Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
A variety of stories are dominating Friday’s newspapers.
Christmas chaos amid winter of discontent
The i newspaper forecasts a “new winter of discontent” – the paper reports that civil servants have voted to strike, following nurses, binmen, postal workers and university lecturers.
Resentment has been building in overstretched public serves, the i says, and whilst PM Rishi Sunak has taken a more conciliatory approach than Truss and Johnson, workers and the state remain far apart on any possible wage deals.
The Sun predicts “mayhem” while the Daily Telegraph warns of “Christmas chaos”. It says the PCS union, which represents civil servants, has threatened to “conspire” with other bodies to ensure maximum disruption.
Autumn statement & Kwarteng speaks on mini-budget
The Telegraph speculates chancellor Jeremy Hunt is plotting a change to VAT rules which will amount to “a stealth tax raid on small businesses”. Whist the Express leads with concern that the chancellor could delay introducing a cap on social care costs. The Daily Mail warns the government against “overdoing the hair shirt” saying it must not take too much money out of people’s pockets.
Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s TalkTV interview makes the front page of several papers, including the Times. The paper reports Mr Kwarteng said he tried to warn Liz Truss against introducing too many measures all at once as part of the mini-budget. He said the former PM ignored his concerts and that he told her: “You will have two months if you carry on like this.” – She stepped down from office a week after she sacked her chancellor.
The Daily Mirror calls the former chancellor “bitter” and accuses him of “lashing out” at his former boss.
Just Stop Oil protests & David Walliams controversy
The Daily Mail’s front page shows a crowd of cops on the M25 under a single protester on a gantry. “What is the point of these police?”, saying the cops have defied calls from the Home Secretary for a crackdown on what the paper calls “disruptive eco-zealots”.
The Sun agrees that “the policing of these extremists is a laughing stock”. It says the public has had enough.
The comments made by comedian David Walliams have the Mail asking if he still has a future as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent. The Guardian says the comments made by Walliams “contribute to the ongoing debate about the ethics of reality TV and its treatment of members of the public”. The Mirror quotes an insider as saying they haven’t decided on the lineup of judges for the next series just yet and that “this is a very bad look for a family show”.
