Several papers lead on the aftermath of a speech by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, in which she did not rule out a U-turn on Labour’s manifesto general election pledge not to hike income tax. Despite the chancellor saying she will make “necessary choices” in the Budget, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says Britain watched the speech “in horror” and that Reeves is “blaming every else” for chaos, according to the Daily Express.
A hike in income tax would be the first since 1975, and break a “50-year taboo” against the policy, the i Paper reports. Economists cited by the paper say Reeves must add 2p on income tax if she wants to make the UK’s public finances “more resilient, and avoid having to return for more” in the near future.
“We will all have to do our bit” is the chancellor’s quote featured in the Times. The paper reports more lines from Reeves’ speech where she vowed to put “national interests” before “political expediency”. Elsewhere, a photo of Sir David Beckham receiving his knighthood at Windsor Castle is front and centre.
“Reeves’s waffle bomb” is the Daily Mail’s take. The paper also reports that Labour has been accused of “educational vandalism” after ministers announced they would scrap a number of Tory reforms on education. The changes will include cutting GCSE exams and simplify primary school tests. “Labour dumbs down schools” is the headline.
“Make it fair, Rachel” is the Daily Mirror’s headline as it leads with a plea from trade unions to the chancellor, calling on her to tax the wealthiest before targeting ordinary workers. Sharing the top spot, “bend a knee like Beckham” is the paper’s take on Sir David Beckham’s knighthood.
The Daily Star’s headline is “Rach sparks tax rise fury”, as it reports on the chancellor’s “first pre-Budget speech for 50 years – hinting at huge tax rises”.
“Reeves puts Britain on notice,” says the Independent. The paper reports that a think tank has warned that a 2p income tax rise might not be enough to fix the country’s finances. A smiling Sir David Beckham holding his knighthood medal also fills the front page as the paper declares: “Arise Sir Becks!”
“Finally… Sir Goldenbawls” follows the Sun, as it reports that Sir David Beckham admitted he was “crying for months” after learning of his long-awaited knighthood. “It’s been been a very emotional day,” he said after the ceremony at Windsor.
The Guardian’s front page spotlight’s Sir David calling his knighthood “my proudest moment”. Also prominent, the paper reports on Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s warning that NHS staff are bearing the brunt of “ugly” racism. In an interview with the paper, Streeting says incidents of verbal and physical abuse based on people’s skin colour are happening so often that it has become “socially acceptable to be racist”.
The Telegraph says that pressure is mounting on the BBC’s senior executives after a leaked dossier revealed “serious and systemic” editorial bias. The paper says Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for “heads to roll” over the allegations. A BBC spokesperson said: “While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully.”
Finally, the Metro celebrates the story of the LNER rail staff worker who has been praised as a “hero” for saving passengers’ lives during the Cambridgeshire train attack. The paper quotes Samir Zitouni’s family who say: “He’s always been a hero.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves features on many of the front pages after she warned voters about the “necessary” choices to be made at this month’s Budget to balance the books.
The i Paper highlights that such a hike would be the first since 1975, and break what the paper calls a “50-year taboo” against the policy.
The Daily Mail labels the chancellor’s Downing Street speech on Tuesday as “all bluster” and a “waffle bomb”.
According to the Daily Telegraph, some within Labour have been left fearing the worst. An unnamed Labour MP tells the paper they believe putting up taxes will “scotch whatever limited chances” the party has of being re-elected, and that breaking the manifesto pledge could leave them with “no credibility”.
The Times says ministers have raised concerns that an increase in income tax could see them lose some voters “forever”.
The front page of the Metro has a photograph of the rail worker, Samir Zitouni, who protected passengers during the knife attack on a train in Cambridgeshire on Saturday. More details were released about him yesterday. The paper quotes his family who say “he’s always been a hero”.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been delayed. The paper says it is because a Conservative peer submitted an amendment to the legislation, to try to make the government consult the Chagossians before going ahead.
A Foreign Office spokesman said there had been a lack of notice given regarding the amendment, and a Lords vote to confirm the Bill would be moved to a later date.
And most of the papers feature photographs of Sir David Beckham receiving his knighthood at Windsor Castle yesterday. “Bend a knee like Beckham” says the Daily Mirror while the Daily Mail goes for: “Arise Sir Becks.”
“David finally gets a knighthood… and Posh to be a Lady” writes The Sun in an exclusive, heralding the footballer’s supposed new title “Sir Becks”. It reports he will get the “gong next week” in the Birthday Honours List of King Charles III. The BBC has not verified the report.
It’s “civil war” for Reform UK as the party’s chair Zia Yusuf quits the party, writes the Daily Telegraph. Reform leader Nigel Farage was given “just a 10-minute warning” before Yusuf posted his resignation on X after he called a question by the party’s MPs over banning burkas “dumb”. A “bitter slanging match” between Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump also makes the front page after the tech billionaire wrote “without me, Trump would have lost the election”.
The FT also leads with Yusuf’s resignation, with the former Reform chair saying he didn’t think the position was a “good use of my time”. Nigel Farage has called him “enormously talented” and said he was “genuinely sorry” he had stepped down. On the world stage, “Trump and Xi dial down rhetoric and agree to new round of trade talks”.
Labour has banned the bosses of 10 water companies from receiving bonuses “with immediate effect” over “serious sewage pollution” reports The Guardian. In the past decade, they have been paid £112m in bonuses. Last year, sewage pollution “rose to a record 2,487 events”, according to the paper. “Bosses should only get bonuses if they’ve performed well” the paper quotes Environment Secretary Steven Reed.
The Times covers Musk and Trump’s disagreement too, highlighting the X founder’s comment that the president had appeared “in the Epstein files” as a barb that “signals war”. Trump was named in one document released by a judge last year regarding a connection with the disgraced financier – but this carries no inference of wrongdoing. The BBC has contacted the White House for comment on the allegations. Also on the front page an image of four Chelsea pensioners doffing their hats atop mobility scooters.
The i Paper’s front page is mostly taken up by the news of the UK water bosses “finally” receiving a bonus ban “amid public anger at sewage scandal”. The paper draws attention to how it had “campaigned for tougher powers to restrict such payments”.
“Russia blames UK for drone attack on jets” and “says it could lead to World War Three” reads the top headline of the Daily Mail. Kremlin ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin said the UK military’s tech had helped Ukraine hit the targets inside Russia, the tabloid reports. It also picks up Trump and Musk’s argument calling it a “war of words”.
The Daily Mirror headlines on a promise by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to “end corridor care”, as he says £450m will go towards tackling the issue. The Mirror also runs the story of the race attack on Bhim Kohli on its front page that resulted in his death as his teen attackers have now received their sentences. “They can rebuild their lives, we can’t” writes the paper, describing the “anguish” of Kohli’s family.
A veteran standing by two tombstones appears on the front page of the Daily Express as “our last D-Day heroes remember fallen friends 81 years on”. “Never forget their sacrifice”, the paper writes.
For the Daily Star, it’s “blast orders” as it writes “most of us say we’re off down the pub if there’s a nuclear war”.
