Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch’s promise to abolish stamp duty on the purchase of main houses is on the agenda of many newspapers. Badenoch used his speech at the party conference to announce that he would abolish the tax to “unleash the ‘dream of home ownership’ for millions of people”, the Daily Express reported. It is described as a “barnstorming speech filled with humor and personal emotion.”
“Kemi fires up Tory party by promising to abolish hated stamp duty,” reads the Daily Mail’s front-page headline. The report also said he “thrilled the Tory party conference by announcing plans for an audacious £9bn tax cut funded by a crackdown on welfare and waste”. The paper also quotes former pop star Victoria Beckham, once known as Posh Spice; Beckham opens up about her experience with an eating disorder in a new Netflix documentary.
i Paper focuses on the potential impact of the Conservative Party’s stamp duty pledge on the November Budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is “believed to be considering introducing a new property tax to replace stamp duty and now faces extra political pressure to fight back against the Conservatives next month”, according to the newspaper.
The Financial Times is leading the way in warnings from leading financial institutions, the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund, that the AI boom could cause a “sudden correction” in the stock market. The article explains that this could trigger a “dotcom” event, citing the investor boom in internet start-ups in the late 1990s, some of which “exploded” in the early 2000s.
The Daily Telegraph leads the way as former senior civil servant Lord Case questions Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s explanation of why the “case” over alleged Chinese espionage “collapsed”; because China was not labeled a “national security threat” at the time the two men were charged. Both people accused deny the allegations.
Badenoch’s efforts to “mobilize his leadership and revive the political fortunes of the Conservative Party” through his stamp duty announcement are leading the Times. A separate headline asks: “When did Britain decide China wasn’t a threat?”
The Guardian’s top story is “Ministers pledge to overhaul licensing laws to spur growth”. It was announced that bars and restaurants could extend their opening hours under the government’s plans, with health experts warning that this could lead to “more drunken disorders”. The article quotes new analysis published in the Lancet on “the extent of child suffering in Gaza.” According to the research conducted under the leadership of the UN Relief and Works Agency, it is stated that “approximately 55,000 children in Gaza are malnourished.”
Kate McCann, the mother of missing girl Madeleine McCann, is leading several other papers as she testifies in a lawsuit against her alleged stalker. Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal in 2007, when she was three years old. Metro reported that it contacted the family of Julia Wandelt, who allegedly claimed to be their missing daughter. The newspaper said Ms McCann “went to the police in September last year when she learned Wandelt was allegedly making advances towards her other daughter, Amelie”. Ms. Wandelt denies the stalking charges.
The Sun also leads on Ms McCann’s statement in court against her alleged stalker under the headline: “I want Maddie back… I want her to call me Mum.” On the front page of the newspaper, there is a photo of Victoria Beckham at the premiere of her new documentary, as well as the text “Posh: my struggle with an eating disorder”.
In the Daily Mirror article, which conveys Ms McCann’s “pain at a woman claiming to be Madeline”, the first thing I want is for Maddie to come back… to call me ‘mum'”. Madeline’s father, Gerry McCann, “confronted” the woman who claimed to be his daughter, the newspaper reported.
7ft 2in Tory conference attendee James McAlpine features on the Daily Star’s front page after another and today talks about his hopes of becoming the tallest prime minister in history. Here’s a photo of yesterday’s front page; Here Mr McAlpine is referred to as the “Never Ending Conservative” and it is joked that he “brought it up with Kemi Badenoch”, stating that he is a “prominent” member of the party today.
