A rather cloudy day across the central swathe of the UK with outbreaks of rain. Elsewhere, fog patches gradually lifting allowing some bright or sunny spells to develop, especially across Scotland and Northern Ireland. Temperatures near or slightly below average.
Editorial 11 September 2024
Wednesday’s front pages feature a few leads with several papers focusing on the early release of prisoners in England and Wales. Many of those papers are traditionally right-leaning and see the early release as a ‘day of shame’ for the country and most feature images of men celebrating their release.
The Commons vote on cutting winter fuel payments is picked up by many other publications. The traditional left-leaning newspapers suggest the public move on from the fuel payments and instead focus on supporting the government in its plans to fix public services.
A few international stories make the broadsheet front pages as US President Joe Biden is reportedly weighing up whether Ukraine can use American long-range missiles in Russia.
In a bid to ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons across England and Wales, the government has introduced a scheme that has seen prisoners granted early release.
The Daily Telegraph features a recently released offender, pictured giving the thumbs-up as he was freed from Durham jail.
A picture on the front of the Daily Mail shows a prisoner at Nottingham jail being sprayed with champagne. The paper describes it as “sickening celebrations.” The paper expresses its outrage over the release including one offender being “greeted by friends in a Lamborghini,” and another vowing he’s now a “life-long Labour voter.”
“A day of shame” is The Sun’s take on the early release of prisoners – to tackle overcrowding in prisons. Surprisingly, an opinion piece, acknowledges that the circumstances which have led to the release scheme cannot be blamed solely on the new government and points out that overcrowding “dates back at least to Tony Blair’s era.”
Away from the early release of prisoners, Tuesday’s Commons vote on winter fuel payments also makes the front pages.
The paper says the Commons vote on government plans to restrict winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners. The paper says the approval of the move by MPs will embolden the Labour leadership. It reports sources in the leadership saying they feel able to press ahead with plans “without fear of a major revolt”.
In its editorial, the paper argues that even though the PM’s team may have “dodged a disaster” there are “signs of trouble ahead.” It warns that next month’s Budget will be full of “thorny clauses” on taxes and spending.
An opinion column in the paper suggests the prime minister should “take the win and let the matter rest there.” It says he should move his focus onto improving the fiscal conditions of the UK and focus on “fixing public services,” like the NHS. The government must make “the right choices, not just tough choices.”
On the front page the Guardian leads with news that whilst MPs backed the government plans on winter fuel payments, dozens of Labour MPs abstained in the vote and says the prime minister now faces pressure on helping the poorest in next month’s Budget.
The Mirror has a similar take to the Guardian. The paper says PM Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers ought to be coaxing the public’s attention back to the “much that is good in what the government is doing.”
A handful of newspapers lead on international news.
The Telegraph reports that Joe Biden is set to lift a ban on long-range missiles supplied by the US and UK being fired into Russia by Ukraine. The paper says Biden is considering the policy change after it emerged Iran was arming Russians with ballistic missiles that could reach Ukraine. The move will be discussed at a White House summit this week.
The Times also leads on the suggestions Ukraine will be given the green light to use long-range missiles in Russia. The paper says any change would be a pivotal moment in the war as up to now the US has had reservations due to fears it could lead to an escalation in the war.
The FT leads on a court ruling that orders US company Apple to pay €13bn in taxes, overturning an earlier decision in the tech’s giant favour.
A handful of UK papers report on domestic showbiz stories.
Metro focuses on a ruling that says there is no “clear” connection between a man’s appearance as a guest on the daytime TV show Jeremy Kyle Show and his suicide. The former presenter of the show spoke on the “huge toll” the case has taken on him – which also led to the show being cancelled back in 2019.
The Daily Mirror’s main story is on the BBC investigation into abuse claim made by Amanda Abbington against her Strictly dance partner Giovanni Pernice. The paper claims staff working on the show were made to hand over their phones so their messages could be examined in case they “shed light” on the allegations.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is under fire after making a gesture at a rally celebrating President Donald Trump’s return to office. Critics have likened the movement to a “Nazi salute.”
Colombia has declared a state of emergency and deployed 5,000 troops to combat left-wing guerrillas after violence claimed over 100 lives in just five days. The conflict spans three departments, from the southern Amazon to the Venezuelan border, where nearly 20,000 people have been displaced.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). This move revives his previous efforts to leave the global health agency, which President Joe Biden had reversed during his tenure.
President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders focused on immigration reform, including declaring illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border a national emergency and targeting birthright citizenship.
Panama’s president firmly rejected Donald Trump’s claim to “take back” the Panama Canal, emphasising that the vital trade route “is and will remain” under Panama’s control.
On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump addressed supporters in Washington, pledging to stop what he called an “invasion” of immigrants at the southern border. He singled out Venezuelan migrants and vowed to expel members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
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A February interest rate cut is a “certainty” after new data suggests that inflationary pressures are weaker than previously thought, but the path beyond remains unclear.
Economists expect the Bank of England to back a third rate cut next month after two important pieces of economic data were published this week.
Figures out on Wednesday showed that the headline rate of inflation fell to 2.5 per cent in December, down from 2.6 per cent previously and below expectations.
Rate-setters will likely have been paying particular attention to services inflation, which is a good gauge of domestic price pressures.
https://www.cityam.com/uk-economy-interest-rate-cut-a-certainty-in-february-after-weak-data/
A quick rundown of the markets. Although daily fluctuations are not always important unless you are investing, an overall look provides insights into how these changes will impact your future Markets Indices Crypto More UK media outlets are being bought by foreign investors. The Spectator has been sold for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, a hedge fund tycoon and major investor in GB News. It went back on sale in April after an Abu Dhabi-backed
UK wage growth slows – will interest rates fall? UK wage growth slowed in the three months to July, as payroll employment and hiring weakened, official data on Tuesday showed. Annual earnings growth, excluding bonuses, declined to 5.1 per cent, down from 5.4 per cent in the three months to May, the Office for National Statistics said. The figure was in line with analysts’ expectations. This means pensions will rise much faster than working-age benefits,
Brussels won a landmark antitrust case against Google Brussels won a landmark antitrust case against Google after the ECJ ruled that the search giant abused its market power by ranking its shopping services over rivals — granting itself an illegal and unfair advantage. The court upheld a €2.4bn EU competition fine against Google in the case. Ths means instagram shoppers and Tiktok shopping will likely see a boost in search rankings which previously were monopolized
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