‘Rachel Reeves’ Budget Ledger’ and ‘Jury trials scrapped’
Budget day has arrived and its policies, forecasts and preparations have filled the front pages of newspapers. The Sun said Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce “new taxes on leisure” and lists “jobs, pensions, homes, taxis, milkshakes and hotel stays” as areas that will be affected, with “cash being directed to the NHS and benefits”. He adds that drivers will be relieved that the “fuel duty freeze” will be extended.
iPaper writes that Reeves faces a “moment of truth” in filing his financial disclosure while “caught between the Reform wave on the right and the demands of Labor MPs on the left”. The newspaper expects the Chancellor to scrap the two-child benefit cap and confirm an above-inflation increase in minimum wages.
The Financial Times predicts the chancellor will later present a “tax rise budget” to the House of Commons. His second budget will “fill a fiscal gap of around £30bn with a series of big tax increases alongside spending cuts”, according to the newspaper. The newspaper writes that freezing income tax thresholds until 2030 and increasing minimum wages will be included in the Budget.
“After weeks of leaks, Britain faces a chilling winter budget,” Metro reports. The paper says increased taxes could lead to increased costs of “booze, candy, nights out and even your latte.” The Chancellor’s call for Labor MPs to “support my bid to balance the books” also features on the front page, urging colleagues to treat the Budget as “a package, not a pick and mix”.
The Daily Star reports that the chancellor is “expanding the sugar tax to cover milkshakes and more fizzy drinks”. “The Chancellor is milking us for all we’re worth,” the paper’s view said, adding for good measure that he would not be offering voters any “sweetener”.
A “chorus of business leaders and economists” warned the chancellor that “an inflationary increase in the minimum wage would threaten to put even more young people out of work.” The newspaper warned that an 8.5 per cent minimum wage increase for 18-20s would create a “spiral” in employer costs.
The Guardian says Reeves has promised to “tackle Britain’s cost of living crisis and deliver financial stability”. He writes that the budget increase was “balanced by a series of damaging leaks and speculation” and describes the risks as “a decisive moment for the company’s fate”. [Prime Minister Sir] Keir Starmer’s beleaguered government”.
Expected minimum wage increases are on the front page of the Daily Mirror on Budget day. He says the increase of 8.5 percent for those aged 18-20 will “put more money into the pockets of millions of low-wage workers.”
“Smorgasbord budget could cost families £1,600,” says the Times, as the Chancellor prepares to introduce “more than a dozen tax rises”. There is also a tribute to Joan Templeman, who was married to Virgin group boss Sir Richard Branson, on the front page after her death at the age of 80.
Meanwhile, the Daily Express is spearheading the government’s “plan to have only judges hear cases where sentences are up to five years”. Critics say “abolishing jury trials would ‘destroy’ the justice system, fail victims and increase the likelihood of wrongful convictions,” the paper said. It is stated that the warnings of legal experts reached the ears of Justice Minister David Lammy, who considered the proposal as part of his efforts to “reduce the backlog of the Royal Court”.
The Daily Telegraph also leads Lammy’s suggestion that juries be limited to “cases of murder, rape, manslaughter and other serious crimes lasting more than five years”. The newspaper quotes the deputy prime minister’s earlier claim that jury trials are “the foundation of democracy”.
Finally, the Independent breaks down the latest on efforts to broker a Ukraine-Russia peace deal. The newspaper writes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “ready to move forward with the European plan” and describes it as “an important diplomatic exchange”.
