Tories to ban spending benefits on alcohol

The two years that left BBC Sport bitterly divided | Full-fat foods that are actually good for you

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Thursday, 24 September 2026 Issue No. 578

Good morning. Unemployed people will be blocked from spending their benefits on alcohol, cigarettes and gambling under Conservative plans. Writing in The Telegraph, Kemi Badenoch says the proposed reforms would be tough on those who exploit the system and claims that welfare has become a “lifestyle choice for those who can’t be bothered”. Nick Gutteridge, our Chief Political Correspondent, reports. Chris Evans, Editor P.S. We’re giving you a whole year of The Telegraph for just £29. If you’re already a subscriber, make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.   In today’s edition The two years that left BBC Sport bitterly divided — Diesel prices surge as Trump mulls US export ban — Plus, full-fat foods that are actually good for you

Try 1 year for just £29 Unlock this newsletter, plus full access to our website and app for less than £2.50 a month. Claim your offer   Badenoch: We’ll block jobless from spending benefits on alcohol Nick Gutteridge Chief Political Correspondent   Andy Burnham got himself into a tangle at the Dispatch Box earlier this month when Kemi Badenoch turned up the heat over his stance on welfare. Under the pressure of PMQs, the Prime Minister hit back at her barbs over defence funding with a phrase that immediately came back to haunt him. “National security cannot come at the expense of social security,” he declared. The Tory leader could not hide her glee as he stumbled headfirst into the trap. Two weeks on, Badenoch is seeking to drive home her victory in the Commons with an eye-catching benefits announcement on the eve of Labour’s annual conference. Under the new plans, many long-term unemployed people would be blocked from spending their handouts on alcohol, cigarettes and gambling. Instead of cash, they would receive pre-paid “back-to-work cards” to spend on food and bills, mirroring the food stamp system used in the United States. Young people who refused to take up work would see their welfare cut by 30 per cent, whilst older people who lost their jobs after paying years of tax would be shielded until retirement. Labour denounced the plans as “unworkable”. It is an argument that Badenoch, who sees welfare as the Prime Minister’s weak spot, will not mind having one bit. This report is available only to subscribers. Continue reading ➤ Kemi Badenoch: Burnham has no idea what he’s doing… and it’s starting to show ➤   Opinion Allister Heath People don’t realise how poor, backward and irrelevant Britain has become A visit to booming Florida was simultaneously inspiring and a depressing reminder of how different Britain would be if it hadn’t moved Left Continue reading ➤     Stephen Daisley This is how Andy Burnham will win the next election Continue reading ➤     Hamish de Bretton-Gordon I’ve been a victim of Putin’s propaganda war. Finally we’re fighting back Continue reading ➤     To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. In other news • Sir Tony Blair has urged Andy Burnham to set out plans to rejoin the EU within a decade. He said Britain should declare its intention to return to the EU, but only if the bloc agreed to significant reforms. • Talks about the future of the Elgin Marbles have collapsed, The Telegraph understands. The breakdown stems from a disagreement over whether a long-term loan would be acceptable to Greece. • The American delegation to the UN walked out of a speech by Iran’s president in which he accused the US of “terrorism”. Meanwhile, Javier Milei called on Andy Burnham to begin negotiations to hand over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. • For 95 years, the death of Geli Raubal, Adolf Hitler’s niece, has been considered a suicide. However, fresh evidence places the Nazi dictator at the scene of her death. • An urgent security review has been ordered after up to 10 migrants went missing when Border Force failed to intercept a small boat for a second time in 24 hours.   Your essential reads The two years that left staff in tears and BBC Sport bitterly divided BBC Sport has been plunged into fresh turmoil after announcing major job cuts in a bid to save £2.6m. The scrapping of 41 roles risks compounding an increasingly bitter split over the corporation’s pursuit of a younger audience under Alex Kay-Jelski, the director of sport. Continue reading ➤ Oliver Brown: BBC’s savage reckoning shows what future will hold without live sport ➤   Donald Trump greets Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, ahead of a three-day state visit | Credit: AP Photo / Alex Brandon Trump turned his back on his allies. Xi is reaping the rewards Donald Trump is weakening the alliances that have underpinned American power for decades. Xi Jinping is attempting to exploit the resulting vacuum. But as the Chinese leader meets Trump in Washington today, can Beijing really replace the United States as global leader – or is the world entering an unsettling era of rudderless fragmentation? Continue reading ➤ Trump rolls out the red carpet for Xi in DC ➤   Bentley’s first electric car is fascinating – and disappointingly forgettable Any new car from the British luxury marque is eagerly anticipated, writes Paul Hudson, our Motoring Editor, although the market for those with the funds to consider a £173,000 EV is struggling. The Torcal, revealed yesterday, joins imminent battery-powered newcomers from Jaguar and Range Rover as the premium market starts to hot up. Continue reading ➤   Diesel prices surge as Trump mulls 90-day US export ban Source: Fuels Industry UK Britain faces surging fuel prices and potential shortages if Donald Trump pushes ahead with “catastrophic” restrictions on US diesel exports. The US president has said he is considering blocking diesel from being sent abroad in an effort to control soaring domestic prices amid the war in Iran. Experts warned such a ban would be hugely damaging to Britain, where almost a third of diesel imports are sourced from the US. Continue reading ➤   Seize the day The full-fat foods that are actually good for you, from cheese to yogurt For decades, we were told to avoid full-fat cheese, milk and butter to protect our hearts and maintain healthy cholesterol. Now, research suggests the picture is more complicated. Rather than focusing on saturated fat alone, we should consider the whole food. So, which full-fat foods deserve a place in a healthy diet, and which are best kept as an occasional treat?  