Chancellor Rachel Reeves continues to face backlash over accusations she misled the public on the state of the nation’s economy, with the story prominent on many of Sunday’s papers. “Reeves must go,” is the consensus from voters who took part in a poll conducted by the Mail on Sunday. The paper reports that a majority of those who took part in the poll are in favour of Reeves quitting.
The prime minister is also being drawn into the scandal, with the Sunday Telegraph saying Sir Keir Starmer was aware there was no black hole in public finances but still approved Reeves’ speech about the need for tax rises in the Budget. The paper quotes No 10 saying the chancellor’s speech was “entirely accurate”, adding that the PM was aware of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) figures and the “content of the speech”.
The Sunday Times keeps its focus on the PM, reporting that Sir Keir will vow to tackle the cost of living crisis next week in an attempt to pivot attention away from the embattled chancellor. The PM will pledge to scrap “misguided” regulations and root out unforeseen costs in the country’s economy, the paper says.
The Budget’s impact on working families leads the Sunday Express. The paper cites a new report that says working families with three children will need to earn £71,000 to match the welfare benefits of a similar jobless household as a result of Reeves scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
The Observer fills its front page with a black and white tribute to playwright Tom Stoppard, who has died aged 88. The paper also features a famous quote from Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: “Words, words. They’re all we have to go on.”
The Independent shifts its attention to the war in Ukraine, spotlighting an interview with a Russia expert and former top White House adviser. Fiona Hill, a security adviser during Donald Trump’s first administration, warns that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “manipulating” the US leader and “doesn’t want peace”.
Moving on to entertainment news, the Sunday Mirror previews an interview with I’m a Celebrity contestant Alex Scott. Scott told the paper of her concern when her partner, singer Jess Glynne, wasn’t there to meet her when she was voted out of the Jungle. Glynne’s mother had suffered a stroke and required urgent surgery.
In other TV news, hit BBC crime drama This City has been struck by real-life criminals, the Daily Star reports. The paper says a crew member had his room ransacked and personal belongings stolen while the series was filming its second series in Spain.
Finally, the Sun splashes its front page with an interview with TV personality Freddy Brazier’s former partner. Holly Swinburn details their troubled relationship, telling the paper: “Enough is enough, I don’t’ know if he can change.”
The fallout from Wednesday’s Budget continues to dominate the newspapers. The Sunday Times tells its readers the prime minister will “intervene” to “shore up his chancellor”, who it says is “engulfed” in a damaging row about whether she was honest with voters about the state of the economy.
The Mail on Sunday says Rachel Reeves must resign for “lying”, referring to accusations she knew the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast on the economy was better than originally thought when she unveiled her financial plans.
The Sunday Telegraph asserts that Sir Keir signed off the chancellor’s speech, which it describes as “black hole lies” and declares that Reeves’s career is “on the brink” and she “could take Starmer down with her”. In response, Downing Street said Reeves’ comments were “entirely accurate” and that the prime minister was “aware of the speech” and the OBR’s figures.
Details of a Centre for Social Justice report are highlighted by the Sunday Express. It says families with three children need to earn £71,000 to bring in as much money as a similar household living on benefits. The think tank is quoted as warning that Britain is in a “welfare crisis” because of what it calls Reeves’s “benefit Budget”. The government said it delivered a budget that cut debt, borrowing and the cost of living.
The Sunday Times carries an interview with a worshipper who was accidentally shot by police as he barricaded the doors at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester to try to stop an attacker getting inside. Yoni Finlay is credited with saving “countless” lives last month. He tells the paper of the “huge amount of guilt” that he survived and how he is considering moving to Israel to keep his children safe because there is ‘so much hate’ in the UK.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, says his country has a chance to embrace political change after a peace deal is signed. Tipped as a future president, he also says Ukraine needs to rid itself of corruption and bring in reforms to prosper when the war is over.
And the death of the acclaimed playwright Sir Tom Stoppard features in many of the papers, with the Observer devoting its entire front page to a picture of him as a young man along with the phrase: “Words, words. They’re all we have to go on.” The paper says he will be remembered for “his wit, irreverence and generosity of spirit”.
