Lisa Nandy has vowed to stop a new generation of young people falling into a “welfare trap” as she announced plans to send 1,000 youth workers into communities.
In an exclusive interview with The i Paper, the Culture Secretary branded abandoning youngsters to a life on benefits “a tragedy and a disgrace” as she said Labour would intervene earlier to prevent vulnerable young people from becoming detached from education and work.
The three ways Healey could soften energy price rises
Ministers are drawing up plans for targeted help with energy bills in next month’s Budget amid fears the Iran war will lead to a cost of living crisis for millions this winter, it has been reported.
Chancellor John Healey has told officials to come up with options to soften the blow from energy price hikes.
Gas and oil prices spiral
Wholesale gas prices have risen by more than 150 per cent since the start of the Iran conflict, while oil has increased by more than 40 per cent, according to figures compiled for the Government.
Energy bills could be more than £600 higher next year than when Labour came to power, despite its pledge to cut them by £300 by the end of the decade.
Existing cost relief
- 1Ministers have already announced plans to remove VAT from domestic electricity bills for six months from 1 October, saving households about £45 a year.
- 2Then there’s the warm home discount, which gives £150 off bills to almost six million households receiving means-tested benefits.
- 3Plus, the £1bn crisis and resilience fund, which is administered through councils.
Pressure mounts as costs rise
Ministers are keen to examine more targeted intervention, reported. But any additional energy relief packages would add to the pressure raise money at the Budget via taxation.
Clare Lombardelli, a deputy governor at the Bank of England, warned on Thursday that an interest rate rise was “increasingly likely” if energy prices remained elevated.
3 min read
Healey’s options:
- Ministers could prolong the temporary VAT cut beyond March.
- The Chancellor is also understood to be prepared to reduce the fiscal £23.6bn “headroom”.
3 min read
British climber falls
to his death on
Spanish mountain
A British climber, 28, has fallen to his
death on a Spanish mountain, according
to local authorities.
Emergency responders were alerted to
the incident on Torrecerredo mountain – Spain’s 17th highest peak – at roughly
1:30pm yesterday.
What we know so far:
- According to , the man was a 28-year-old from England and fell up to 60 metres from the peak of Torrecerredo in the Picos de Europa in northern Spain.
- Local reports also added that he was 20 metres below the summit when the accident happened.
- A doctor mobilised by a regional emergency response coordination centre confirmed around an hour later the Briton had lost his life in the accident.
4 min read
Remains transported to Llanera
A forensic search had been carried out of the area and his belongings were recovered.
His remains were transported to La Morgal,
a regional sports, aviation and emergency services complex, in Llanera near the Asturian cities of Oviedo and Gijon.
1 min read
4 min read
What remains unclear:
- It is not clear whether the unnamed man had been alone or accompanied by family or friends.
- Although one local report said
he was near the summit when he fell, another said he was on his
way down.
2 min read
The UK is running low on diesel – how worried should we be?
Britain could see shortages of diesel with prices at the pump soaring to all-time highs of £3 a litre if Donald Trump bans US exports, analysts have warned.
Britain relies on US oil
- Trump is said to be considering a 90-day export ban in weeks, after diesel in America hit a record average of $6.52 (£4.93) a gallon.
- Britain relies on the US for about 30 per cent of its diesel imports.
2 min read
Shortages could hit UK pumps in weeks
- Britain has just four operational refineries – down from 18 in the 1970s – leaving the UK with around 42 days of emergency stockpiles, Sky News reported.
4 min read
Trucks and cars off the road
A lot of trucks would come off the road. You wouldn’t be able to fill them. We’d start seeing delays in goods being transported around the UK.
dr pauline swift, charity chair,
blood pressure uk
UK turning to alternative suppliers
The Government would have to bring in measures to destroy demand to bring prices down, James Noel-Beswick, head of commodities at Sparta Commodities said.
Though Thomas Pugh, chief economist at the audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, say the UK wouldn’t necessarily see a diesel shortage as alternative suppliers exist.
4 min read
3 min read
How dogs decode what owners say like humans
Scientists have found that dog brains process speech in a similar way to human babies – poking holes in their excuses for ignoring their owners.
A new study, published in , found that the canine brain appears to process speech with a focus on consonants, which was once thought to be unique to humans.
