The Daily Telegraph says the Conservatives have “seized upon” comments by Sir Keir Starmer which appear to suggest his manifesto commitment to not increase taxes on working people only applied to those who don’t have money set aside.
In a radio interview yesterday, Sir Keir described what he meant as working people – as those who earn a living, rely on public services and “don’t really have the ability to write a cheque when they get in trouble”.
Both the Daily Telegraph and the Times quote the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, as saying Labour’s true plans have been let slip, “to raise taxes across the board”.
The front page of the Daily Mail also leads on Labour and tax, saying the party has a “secret tax rise dossier”. And the Daily Express carries a warning from Rishi Sunak that Labour will “plunder savers’ accounts within weeks”, if Sir Keir wins.
The Guardian’s front page focuses on Labour’s plan to buy beds in care homes, to cut hospital waiting times. It says the party will learn from the “great innovations” already happening in the health service.
The Financial Times looks beyond the election, saying Conservative leadership hopefuls are “courting” candidates and “building grassroots support” as they jostle to replace Rishi Sunak once the country has gone to the polls. One insider is quoted as saying “the shadow boxing has begun”, as the paper says party figures expect Mr Sunak to give up his leadership – if the predicted Labour landslide occurs.
“Britain 20 years behind Europe on cancer care” says the Daily Telegraph. New analysis, produced by Macmillan Cancer Support, says survival rates for some types of cancer in the UK is “stuck in the noughties” and trails decades behind countries such as Denmark and Norway.
The i says the government has held “secret talks” about financial problems at the French group Atos – described as one of the UK’s main IT suppliers. Officials are concerned that if the firm’s UK arm collapses, some public services could be disrupted such as NHS appointments. The extent of the problems facing Atos in the UK is unknown, says the paper, but the parent company said in April it was facing debts of more than three billion pounds. Last week it said it would go ahead with a financial restructuring plan.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the former justice secretary, Sir Robert Buckland, has called for an “amnesty” for the more than 20,000 people who were given criminal convictions for breaking Covid rules. Sir Robert – who oversaw the courts during the pandemic – has said the slates should be “wiped clean” rather than risk people’s career prospects with convictions handed out at an “exceptional time”.
Sir Ian McKellen’s recovery after a fall off the stage earlier this week is featured in many of the papers. The 85-year-old lost his footing while performing in a fight scene during a performance of Player Kings in London. He’s expected to return to the show tomorrow, with the Times, the Guardian and the Daily Mail all using variations of the phrase “the show must go on” in their headlines.
And the Sun says half of the Premier League trophy has been replaced after it was stolen. The paper says thieves in Belgium took a case containing the base and crown in late 2022, and it’s believed the missing parts may have been melted down.
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