Exclusive: Public swimming pools and car washes in parts of southern England face closure within days because of severe drought. The Defra secretary Angela Eagle will decide next week whether to impose “non-essential use bans” in West Sussex and Somerset at the request of two water companies. She has sped up the process because of severely low reservoir levels. It would be the first time the bans have been used in Britain for 20 years. The restrictions would stop any businesses from using excessive water for non-essential services. They would effectively shut down all car washes and swimming pools in the areas and business owners may be eligible for compensation. Defra officials believe that without heavy rain this winter, reservoirs won’t return to normal levels before next summer. Story: telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10…

Stealing oomf's old tweet London ✅ Birmingham ❌ Glasgow ✅ Liverpool ❌ Bristol ❌ Manchester ✅ Sheffield ❌ Leeds ✅ Edinburgh ✅ Leicester ❌ Coventry ❌ Bradford ✅ Cardiff ✅ Belfast ❌ Nottingham ❌ Hull ❌ Newcastle ❌ Stoke ❌ Southampton ❌ Derby ❌

🧵Tracking latest forced choice PM heads to heads 🌹Burnham wins handily against all alternatives, closest but still clear against Badenoch, overwhelmingly against Polanski. 🌳Badenoch beats the other 4 leaders. ➡️Farage only wins against Polanski 🌍Polanski now loses all of the head to heads Lowe above Farage/Polanski but caveat of much lower name recognition.

MP harassed for 'being English' by man who took axe to pub bbc.in/4yyak5u

I wanted a garden shed. My wife knew that but got me a greenhouse for my birthday. On the one hand, it's lovely. On the other, I didn't want to grow plants in the shed.

Formula E has come a long long way since those mid-race car swaps 😮‍💨 Here's a look at each generation of Formula E 👇

Oh dear, Peter. In March 1917 the Kaiser's ally, Emperor Karl of Austria, proposed precisely such a peace settlement: restoration of Belgian sovereignty and Alsace-Lorraine to France. He urged Kaiser Wilhelm to agree. It's called the Sixtus Affair. Rather unfortunate to lecture others on knowing “very little about war or politics” while overlooking one of the most remarkable peace initiatives of the Great War. Like Putin, Wilhelm rejected the approach because Germany's military leadership still believed victory was possible and refused to surrender its territorial gains. A catastrophic miscalculation. Instead of negotiating from strength in 1917, Germany fought on to unconditional military defeat, revolution and the Kaiser's abdication in 1918. The real lesson of 1917 is the folly of confusing the ability to continue a war with the wisdom of doing so.

Arriving into St Pancras does make you a bit proud. Eurostar train to the underground in about 5 minutes and unlike arriving into many airports the elegant building, bustle of the station and attractive public realm must give a great first impression of Britain.