Dogs take special note of consonant sounds
- Dogs were found to take special note of consonant sounds, which is similar to what babies do when they learn to decipher language, the researchers said.
7 min read
Inside the brains of 20 dogs
- The researchers recorded the brain activity of 20 pet dogs and 20 human adults as they listened to nonsensical words.
- Some of the recordings had repeating consonant patterns while others had vowel patterns.
- Using EEG, which measures electrical activity in the brain, researchers noted that for both humans and dogs, the brain response was far stronger when the repeating structure involved consonants.
7 min read
Surprising results
Dog brains segment speech into words in a way previously seen only in humans.
The researchers added that the results were surprising, as the acoustic prominance of vowels could have attracted the dogs more if they were simply latching on to the loudest or most obvious sounds.
Instead, their brains favoured the less acoustically noticeable consonant patterns, which provided more information about which words were being spoken.
Rare ‘gifted word learner’ dogs
The study also suggests that dogs can tell one human language from another. The researchers found several rare “gifted word learner” dogs, which can learn toy names after hearing them only four times.
Earlier this year, the same researchers discovered that some dogs can learn new object names just by overhearing their owner, an ability they said was comparable with word learning in 18-month-old children.
2 min read
5 min read
What to know as Iran offers new ceasefire proposal
If certain conditions are met… the Strait will be open in seven days
Iran has tabled a new seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart peace talks with the US.
Here’s everything you need to know…
Iran submits peace plan to US
While visiting New York for the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his country’s mediators had submitted a plan that could see the critical waterway open within a week.
“We have introduced a plan to the United States through the mediators that if certain conditions are met… the Strait will be open in seven days,” and Iran and the US would restart negotiations for a final deal, Araghchi told reporters.
The Iranians said their proposal is modelled on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed between the US and Iran in June.
The agreement, however, collapsed after Iran began firing at ships it said were using an “unauthorised” route to transit the Strait.
6 min read
3 min read
Inside collapsed agreement
60-day ceasfire
That agreement extended an April ceasefire for 60 days, during which Iran would allow uncharged passage via the Strait.
Oil exports
It would also see the US issue waivers for Iranian oil exports.
The US said it will not return to the MoU, and is instead pushing for a deal that covers Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump accuses Iran of stalling for midterms
In his speech to the UN, Donald Trump accused Iran of stalling on a deal until after the midterms, in the hope that his Republican Party would lose power.
In response, Araghchi said it would be “much better” if both countries agreed to an MoU before the midterms, but that the US dictates the timeline.
Productive talks continue
- Araghchi added that the moment the US accepts its plan, a “timetable can start, and after seven days, the Strait will be open.”
- Recent talks held on the sidelines of the UN were reportedly productive for both sides.
- A White House official said the US and Iran “are having positive and constructive discussions through the mediators”.
3 min read
The Reform MPs who face losing their seats according to new poll
Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman are among four Reform UK MPs who would lose their seats if a general election were held tomorrow, fresh polling by YouGov shows.
Falling behind the Tories
Tory defector Danny Kruger and Sarah Pochin – who beat Labour in a 2025 by-election – would also be unseated, according to the leading UK pollster’s first large-scale election modelling since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.
Although the party’s numbers of MPs would hugely increase, it would have fewer seats than the Tories overall, marking a significant fall when compared to last year’s polling.
How a Labour government could be formed
The poll predicts that Labour would be the biggest party in a hung parliament.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey recently ruled out forming a coalition with Reform or the Tories but stopped short of excluding a coalition with Labour.
However, to form a Parliamentary majority in this scenario, Burnham would also need to work with the SNP or Plaid Cymru.
3 min read
5 min read
Reform expanding its operations
The polling comes as Reform is preparing a huge expansion of its operations around the country, targeting London, the South East, the South West and the East of England.
- Analysis of Reform job adverts by The i Paper suggests the party is pumping resources into areas where it wants to keep its high-profile Tory defectors.
There’s turmoil in the Liberal Democrats. And MPs are struggling for direction
Stagnant in the polls but still a potential kingmaker, the party’s at a crossroads – even its own members are asking what comes next.
Record number of assaults on Britain’s trains – what to know
Assaults on Britain’s railways have hit record levels, new figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have revealed.
