The Guardian – Reeves Plans Tax Rise Amid Alarm Over ‘Black Hole’
The Guardian says October’s budget could reveal higher taxes, spending cuts and a crackdown on benefits amid Treasury alarm that the pickup in the economy has failed to improve the poor state of the public finances. King Charles is featured on the front as he met with hundreds of people in Southport on Tuesday after travelling to meet with those affected by last month’s knife attack. A third story on the front page reports that hopes are fading to find the missing six people involved in the luxury yacht sinking.
Rachel Reeves planning to raise taxes and cut spending in October budget
Rachel Reeves is planning to raise taxes, cut spending and get tough on benefits in October’s budget amid Treasury alarm that the pickup in the economy has failed to improve the poor state of the public finances.
The chancellor is insisting she will still have a substantial black hole to fill despite stronger than expected growth in the first half of 2024.
Strong spending on public services and welfare pushed government borrowing to £3.1bn last month, more than double its level in the same month a year earlier and worse than experts had expected, according to figures released on Wednesday from the Office for National Statistics.
The deficit was the highest for a July in three years and £3bn higher than expected by the government’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
King Charles greeted by crowd in Southport as he meets those affected by attack
King Charles was greeted by hundreds of people in Southport on Tuesday as he visited Merseyside to meet those affected by last month’s knife attack.
Members of the crowd, some of whom had been waiting hours for the king’s arrival, cheered and applauded as he arrived at Southport town hall. A number of them waved union flags and shouted “God save the king.”
The monarch stepped out of his car just after 1.30pm, before stopping to read some of the hundreds of tributes that lay among flowers, balloons and cuddly toys, left the on fountain outside the building in memory of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who all died as a result of the attack.
Sicily yacht sinking: search resumes for Mike Lynch and five others missing – updates
Divers resumed a search this morning for survivors after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily early Monday.
Six people including the software tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter, Hannah, remain unaccounted for, as rescue teams have struggled to reach inside the yacht.
A Reuters photographer saw coast guard rescue vessels leave Porticello early today to head for the site of the incident.
Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
If you are someone who reads every perspective of a story, here is a news summary of all of today’s front pages from today’s newspapers; summarised in a 2-minute read
Editorial 21 August 2024.
Wednesday’s front pages reflect the latest in the luxury yacht sinking off the coast of Sicily as more details have emerged about those missing. Many of the papers report on rescue crews attempting to access the sunken ship with some speculating if anyone could still be alive.
Elsewhere, King Charles is pictured on most of the front splashes as he visited with victims of the Southport victims. The king is seen on the front viewing flower tributes to the three little girls who were killed.
Domestic politics and showbiz stories are sprinkled across the front pages, though there is little unity in their political and celebrity front page reports.