For subscribers only ➤ Here is another article that may be of interest this morning: AI is rarely mentioned as an asset when it comes to finding a new job. The technology can be helpful, but only if used correctly. Here’s how to make sure you get it right.   diary of an mnd sufferer ‘I shall get on with my inner life’ Few can imagine the agony of motor neurone disease (MND), a condition that causes muscles to waste away, leading to paralysis and respiratory failure. One in 300 of us will develop it, and there is currently no cure. For the past 18 months, one courageous Telegraph reader, whose face we never see, has been living with MND and, with the help of her family, has recorded her battle against a condition that, as she writes so movingly, “does tend to make one feel that one is disappearing from the world”.   Our anonymous author writes: I am struck, with increasing ferocity, that I am becoming someone else. I disgust myself. I was someone who enjoyed an argument and rarely hesitated in discussion, whose confidence only grew with age. I am of the generation of women who had to fight to be taken seriously and learned to overcome clever male bullying only women recognise. I loved my work and the people I did it with. Now I have been put in my place by an inability to speak. I have always dressed in plain, tailored colours. Now I am clearing out the pale blues and whites, keeping the patterns that hide the food and drink falling from my mouth. Soon a feeding tube will make even that unnecessary. Perhaps I should keep the smart clothes after all. I always walked fast and stood straight. Now I have a dot-and-carry gait, lifting my left leg carefully to keep my balance. My hair is white and falling out, and I cannot speak to my hairdresser. My face is too thin for the eye make-up I have always loved. Even my pyjamas fall down. So: slow, bent, thin, pale, drooling, messy. Not a good look. I have a new policy, however, of picking up books we own but I have not yet read. It is proving very rewarding, reminding me of two things I can still do: I can still read, and I can still write. I can and should get on with that. I shall avoid the mirror and get on with my inner life. Read the full diary ➤ Next week: Attitudes to MND If you, a family member or a friend have had an experience with MND, share your story here.   Your say Photo sensitive 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... During my university holidays I worked in an art gallery. It was a pretty nice job, but there was one bit I didn’t relish: marching over to visitors and, with all the menacing authority I could muster (almost none), telling them not to take photos of the paintings. This was in the days before everyone was snapping and streaming everything all the time. Most people used actual cameras rather than phones, if you can imagine such a thing. I’m sure the job is a lot harder now, and I don’t envy the British Museum staff who have to enforce the photo ban at the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.   Still, readers felt a principle was at stake. “The ban is welcome news,” wrote Kieran McCarthy. “Photography was banned in the Fabergé exhibition I curated at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2021-22. This saved visitors from endless selfie addicts preening in front of the vitrines, allowing the treasures to be the rightful centre of attention.”   Jane Crang, meanwhile, recalled: “Three years ago I went to see the Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam. The combination of the tallest people in the world (the Dutch) and visitors using their phones to take pictures made it very hard to see the paintings. I would like all exhibitions to ban the taking of photographs.”   Ann O’Brien added: “The ban raises questions as to why people want photographs that can only be second-rate reproductions, when better quality ones can be found in the gallery shop. “That said, having spent my retirement visiting art galleries across Europe and beyond, my experience is that failing to take photographs can often lead to disappointment when visiting the shop at the end of the viewing. While special exhibitions are generally well covered, many galleries have disappointing coverage of their permanent collections.” Should galleries be no-photo zones? 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 1952 | KFC opens its first branch in Salt Lake City, Utah 1995 | TV adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice premieres on BBC One 2017 | NFL players kneel during the anthem in protest against Donald Trump 2019 | Supreme Court rules Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue Parliament for five weeks, with the Brexit deadline looming, was unlawful (you can see how we covered the story in the paper below) Birthdays: Ally McCoist (64), Jack Dee (64), Dame Harriet Walter (76) Also, in this week’s news, Rory Stewart’s swivel and intense gaze at a fellow panellist has been satirised by social media users. On which television show did this occur? Credit: BBC Newsnight 1. Question Time 2. Newsnight 3. Politics Live 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 FLEXITIME. 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 I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. Try 1 year for just £29 Unlock this newsletter, plus full access to our website and app for less than £2.50 a month. Claim your offer

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