Prime Minister says ‘hard hats as important as graduate caps’ as he vows to get young people working Daily Telegraph 28/07/26 Andy Burnham has argued that Sir Tony Blair’s drive to get half of school leavers to attend university “let down” a generation of young people. Unveiling his plan to tackle youth unemployment on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said that under his leadership Britain would “value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap”. Mr Burnham’s intervention, a rejection of three decades of policy, came amid a surge in spending on youth sickness benefits and concerns that students were being saddled with thousands of pounds of debt after studying poor-quality courses. The Prime Minister said: “For too long in this country, students have been told that you must take the academic path to do well and to be respected. “The whole school system has been built around it and that has let down young people seeking technical qualifications. “I want an education system based ...
Chancellor warns of more cost-of-living pain because of Iran war but promises to be hands on to protect the public Daily Telegraph 01/08/26 John Healey, the Chancellor, has warned supermarkets that he will not allow them to take the public “for a ride” as a result of the Middle East crisis . Writing for The Telegraph , Mr Healey said he would be watching closely for “any suggestion” that customers are being ripped off, either when shopping for essential groceries or when filling up their car at the petrol pump. He promised to get tough on “price-gouging” at the pump or the till, cautioning that regulators “have the powers to clamp down on it if it happens”. The higher oil and petrol prices triggered by the Iran conflict threaten to undermine Andy Burnham’s pledge to give families and businesses “breathing room” after years of a cost-of-living crisis. Increased energy prices have a knock-on effect on the cost of transporting goods as well as the price of fertiliser for food prod...