Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Wednesday’s front pages are heavily dominated by the chancellor’s search for spending cuts. There are fears over a pension triple lock axe, train strikes and tanking opinion polls.
As part of the revised budget plans, Downing Street may abandon the pensions triple lock and postpone the cap on social care costs. Meanwhile, the prime minister continues to face fresh peril as her personal popularity in opinion polls drops to -70.
Many of the papers look at the prime minister’s future amid the political and economic chaos.
PM Liz Truss faces fresh peril
The i newspaper’s front page says “Pensions U-turn leaves Truss facing fresh peril,” after Downing Street suggested the state pension could rise in line with earnings rather than inflation.
The Daily Mail uses figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies to say that such a move would cost OAPs £8.35 a week.
The Daily Express’ front page headline: “Don’t dare go back on pension triple lock.” The paper quotes Age UK’s Caroline Abrahams who said that not tying the increase to inflation would be “viewed by many as a breach of faith.”
Bank profits are in the “line of fire,” as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt looks to make up the £40bn fiscal hole, according to the Financial Times.
The latest from Westminster suggests the new chancellor is thinking of whether to tax banks at 33% – made up of the new 25% corporation rate as well as an existing 8 per cent bank surcharge.
The Times says the cap on social care costs in England is also being looked at as part of the package of cuts. The £86,000 lifetime cap was die to come into force in October 2023 but delaying reforms for a year would save £1bn.
Liz Truss PM – but for how long?
The future of Liz Truss’s premiership continues to dominate the newspapers and the online media.
“Truss hit by minus strike,” declares the Metro. The paper leads with a YouGov poll which says her popularity rating is at -70 – that figure is lower than Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.
The Daily Mail doesn’t think Truss will be going anywhere just yet, as they report the 1922 Committee chair – Sir Graham Brady believes the PM and new chancellor deserve more time to set out their economic strategy.
The Guardian says ministers are capitalising on the PM’s weakness and “resist deep cuts” to departmental budgets.
Russia nuclear fears
The Sun reports there are growing fears in the west of nuclear weapons being used by Russia. The west fears Putin will detonate a warhead over the Black Sea as a show of force. The paper says Ben Wallace has been sent to Washington DC for “crisis talks.”
The Daily Telegraph leads with a source who said the session was a “planning meeting” to respond to Russian aggression. Mr Wallace and his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, also spoke about recent civilian drone strikes in Kyiv.
The Daily Mail reports that Albanian migrants have been “fast-tracked” out of Britain just days after crossing the Channel.