A day after the launch of Reform UK’s manifesto, the Guardian leads with the concerns of economists, who say the plans “don’t add up”. It highlights the verdict of the Institute for Fiscal Studies – that what the paper calls a “series of populist pledges” are based on “extremely optimistic assumptions”. The party’s leader, Nigel Farage, appears to acknowledge these concerns in an interview with the i. According to the paper, he admits that no politician can guarantee to keep the promises made to voters, because it’s “impossible” to predict the future. But the Daily Mirror accuses him of having “a shaky grasp on reality”.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Conservatives are trying a new approach in their attempts to “counter the threat of Reform” – drafting in Boris Johnson. It says tens of thousands of letters signed by the former prime minister will be delivered to voters, in his “closest involvement yet” in the Tory election campaign.

The Times points out that another way the Tories are “seeking to persuade disaffected supporters to turn out” is by warning that voting for Reform would risk “an all-powerful Labour government”. This is also reflected in a Daily Mail interview with Rishi Sunak, in which he says that Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to lower the voting age is an attempt to “entrench his power” for years.

Criticism of some of Sir Keir’s proposals also features on the front page of the Daily Express. Its headline is “Banking giant’s dire warning on Labour pledges”. The paper says HSBC believes the party’s plans for a “genuine living wage” risk “triggering a surge in unemployment and driving up mortgage bills“.

But the Telegraph offers a more complimentary view of Labour’s plans – with a former director of GCHQ telling it that the party can be trusted “to stick to serious defence policy”. In what the paper calls a “major boost for Labour”, Professor Sir David Omand praises the party’s promise of a “triple lock” on the Trident nuclear deterrent. He also accuses the Conservatives of “ducking necessary tough decisions” on defence.

The Financial Times turns its attention towards France’s general election. It says bosses in the country are “racing to build contacts with Marine Le Pen’s far-right”. Senior executives and bankers tell the paper that what it calls the left-wing alliance’s “radical tax-and-spend agenda” will be “even worse for business” than the National Rally’s unfunded tax cuts and anti-immigration policies.

It might seem there is little Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer can agree on, but the Sun says both are calling on football fans to adopt the Beatles’ song Hey Jude as an England football anthem. It comes after the midfielder Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal against Serbia in the Euros on Sunday.

The Daily Star has become the latest paper to announce whom it’s endorsing in the election. It says it’s backing whom it believes to be “the most sane politician in the UK” – urging its readers to vote for Count Binface. The paper describes his manifesto as “honest” – with pledges such as national service for former prime ministers and a cap on the price of croissants.