The Daily Telegraph says Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning to introduce a new tax on high-value homes in the Budget, external. The report says 2.4m properties – across the council tax bands F, G and H – will be affected by the move. Ms Reeves has ditched plans to raise income tax which, according to The Daily Mail, shows she has “lost control”, external. The paper says the chancellor has been accused of “presiding over the most shambolic Budget in history”. “Investors lose faith in Reeves Budget”, external says The Financial Times. Its report notes a “sharp rise” in the government’s borrowing costs on Friday, after the apparent U-turn. The Times calls it the worst day for UK debt markets since July, when the chancellor was seen looking tearful in the Commons. Reeves has previously said she will make “fair” choices to shore up the public finances.
The US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza, according to a report in The Guardian, external. The paper says the Israeli military and other international forces would control a “green zone”, where reconstruction would start, while a “red zone” would be left in ruins. A US official, speaking to the Guardian on condition of anonymity, says “it’s not going to be easy”.
A terminally ill woman’s call for the House of Lords to pass assisted dying legislation leads The Daily Express. Its headline reads “show you care and stop delaying right to die law”. Peers recently suggested more than 900 amendments to the bill.
The Times reports on Waitrose ditching frozen turkeys, external, with research showing that fewer than half of households are likely to eat it on Christmas Day this year. The paper says research by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Boards shows that 51% of people who celebrated Christmas ate turkey in 2023, down from 60 per cent three years earlier.
The Daily Star says that the former US ambassador, Lord Mandelson, has been caught up in what it calls a “new leak scandal”, after being photographed urinating in public. He has apologised, saying he’d been bursting while waiting for a cab on the street. The Star’s headline puns: “It’s Pee-ter Mandelson”.
