Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Monday’s front pages are split between plans to raise taxes while cutting public spending and the dire state of the NHS.
A revised migrant deal with France and a Christiano Ronaldo exclusive also make the front splashes.
Several newspapers feature images of the Princess of Wales at Remembrance Sunday and England’s world cup T20 victory.
Migrant deal revised
The Times leads with the revised deal with France to try to stop people crossing the English Channel in small boats. The paper says it will be signed on Monday morning and that the government hopes to reach “a further and more substantial deal” next year. The Times says the Home Office believes the people smugglers’ business model would be destroyed if France intercepted about 75 per cent of boats attempting to cross the channel.
The Sun’s editorial argues that the trafficking of migrants will not stop until the rewriting of what it calls “loophole-ridden human rights legislation” and the Modern Slavery Act.
Tax rises and spending cuts
PM Rishi Sunak’s warning that the UK could face another financial meltdown without tax rises and spending cuts – set to be announced Thursday, also makes the front pages.
The Financial Times reports the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned Jeremy Hunt that without fiscal tightening government borrowing could be £70bn higher than expected in five years’ time. The paper says the deterioration estimated by the government’s independent forecaster is much greater than that calculated by think tanks like the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The Daily Telegraph’s editorial warns the PM and Chancellor that as they try to correct the mistakes made by former PM Liz Truss, they are in danger of overcompensating and strangling the economy – just as it is set to enter a deep recession. The paper says Mr Hunt’s plan – from what they know of it – will damage business confidence and hit consumer spending.
According to the i, the government’s energy price guarantee will be scrapped in April and a new scheme will be announced to help the most vulnerable. The paper says for everyone else, bills will rise by hundreds of pounds.
The Express leads with Chancellor Hunt’s warning that everyone will have to make sacrifices to get the country through “very chopping waters” ahead. The paper notes the chancellor acknowledged his plans were “horrible” while hinting NHS funding could be safe from the upcoming budgets.
Dire state of the NHS
“Last chance to save our NHS,” says the headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror. The paper says the union Unite is warning the chancellor that the health service could collapse if he fails to inject cash into it. The union’s general secretary tells the paper that services are at breaking point while workers are struggling to make ends meet.
The Guardian analysed NHS data saying it found that last month an average of one in seven beds in acute hospitals in England was occupied by a patient who was fit to be discharged but could not be because of a chronic lack of social care. The paper says the situation in two trusts – North Bristol and Wrightington and Wigan and Leigh – was particularly bad. One-third of patients were reportedly well enough to leave.
Ronaldo exclusive – Manchester United betrayed me
The Sun newspaper has an exclusive from Piers Morgan’s interview with Cristiano Ronaldo – in which the footballer opens up about his fraught relationship with the club that made him a star. The paper reports Ronaldo claims Man Utd bosses are trying to force him out and he says he has no respect for the manager Erik ten Hag. Ronaldo says the club showed a lack of empathy following the death of his infant child earlier this year but praised how Liverpool and Manchester football fans supported him.
England cricket’s victory at the T20 world cup also makes the front pages.
