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Newspaper headlines: 'Spend now, tax later Budget' and 'war at palace'

By BBC News
Staff

Published
image captionThe Budget makes the lead for most of Thursday's newspapers. The Daily Telegraph says Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a five-year personal tax "raid" that will bring in more than £21bn, as the bill for the government's pandemic spending was "finally laid bare". The chancellor froze thresholds for income tax, inheritance tax, capital gains tax and the pensions lifetime allowance, meaning millions of people will pay more to the Treasury.
image captionThe Metro says the chancellor has "gambled" £65bn on a quick recovery out of the pandemic in what it calls an "historic Budget spending spree". In delivering his Budget, the chancellor insisted the economy would grow by more than 11% in the next two years. But he warned the UK's £407bn Covid bill must be paid in the future.
image captionThe Financial Times describes it as a "spend now, tax later Budget" that aims to drag the economy out of the Covid crisis by boosting business investment before introducing the largest tax rises on companies and households for a generation. The paper says Mr Sunak is the first chancellor to raise corporation taxes since Labour's Denis Healey in 1974.
image captionThe chancellor will raise taxes to the highest levels since the 1960s, reports the Times. From 2023 corporation tax will rise from 19% to 25% for the most profitable companies, in a move that will raise almost £50bn over he next five years. The paper says the wealthiest fifth of households will pay an average of £826 more a year in taxes, while lower earning households will pay an extra £56.
image captionThe Guardian says the chancellor has, in effect, told Britain’s businesses and millions of middle-earners that they will pay the price of the government’s year-long fight against Covid-19, with the biggest tax increases since 1993. Repeatedly stressing the devastating impact of the pandemic, Mr Sunak spoke on Wednesday of the need to “begin fixing the public finances.”
image captionThe i quotes a leading economist as saying the UK’s taxes are likely to reach the “highest sustained level in history”. It notes that the recovery package for jobs, hospitality, the High Street and culture sector has been questioned by Labour.
image caption"The only way is sup", the Sun puns, saying the chancellor did all he could to "lift spirits and see the UK through Covid" by freezing alcohol and fuel duty and extending furlough. But it adds that it was a "bittersweet" Budget with the cost having to be paid back eventually.
image caption“Our recovery begins today” is the Daily Express’s take. It notes that the chancellor extended the furlough scheme until October and promised coronavirus victims “a fairer country”.
image captionAway from the Budget, the Daily Mail reports that the Queen has launched an "unprecedented inquiry" into allegations that Meghan and Harry bullied their staff. Claims that the Duchess of Sussex inflicted "emotional cruelty" on aides and "drove them out" were "very" concerning, Buckingham Palace said.
image captionThe Daily Mirror says the Queen "went to war" with Harry and Meghan by ordering a probe into the allegations. The couple have described the story as part of a smear campaign, but the Mirror says a royal insider branded that suggestion "ludicrous".
image caption"Unhappy families" is the Daily Star's take on the developments, riffing on the board game Happy Families. It urges readers who are bored with jigsaw puzzles to play along with an exciting new game "the whole family can enjoy".

The Times, the Financial Times and the Guardian summarise Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Commons statement on Wednesday as the "spend now, pay later Budget".

The Guardian says it combined life-support for the economy with the biggest tax increases since 1993.

The Daily Telegraph says the chancellor announced a five-year personal tax grab - as the bill for vast government spending during the pandemic was finally laid bare.

But because the bill was postponed, the i says, it was a masterclass in delaying consequences.

The Daily Mail describes it as a masked tax raid. For the Sun, the Budget was "bittersweet". While trumpeting the freeze on alcohol and fuel duty, the paper adds: "But prepare yourselves for an almighty hangover!"

As for Mr Sunak himself, the Financial Times says he presented two fronts: "Swishy Rishi", the guy who tops up your salary, and Honest Rishi, announcing that, sadly, income tax thresholds would be frozen, and corporation tax raised.

Bruce Anderson, writing on the Spectator website, says that while Mr Sunak bears no resemblance to an embattled sailor steering a perilous course through mighty waves, thus far he has been the pilot who weathered the storm.

Mr Sunak's statement was, for the Financial Times, a made-for-TV Budget, delivered with gravity, but oozing confidence, self-congratulation and political intent.

It was Lights, Camera, Action! the Guardian says.

But the Daily Mirror says we were promised Superman and got Clark Kent - with the chancellor confessing that the economy would be 3% smaller in five years than before the pandemic.

image copyrightPA Media

It was a big day for Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, too. Though, as the Spectator points out, probably far less enjoyable than the chancellor's.

Nevertheless, her appearance before the Holyrood parliamentary inquiry into the Scottish government's handling of harassment claims against former first minister Alex Salmond attracts some favourable reviews.

The Daily Record says she came out fighting, while the New Statesman says she defended herself with suppleness and surgical precision.

There was no knockout blow, the i concludes.

However, the Daily Mail says the first minister's career remains on the line after she failed to answer a series of critical questions.

"Sturgeon still faces her day of reckoning", is the main headline in the paper's Scottish edition.

image copyrightHarpo Productions/Joe Pugliese
image captionOprah Winfrey's interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will air in the US on Sunday

The announcement that Buckingham Palace is to investigate claims that the Duchess of Sussex bullied two personal assistants, makes the lead for the Mail and the Daily Mirror.

The Mail describes the inquiry as a sensation, while the Sun calls it a bombshell.

The Mirror has the headline: "All-out war at the palace".

Writing in the Telegraph, Camilla Tominey says that with the practicalities of Megxit settled last month, it had been hoped both sides could focus on burying their differences.

Yet the announcement of the Oprah Winfrey interview appears to have opened a Pandora's box that's unlikely to be closed soon, she says.

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Finally, passengers travelling from London to Manchester on Tuesday evening were kept waiting at Euston station... after a cat climbed on top of their high-speed train and refused to come down.

As the passengers were transferred to another train, staff spent two-and-a-half hours trying to coax the feline intruder off the driver's cab and away from the station's 25,000 volt overhead lines.

The Times reports that staff eventually pulled a heavy duty bin beside the carriages, giving the cat its own special platform on which to disembark.

Staff said it then "swaggered" out of the station without as much as a thank you to its rescuers.