Many of Satuday’s papers lead on the upcoming Budget after Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared to back away from hiking income tax. The Financial Times says investors have “lost faith” in the Budget after UK borrowing costs rose “sharply” on Friday. Fund manager Mike Riddell tells the paper the market has been “led up the garden path” after the chancellor previously indicated tax rises were possible.
There is “panic at No 10” according to an unnamed government source quoted by The Independent, which says the “shock tax U-turn” has made markets nervous. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is attempting “to quell growing party rebellion” after leadership challenge talk in Westminster this week, the paper reports.
The Daily Mail says the chancellor has “lost control” and calls Reeves’s Budget “shambolic”, dubbing the apparent shift on income tax as “humiliating”. Unnamed government sources told the paper the decision came after the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast public finances were healthier than had been expected.
The Times writes that the Treasury is now banking on extending the freeze to income tax thresholds – which it refers to as a “stealth tax” – to raise the funds it needs. The paper reports that Reeves will confirm the rates at which people begin to pay income tax will stay the same until 2030, extending a policy first introduced under the Conservative government. That raises the prospect of state pension recipients paying income tax for the first time from next year.
The Guardian says the threshold freeze “will raise £7.5bn from millions of workers” as inflation pushes people into higher tax bands. Pictured is Radio 2 host Sara Cox, who has raised £7m for Children In Need after finishing an ultra-marathon challenge.
The Daily Telegraph says property tax changes expected in the Budget will “hit the middle classes”. The chancellor is reportedly considering an additional surcharge on some high-value properties on top of the council tax they already pay.
The i Paper says No 10 has blamed its own MPs for “market jitters” this week. Borrowing costs shot up on Friday when reports emerged the chancellor was abandoning plans to raise income tax. Downing Street reportedly lays the blame at the feet of rebels MPS who blocked cuts to disability benefits earlier this year, saying it had “spooked markets”.
A plea from a terminally ill grandmother to “show you care” leads the Daily Express, as she asks for the assisted dying bill to be passed. Also on the front page, King Charles III’s birthday is marked with a snap of the monarch setting off for a ramble.
The Daily Mirrors leads on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here star Shona McGarty. The EastEnders actress tells the paper: “I’m in the Jungle to show anxiety who’s boss.”
Robbie Williams tells the Sun that he has been left with blurry vision after taking a weight loss drug. The singer spoke to the paper about his apparent side effects but said he still intends to keep on using the jabs.
Finally, the Daily Star pictures Peter Mandelson leaving what it says is the home of ex-chancellor George Osborne. Madelson, who quit as ambassador to the US in September over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, appeared to urinate on a wall as he made his way home, the paper claims. It calls the incident a “leak scandal”.
The Daily Telegraph says Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning to introduce a new tax on high-value homes in the Budget. The report says 2.4m properties – across the council tax bands F, G and H – will be affected by the move. Ms Reeves has ditched plans to raise income tax which, according to The Daily Mail, shows she has “lost control”. The paper says the chancellor has been accused of “presiding over the most shambolic Budget in history”. “Investors lose faith in Reeves Budget” says The Financial Times. Its report notes a “sharp rise” in the government’s borrowing costs on Friday, after the apparent U-turn. The Times calls it the worst day for UK debt markets since July, when the chancellor was seen looking tearful in the Commons. Reeves has previously said she will make “fair” choices to shore up the public finances.
The US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza, according to a report in The Guardian. The paper says the Israeli military and other international forces would control a “green zone”, where reconstruction would start, while a “red zone” would be left in ruins. A US official, speaking to the Guardian on condition of anonymity, says “it’s not going to be easy”.
A terminally ill woman’s call for the House of Lords to pass assisted dying legislation leads The Daily Express. Its headline reads “show you care and stop delaying right to die law”. Peers recently suggested more than 900 amendments to the bill.
The Times reports on Waitrose ditching frozen turkeys, with research showing that fewer than half of households are likely to eat it on Christmas Day this year. The paper says research by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Boards shows that 51% of people who celebrated Christmas ate turkey in 2023, down from 60 per cent three years earlier.
The Daily Star says that the former US ambassador, Lord Mandelson, has been caught up in what it calls a “new leak scandal”, after being photographed urinating in public. He has apologised, saying he’d been bursting while waiting for a cab on the street. The Star’s headline puns: “It’s Pee-ter Mandelson”.
