to classical music. Those with a real interest should ignore it.” Ouch. Are you a fan of The Hundred? 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 1896 | New Jersey fishermen George Harbo and Frank Samuelson become the first to row across the Atlantic 2005 | England sneak a two-run victory against Australia in the series-turning second Ashes Test at Edgbaston (front and back-page coverage the following day, depicting it as one of cricket’s great matches) 2024 | Three of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour performances in Vienna and Austria are cancelled over terror threats targeting the shows Birthdays: Charlize Theron (51), Maggie Wheeler (65), David Duchovny (66) Plus, in the news today, a Scottish woodland known as the “cock of the north” is being chopped down despite its status as a landmark. Where is it located? 1. Crawford 2. Lockerbie 3. Gretna 4. Glencoe 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 LAUGHABLE. 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 at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor Get 1 year for just £29 Unlock free-thinking insights, expert analysis and our daily puzzles – all for less than £2.50 per month. Subscribe now

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