Budget day has arrived and its policies, predictions and preparations have filled the front pages of newspapers. The Sun says Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce “new taxes on leisure” and lists “work, pensions, homes, taxis, milkshakes, hotel stays” as areas that will be affected, with “cash to be redirected to the NHS and benefits”. It said motorists would be relieved by the possible extension of the “fuel duty freeze”.
The iPaper writes that Reeves faces a “moment of truth” as she delivers a fiscal statement while “caught between the wave of reform on the right and the demands of Labor MPs on the left”. The newspaper expects the Chancellor to remove the two-child benefit cap and confirm an above-inflation rise in the minimum wage.
The Financial Times estimates that the Chancellor will present a “tax-raising budget” in the Commons later. According to the newspaper, his second budget “will close the fiscal gap of about £30 billion with a series of spending cuts as well as large tax increases”. The newspaper writes that stabilizing the income tax threshold by 2030 and increasing the minimum wage have been included in the budget.
Metro leads, “After weeks of leaks, Britain faces tough winter budget.” The newspaper says that increasing taxes could also increase the prices of “alcohol, sugar, nights out and even your coffee latte”. The Chancellor’s appeal to Labor MPs to “support my effort to balance the books” also appeared on the front page, and colleagues were urged to treat the Budget as “a package – not a pick’n’mix”.
The Daily Star reports that the Chancellor is “expanding the sugar tax to cover milkshakes and more fizzy drinks”. The newspaper opined that “the Chancellor milks us for all we deserve” and also said it would not offer voters a “sweetener”.
The “group of business leaders and economists” warned the Chancellor that “inflation-busting increases to the minimum wage risk pushing even more young people out of work”. The newspaper writes that he warned that an 8.5% increase in the minimum wage for 18-20s would “increase” costs to employers.
The Guardian says Reeves has promised to “tackle Britain’s cost of living crisis and deliver fiscal stability”. It wrote that the budget run-up was “marred by a series of damaging leaks and speculation”, describing the stakes as “a decisive moment for the fate of (Prime Minister Sir) Keir Starmer’s beleaguered government”.
Expected minimum wage rise on Budget day is on the front page of the Daily Mirror. It said the increase, which peaks at 8.5% for 18-20 year olds, would “put more money in the pockets of millions of low-wage workers”.
The Times believes “the smorgasbord Budget could cost families as much as £1,600”, as the Chancellor prepares to deliver “more than a dozen tax rises”. A front-page tribute has also been paid to Joan Templeman, who was married to Virgin Group boss Sir Richard Branson, following her death at the age of 80.
Meanwhile, the Daily Express is pressing ahead with the government’s “plan for judges to hear cases carrying sentences of up to five years only”. Critics say “eliminating jury trials would ‘destroy’ the justice system, fail victims and increase the likelihood of wrongful convictions”, the newspaper writes. It said warnings from legal experts had reached the ears of Justice Secretary David Lammy, who is considering the proposal as part of efforts to “reduce the Crown Court backlog”.
The Daily Telegraph has also led Lammy’s proposal to limit juries to “cases of murder, rape, manslaughter and other serious crimes over five years”. The newspaper quotes the Deputy Prime Minister’s previous argument that jury trials are “fundamental to democracy”.
Finally, Independent is leading the latest efforts for a Ukraine-Russia peace agreement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “ready to move forward” with the European plan, the newspaper writes, calling it an “important diplomatic shift.”
