Liz Truss is facing mounting pressure from Tory MPs to rewrite last month’s mini-budget of £43bn in tax cuts. Reporting on her Tuesday meeting with the backbench 1922 committee, the Financial Times quotes one MP describing the mood as “horrendous” and they were “shocked at how brutal it was”. At the meeting, the prime minister admitted the mini-budget has been rushed and the “ground could have been prepared better”.
The i newspaper described the meeting as “angry” and an “open revolt” against the prime minister. Senior Tories have accused her of “trashing” the last 10 years of the Conservative government’s record and are questioning how she can balance the books. One Conservative MP tells the i: “That was a worse 1922 meeting than any under Theresa May.”
The Guardian features a picture of Ms Truss at the dispatch box in the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions. The paper says MPs have renewed serious conversations about the prospect of replacing her as “Tories go on the attack” over the economy.
“U-turn or you go” headlines the Mirror as it reports on pressure to reverse her “disastrous tax cuts”. One Conservative MP tells the paper: “Liz either needs to get rid of her tax cuts or it will be her who is gone.”
“Rip up your tax plans” is the message from the prime minister’s top officials, writes the Times. The paper says her most senior advisors have told her she needs to scrap the mini-budget and raise corporation tax as the price of restoring market confidence in the government. Officials say big tax cuts would risk a financial crisis that would further increase the cost of government borrowing and mortgages.
Image source, AFP
“Blue wall falls” headlines the Metro as it reports a new poll predicting traditionally safe Conservative seats could be lost at the next election following Ms Truss’s “mini-budget debacle”. The paper warns the collapse of the Blue Wall “would dwarf its own success in demolishing” Labour’s red wall in the 2019 general election. A Redfield and Wilton poll suggests Labour has a 13 point lead in 42 of the Tories’ heartland constituencies in southern England.
Furious Tories have turned on the Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey over “stupid” comments that caused markets to be “thrown into turmoil”, the Daily Express writes. It comes after he announced the Bank would end its bond-buying plan to stabilise pensions on Friday. But banks officials privately signalled the bond-buying programme would continue. Tory Sir Iain Duncan Smith speaking of the governor told the paper: “What a stupid move that was.”
The Daily Telegraph warns a “row looms” over plans for the Camilla, Queen Consort, to be crowned using the Koh-i-Noor diamond. Buckingham Palace is considering if she should wear the jewel traditionally worn by consorts, it reports. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said Camilla wearing the jewel would “transport” some “back to the days of the British Empire”. The diamond was acquired by Queen Victoria after the British annexation of the Punjab in 1849.
Using the diamond in the coronation “could risk inflaming” UK-India tensions and even scupper lucrative trade deals, the Daily Mail writes. The paper notes the diamond is not only claimed by India but several other countries in the region.
The Sun reports on the “new heartache” of Countryfile presenter Helen Skelton following her ex-husband, who she split from earlier this year, expecting a baby with his new girlfriend.
It seems the cost of living crisis has also spawned the “cost of loathing crisis”. The Daily Star says exes are having to continue living together because they can not afford places of their own, with some even sharing the same bed. “Awkward”, the Daily Star aptly proclaims.
Continuing unease about the Treasury’s planned tax cuts features on several of the front pages.
According to the Times Liz Truss has been told by her most senior advisers to “rip up” the mini-budget and raise corporation tax “as the price of restoring confidence in her government”. The paper says she now faces the choice “between further unnerving the markets or a politically humiliating retreat”.
The Financial Times reports that “a growing number” of Conservative MPs also want the prime minister to scrap or phase in tax cuts “rather than embark on a painful squeeze on public spending over many years”. The Daily Mirror sums up her dilemma with the headline: “U-turn or you go”.
The i newspaper suggests that Tories are now in “open revolt” against Ms Truss, who failed to settle the nerves of her backbenchers at a meeting of the 1922 Committee last night. “If anything”, the paper claims, “her situation has worsened after a shaky performance in the face of their anger and despair”.
One MP tells the Guardian that the atmosphere was “funereal”, while another said she had “done absolutely nothing to reassure colleagues whatsoever”. HuffPost UK reports that even the Tory whips “couldn’t be bothered getting people to ask supportive questions”.
But the Daily Express says Ms Truss “swatted away” the attacks on her economic plans at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday – with her supporters instead directing anger at the Bank of England for refusing to extend its emergency bond-buying programme.
Image source, PA Media
The Koh-i-Noor diamond seen in the crown on the Queen Mother’s coffin
The Koh-i-Noor jewel has been worn by various consorts including Queen Mary in the past, but its ownership is disputed and India’s ruling political party says the choice for Camilla to make it part of her coronation would “transport” some people “back to the days of the British Empire”.
The Daily Mail writes it could cause a serious diplomatic incident between the UK and India – and even scupper future trade deals.
The Sun reports that American scientists have successfully grafted human brain cells into rats – which it is hoped could help them better understand conditions such as epilepsy.
The nerves – grown in a laboratory – were implanted into rodents just two or three days old, and made up a third of their brain after six months – becoming part of rats’ decision making process. The researchers think it will improve their ability to produce more realistic models of human diseases, rather than studying cells in a dish.
And the Daily Star pictures Rob – a black and white collie-retriever who completed 20 parachute jumps in the Second World War and has now made auction history. Strapped into a special harness, the dog followed infantry troops into north Africa and parachuted into Nazi-held Italy with the SAS.
He was subsequently given the Dickin Medal for Gallantry – considered the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross – and other awards. The collection went under the hammer yesterday and sold for a record £140,000. Basil Payne – the son of Rob’s original owner – said he was delighted that the collie’s story and legacy were “held in such high respect”.
