Budget week is just around the corner and many of Monday’s papers are focusing on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ upcoming statement on Wednesday. Metro writes that repeated leaks in budget preparation have damaged the economy. It quotes the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, as saying there is “paralysis between businesses and consumers” due to a flood of reports about its contents in recent weeks.
The Daily Express says pensioners will “lose £800 a year” if the Chancellor does not raise income tax thresholds. The newspaper reports that Reeves is expected to keep the tax-free allowance at its current level until 2030, extending a freeze first introduced by the previous Conservative government and set to expire in 2028. That would mean some people on state pensions are expected to pay tax on part of their pension when the allowance rises as expected next year.
The Mirror tops a poll suggesting some want Reeves to “hit the super rich in his autumn budget”. The Labor newspaper reports on a poll by the centre-left campaign group 38 Degrees, which indicates that “64% of voters support increasing wealth taxes”.
According to the i newspaper, the chancellor will “focus on universities” in the budget. Plans to increase international student fees to fund “scholarships for poorer British students” have been mooted ahead of the statement, the paper says.
The Daily Telegraph says £15bn in additional welfare spending will be included in the budget, starting with reports that Reeves plans to scrap the two-child benefit cap and confirm increases to other benefits and pensions. The proposals will be “financed through a tax raid against the middle classes,” the newspaper reports, referring to an expected extension of the threshold freeze.
The Times reports that the chancellor plans to “impose more than 100,000 of Britain’s most expensive properties with a surcharge worth an average of £4,500”. The property tax was initially intended to apply to properties worth at least £1.5 million, but the Treasury is now considering a threshold of £2 million, according to the document, due to concerns that it could have affected people who are “asset rich but cash poor”.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says businesses face “death by a thousand taxes”, the Independent reports. He refers to comments made by the group’s director, Rain Newtown-Smith, who said that “the UK risks a Groundhog Day scenario in which politics is more important than growth.”
Meanwhile, the Financial Times publishes the latest on US efforts to mediate a deal between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. It focuses on comments from Donald Trump, who said kyiv had shown “zero gratitude” to Washington. However, the White House later said that the Geneva talks had been a success and that progress had been made.
The Guardians claims that the BBC is planning to “review the way it investigates editorial issues”. It says the broadcaster will create a new deputy CEO as part of its response to a dispute that saw two of its most senior leaders resign this month. The BBC has not commented on the Guardian story.
The Daily Mail reports on Lord David Cameron’s revelation that he was diagnosed and successfully treated for prostate cancer in 2022. The newspaper says his wife Samantha Cameron initially encouraged the former prime minister to have a prostate test after listening to a BBC radio interview. Lord Cameron now supports “targeted screening”, the paper claims.
Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas “almost died” after choking on a fish bone moments before Saturday’s live show, the Sun reports. The paper says the 65-year-old “struggled to breathe for 20 minutes backstage in Blackpool”.
And finally, the Daily Star continues its campaign to get viewers to support former model Kelly Brooks on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
