Sunak 'promises tax cuts' and 'giveaway condemned'

Daily Telegraph headline reads "Sunak promises £17bn in tax cuts
Many front pages feature stories on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promising £17bn in tax cuts in the Conservative Party's manifesto. The Daily Telegraph reports that among the planned giveaways are the abolition of National Insurance for around four million self-employed workers and a 2p cut in NI for employees. [BBC]
Financial Times headline reads: "Sunak’s £17bn tax cuts promise fails to satisfy Tory appetite for ‘boldness’"
Mr Sunak's promise has been "attacked by some on the Tory right for being too timid", according to the Financial Times. The paper has spoken to a former cabinet minister, who said the PM had failed to protect the Conservatives against being attacked from the right by Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. [BBC]
Times headline reads: "PM: A vote for Reform puts Labour into No 10"
The Times highlights that Mr Sunak issued a warning over the threat Reform UK posed in his speech at the manifesto's launch in Silverstone. The paper says the PM claimed any vote for Mr Farage's party would help put Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street "for a very long time". [BBC]
Daily Mail headline reads: "Rishi: don’t give labour a blank cheque"
Mr Sunak also called on voters not to hand Mr Starmer a "blank cheque" if Labour won the general election, says the Daily Mail. The paper says the manifesto creates "clear blue water" between the Tories and their opponents, with the PM telling voters only his party has the "big ideas to make our country a better place to live" in. [BBC]
Guardian headline reads: "Tories’ ‘implausible’ £17bn tax giveaway condemned"
Daily Mirror headline reads: "Rish: I didn’t have a dish"
Mr Sunak has "claimed he knows what real sacrifice is by declaring he had no Sky TV as a child", the Daily Mirror's lead story says. The paper reports the PM made this "clueless gripe" during an ITV interview to be broadcast on Wednesday, which Mr Sunak controversially left the 80th anniversary of D-Day early in order to attend. [BBC]
Daily Express headline reads: "TO DEPORT 100,000 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS"
The Daily Express reports that Mr Sunak has also promised to slash legal immigration in half and deport as many as 100,000 illegal immigrants. The paper says he vowed deportation flights to Rwanda would begin within days of a Tory win. [BBC]
The i headline reads: "Labour promises £12 an hour to care workers"
Switching to Labour's plans, the i reports the party is set to promise a minimum £12 an hour to care workers in England to “improve recruitment in social care and ease burden on NHS”. Private providers will be encouraged to absorb the costs to retain staff, but the paper notes it “remains unclear” how councils will pay for the increase. [BBC]
Metro image reads: "POP PAEDO’S £500K TO VICTIM"
Daily Star headline reads: "The weekend starts NOW!"
Perhaps thinking about a pub trip all of their own to watch the Euros next week, the Daily Star is running a story on "wild Wednesday" turning into first day of the weekend. The paper says many young people are working from home on Thursdays and Fridays, which means they "hit the town" earlier than their older colleagues. [BBC]

Many papers are leading on the Conservative election manifesto launch, which has promised £17 billion in tax cuts if the party wins the General Election.

The Times picks up on Rishi Sunak's warning to wavering Tory voters that opting for Reform UK or the Liberal Democrats would hand power to Labour.

But the paper's opinion column is not enthusiastic about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's manifesto launch speech at Silverstone. It concludes the attempt to convey a sense of dynamism, by holding the event at a Formula One circuit, was a "hard sell for a party 14 years in power".

The i says there wasn't much in the speech to appeal to right-wing Conservatives. The paper concludes that "the lack of any surprises in the document did little to allay concerns within the party that they are failing to make in-roads into Labour's twenty-point lead".

The Sun is more positive, welcoming the launch and declaring that "the battle lines are drawn" between a "Tory party promising tax cuts versus a Labour Party which refuses to do the same". The paper also commends Rishi Sunak for being honest about what it calls the Conservatives' "patchy record" in government.

According to the Guardian, several think-tanks are questioning the detail of his plan for a "£17 billion pound tax giveaway". The paper quotes the Institute For Fiscal Studies think tank stating that the package would be "paid for by uncertain, unspecific and apparently victimless savings".

The Daily Express highlights the prime minister's pledge that deportation flights to Rwanda would take off within days if the Conservatives were returned to office. The paper's opinion column suggests that Mr Sunak "stands alone in his determination to stop the boats".

The Daily Mirror concentrates on the ITV interview which Mr Sunak gave after returning from the D-Day commemorations in France, which will air on Wednesday night. The paper highlights the fact that, when asked if he'd ever gone without anything, he responded that his family didn't have Sky TV when he was growing up.

The Mirror's leader column argues that this is "more excruciating proof of how he just does not understand the hardships that so many people are having to endure".

On the front page of the Financial Times there are details of how, ahead of the US presidential election in November, Republican and Democrat fundraisers are seeking to woo wealthy Americans in the UK. It reveals that two rival events are being held in London tonight - with tickets to the Republican one selling for as much as £100,000.

The Daily Mail suggests broadcaster Michael Mosley, who died while on holiday in Greece last week, had been invited to appear on the forthcoming series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. The paper thinks that would have been the "perfect role" for Michael Mosley who, it says, spoke "knowledgeably and enthusiastically" about the health benefits of dancing.

Finally, the Daily Telegraph reports on new research from the US suggesting astronauts need to eat chocolate and drink red wine. The paper explains that both contain flavanols, which are substances that can protect against the physical damage caused by space travel.

The paper's leader speculates that "there may be some old space-dog who thinks he drives better after a few glasses of a decent claret".

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