Several front pages lead on the chancellor’s Spring Statement on Wednesday, including the Guardian which reports on concerns about what Rachel Reeves could announce. The paper says she is due to promise to “secure Britain’s future” by boosting defence spending, but adds there is “mounting speculation that she will be forced to raise taxes” in the autumn Budget.
The Daily Mirror carries an exclusive with the chancellor, headlining on her “mission” to make Britain strong enough to combat global threats. Reeves has told the paper that the UK is ready to face down Russia, but also insisted poor people will not be forced to pay the price. Amid “fury over proposed £5bn welfare cuts” in the Spring Statement, Reeves also told the Mirror: “We will always protect those who most need it.”
The Financial Times focuses on Reeves’ defence pledges, noting the chancellor will pledge to boost spending by £2.2bn next year. The FT says Reeves will make the case that “a changing world” has disrupted her economic plans, as well as argue that she is providing both military and economic security to British people.
Reeves’ Spring Statement will seek to shift the blame over “Britain’s faltering economy”, according to the Daily Mail. The paper says the “beleaguered chancellor” has been struck a blow by a “bombshell poll” which suggests voters blame her for the situation. The Mail also notes experts from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility are expected to warn that “living standards are set to stagnate for the rest of the decade”.
Russia and Ukraine reaching a ceasefire deal in the Black Sea after US-brokered talks is the lead story in the Times. The paper reports that the White House announced both countries had agreed to “ensure safe navigation” and “eliminate the use of force, but the Times also notes a deal was conditional on the West lifting sanctions on some critical Russian companies.
Under the headline “Trump backs chump”, Metro reports that the US president has dismissed a “humiliating” leak of US military attack plans on Yemen to a journalist via a messaging app. It notes Donald Trump backed his national security adviser, Mike Walz, as a “good man”. A White House source has a more colourful way of describing Walz to Metro, calling him an “idiot”.
The Daily Star has a less-than-complimentary take on the current US leadership, giving the vice-president the nickname “JD Dunce” and asking in its headline: “Is this the most dangerous man in the world?” The paper notes that comments from Vance in the leaked messages “revealed new insults to Britain and our allies”, accusing the possible next US president of hating the UK, Europe and Ukraine.
The Daily Telegraph chooses to lead on a delay to the implementation of the assisted dying bill coming into force. It says the Labour MP who sponsored it, Kim Leadbeater, has agreed to postpone bringing it in until 2029, after the next general election. The Telegraph says this changed timeline brings up the possibility that the next government could ditch the plans, following “warnings that the law would overburden the NHS and judiciary”.
The parents of Sarah Everard, who was murdered by a former Met Police officer, have warned that families of victims are not getting justice over the sentencing of killers, according to the Daily Express. Her killer, Wayne Couzens, was given a whole life order, meaning he will never be released from prison, which Sarah’s parents say meant the “enormity of his crime was recognised”. They are now calling for other murderers and sex offenders to be jailed for longer to give other families that same “sense of justice being served”, the paper reports.
