The roll out of Labour’s general election manifesto leads several front pages. The Daily Mirror reports that Keir Starmer “pledged to fix the damage the Tories inflicted on Britain with a manifesto of hope”. Labour’s leader also said the party would boost the economy and build a better future for children if it won on 4 July.
The Financial Times is leading with Starmer’s plans to raise £8.6bn in additional taxes, which the paper contrasts with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge of £17bn in tax cuts. The FT also reports that Labour’s manifesto has been attacked by Tories as paving the way for tax rises – and from other sections of the political left for being unambitious.
Starmer faces fresh questions over “how Labour would pay to fix Britain’s broken public services”, the Guardian’s lead story says. The paper reports on scepticism among economists over how the party can avoid significant public service spending cuts without borrowing more or raising taxes.
The Times leads with an economic think tank describing a “conspiracy of silence on cuts and higher taxes” by Labour, Tories and Lib Dems. The paper reports on the Institute for Fiscal Studies saying none of the major parties are being honest over the “state of the public finances and the trade-offs that would be needed” over how to fund services. It also highlights a striking new poll, carried out by YouGov for the paper, which suggests Reform UK has moved ahead of the Conservatives.
News of Reform UK overtaking the Tories in a national opinion poll also leads the Daily Telegraph, which reports the party’s leader Nigel Farage as having declared: “We are now the opposition.” The paper describes the new figures as a “crossover moment” feared by Tory figures and activists, following Farage making a late decision to join the general election race.
A separate poll by BMG for the i suggests that Labour have moved into the lead in polls on security and defence following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s D-Day gaffe. Returning to the Labour’s manifesto plans, the paper says the party has got a “gets “reality check” on the challenges of growing the economy.
The Daily Mail’s front page carries comments from a different economics think tank, which says Labour will probably preside over a “parliament of tax rises and spending cuts”. The paper describes Labour’s manifesto as being “big on windy promises and small on detail”.
Jeremy Hunt has “gone on the offensive” and claimed Labour are setting a “tax trap” for the country, according to the Daily Express. The paper says the chancellor attacked Starmer for his plans to tax private schools, energy firms and non-doms.
The Metro dedicates its front page to the opening of Euro 2024, which kicks off with Scotland playing hosts Germany on Friday. The paper reports thousands of England fans will be heading to Gelsenkirchen for their opener on Sunday against Serbia. Under the headline “It’s in their hands”, the Metro says Three Lions supporters will be “praying their 58 years of hurt will end with the sweetest of triumphs on the turf of their old foes”.
The “magic balls” at the Euros have technology installed to prevent cheating, according to the Daily Star. The paper says this new boffin-designed tech will prevent cheating like Diego Maradona’s infamous “hand of God” goal, where the Argentinian legend used his hand to score against England at the 1986 World Cup – knocking the Three Lions out in the quarter finals.
