The results of the budget presented on Wednesday are dominating the front pages. Government borrowing costs rose to their highest this year on Thursday amid investor concerns over additional borrowing needed to fund government plans, the Financial Times says. The newspaper says the rise took rates closer to those seen after Liz Truss’s 2022 mini-budget, which sparked the financial crisis, although it also says “many ignored any similarity”. Done”, and quoted an analyst as saying “This doesn’t seem like a repeat of the market’s reaction” again.
The Daily Telegraph says the markets have “turned on” Chancellor Rachel Reeves and are “selling off UK assets rapidly”. [her] Debt-based spending plans”. This quotes from an interview with Bloomberg in which Reeves sought to reassure markets, saying that public finances were on a “stable trajectory” and that “fiscal sustainability” was his “number one commitment”.
According to Eye, economists have warned that interest rates will fall more slowly as a result of the budget. But the newspaper also quotes the International Monetary Fund supporting the budget, saying it supports “the envisaged reduction in the deficit over the medium term”.
The Guardian says Reeves has been warned that some public services may need an extra £9 billion in tax rises to avoid a new round of austerity. It quoted Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, as saying that Reeves was effectively pretending that she planned to provide generous funding to government departments and subsequently rein in public spending. “That’s not going to happen,” he says. “The spending plans won’t keep up with his Cabinet colleagues.”
The headline in the Sun is, “A kick in the oxen”. The paper says farmers are angry at the changes, which mean family farmers will have to pay inheritance tax at an effective rate of 20% on estates worth more than £1 million. It said some were warning of “massive disruption” and potential food shortages due to the move.
The Daily Mail says the Chancellor’s decision to increase national insurance contributions paid by employers will cost charities £1.4 billion a year. The newspaper says charity bosses have warned the changes could mean they have to cut services, lay off staff and even close and have asked Reeves to stop them from paying tax. Have asked for complete exemption.
According to the Times, the total cost of sickness benefits is likely to reach £100 billion a year by the end of this parliamentary term. The paper says the rise in claims after the pandemic is becoming permanent due to the decline in population health, and that it is unusual for the UK in the developed world not to see a decline in numbers after the pandemic passes. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has been quoted as calling the trend “unacceptable” and saying the government will “bring forward a proper plan to get Britain back to work”.
The Metro reports that a total of 421 people have told lawyers they were victims of or witnessed sexual abuse by former Harrods boss Mohammed Al Fayed. The newspaper reports that the Justice for Harrods survivors group says most of the alleged abuse occurred “in a Harrods context”, although some occurred at Fulham FC, which was also owned by Al Fayed at the time, and elsewhere. Harrods’ new bosses previously said they were “completely shocked” by the allegations and were investigating whether any current staff were involved.
And the Daily Mirror has published a photo of a street in Valencia devastated by floods that have hit eastern and southern Spain in recent days. The newspaper says the death toll has reached 158, with rescue workers searching for survivors and residents “trapped in a nightmare”. In this, quoting experts, climate change has been held responsible for the floods and it has been warned that more disasters will come.