The numbers
The data published on Thursday showed there were 13,464 reported assaults on people who were not railway workers between April 2025 and March 2026, an increase of 36 per cent compared to the previous year.
- 11,289 assaults on rail workers on mainline networks were also recorded, an increase of 12 per cent. This included 6,390 incidents of verbal abuse, 2,487 physical assaults and 2,412 threats.
Working to make railways safer
No-one on the railway should be subjected to violence, threats or abuse. We’re working with industry and our trade union colleagues to address work-related violence and harassment, including through recent guidance which sets out what we expect from rail employers.
Richard Hines, ORR’s chief inspector railways
Walkers reveals three new crisp flavours
Three new “gold” flavours of Walkers are now available for crisp lovers. The new snacks mark the brand’s biggest revamp in 80 years.
What are the flavours and how much are they?
The new flavours are black truffle, sea salt and olive oil and Somerset mature cheddar and onion.
Each pack is branded as “Premium Potato Crisps”.
The crisps come in 140g bags and can currently be bought for £2 each.
Where you can buy them
The entire range launched on Ocado officially today, but from October 12, they will be widely available in major UK supermarkets for a cheaper price of £1.50.
4 min read
4 min read
Nandy said some youngsters could be identified as being at risk from as young as five, but could later become “invisible” to the state before eventually leaving education and appearing in national figures as not in employment, education or training (NEETs).
The announcement is the first major policy announcement of the Labour Party conference, which begins tomorrow, aimed at showing how the Government intends to deliver a message of hope to young people.
The move comes as the Government considers Alan Milburn’s review into young people who become economically inactive, including those who fall out of education, employment or training.
Nandy’s focus, however, is on intervening earlier – arguing that warning signs can be visible years before young people reach 16 and become detached from education or work.
The youth workers will be embedded in local authorities and tasked with finding young people who are not accessing existing services and supporting them before they reach crisis point.
She said some children could be persistently absent or late from school, go missing from home or become involved with social services, before eventually retreating into their bedrooms or spending much of their time online.
Nandy described the million young people who are NEETs as “an abject failure of the state”, saying it had failed to hang on to young people and “wrap our arms around them from an early age”.
She said the new youth workers would be the first step in repairing what she described as damage caused by the previous Conservative governments, which she claimed had presided over the loss of 4,500 youth workers over 14 years.
The youth workers will operate in community spaces and alongside services including schools and police, offering help with employment, financial literacy, mental health, youth violence and knife crime.
The Government says local authority spending on youth services fell by 73 per cent between 2010 and 2023, with around 1,000 youth centres lost across England.
Nandy said the investment was also intended to reduce long-term welfare dependency. “For those young people, they often go straight through school, college years without any support outside of the home and with limited support inside school,” she said.
“And then they come out of the education system and go straight onto benefits and are trapped on benefits for life without any opportunity to live the life that they might have lived.
“And I think it’s a tragedy and a disgrace and we won’t put up with it.”
Nandy acknowledged that welfare would remain the only option for some people, particularly those with long-term disabilities or chronic conditions.
“But that cannot be the case for a million young people in this country,” she said. “For this group of young people in particular, we’ve let them down very badly.”
“By the time they get to 14, they don’t believe it’s possible anymore,” she said. “They’re often right to believe that because successive governments have abandoned them. We’re not prepared to do it.”
Nandy said there was evidence that getting young people involved in activities outside school could improve their long-term prospects.
She said early intervention was “the only thing to do if you want to get the welfare bill down”, while acknowledging that the Government had not carried out an assessment of how much the programme itself would save.
“Nobody’s done this properly, if I’m honest,” she said.
The Culture Secretary was also pressed on whether the Government should reconsider the state pension triple lock, amid arguments that younger generations face greater economic pressures than previous generations.
She rejected the idea of a generational trade-off, pointing to the record of the previous Labour government on both child and pensioner poverty.
“I think the last Labour government managed to lift a million children out of poverty and make biggest impact on pensioner poverty of any government in history,” she said. “I think they proved that both things are possible at once.”
Asked directly about the triple lock, Nandy said: “Obviously, that’s a question for the Chancellor and he is currently looking at all of the issues in the budget.
“But we’ve said many times that we’ve got no plan to get rid of the triple lock and that remains the case as it currently stands.”