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18 hours ago
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On the eve of the Budget, speculation about Chancellor Rachel Reeves's fiscal statement dominates the papers. The Times reports that she is urging Labour MPs to "unite for her Budget", hitting out at what she calls "misogynist critics". Pre-Budget leaks had been "incredibly destabilising", she adds, with the paper quoting her address to MPs at the Commons.
"The Chancellor will significantly cut the annual £20,000 cash Isa (Individual Savings Account) allowance to £12,000," the Daily Mail reports. Lowering the tax-free interest limit could "punish savers while potentially causing mortgage rates to rise", according to the paper. It reports the chancellor could use her fiscal statement to argue the "billions of pounds sitting in the savings accounts would generate better returns if it was invested in the riskier stock market".
A proposal to introduce a council tax surcharge on properties worth more than £2m could turn into a "'sticking plaster' for the government", the i newspaper writes. It describes the measure as a "mansion tax", quoting warnings from the former Institute for Fiscal Studies economist Paul Johnson, who tells the paper the system "needs a complete overhaul".
The Silver Voices campaign group cautions the chancellor that "many older people will struggle to heat their homes without help with the cost of living", the Daily Express reports. "Frozen income tax thresholds expected in tomorrow's Budget will lead to frozen homes", the paper writes, adding that people already struggling with soaring energy costs "are hammered with higher tax bills".
The Independent leads with "reports that efforts to grow the economy have stalled", citing unpublished analysis from the economic watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The paper says the OBR has "reportedly downgraded its forecast for growth in each year until 2029", adding that the news "could not come at a worse time for the beleaguered chancellor".
US and Ukrainian negotiators drafted an incomplete peace proposal in Geneva, which "leaves big calls to presidents", the Financial Times says. "Washington had been pressing Kyiv to agree a 28-point proposal developed by US and Russian officials", the paper writes. Parts of the plan, such as territorial concessions, crossed "Ukrainian red lines". The paper says the outstanding "politically sensitive elements" of the Geneva plan will be decided by Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
"1,000 abuse victims safer," writes the Metro, reporting on the number of domestic abuse protection orders (DAPOs) imposed in the year since they were introduced. The paper says the DAPOs "limit perpetrators' movements, with breaches punishable by up to five years".
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers will have their cases reassessed after a damning official review, the Guardian writes. Some carers were "plunged into hardship; others were jailed" after "draconian penalties of as much as £20,000" were foisted on some carers. A review blames "government failure and maladministration", according to the paper.
The Daily Telegraph reports that BBC chair Samir Shah "has insisted he will not resign despite deep divisions at the broadcaster". It writes board members are split over how to respond to the Telegraph's "disclosure of bias at the corporation", based on a leaked memo.
"Reform's Russia crisis" is the Daily Mirror front page headline, as the paper says party leader Nigel Farage is facing "mounting pressure to investigate pro-Putin links" in the party. This follows the jailing of former Welsh Reform UK leader Nathan Gill for taking pro-Russian bribes.
The Daily Star leads with darts champion Luke Littler supporting the paper's campaign to give a knighthood to motor neurone disease charity campaigner and ex-rugby league star Kevin Sinfield.
TV star Jeff Brazier has separated from his wife Kate Dwyer, the Sun reports. It says the split comes 16 years after the death of Brazier's ex-partner Jade Goody, who appeared on Big Brother years earlier.
