Newspaper headlines: 'Bitter Johnson' and calls for 'massive' tax cuts

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By BBC News
Staff
Reuters

Time for a look at the papers, which devote many pages to the Conservative leadership hopefuls. And their tax plans dominate.

The Sunday Telegraph leads with pledges from the former health secretaries, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt to drop a planned rise in corporation tax.

It describes Mr Javid's aim to also scrap the increase in National Insurance as a "bombshell."

According to the Mail on Sunday the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, who's expected to launch her campaign this week, will - in its words - "spike" Rishi Sunak's "tax hike".

The Mail says she will stand on a "True Blue Ticket."

But there's a warning in the Sunday Times from some Tory grandees that the attacks on the tax plans of the former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, are "toxic" and risk "ripping" the party apart.

The Observer suggests that senior Tories have accused Boris Johnson of trying to "torpedo" Mr Sunak's bid for the premiership.

The Telegraph describes the prime minister as "battered" and says that he's considering leaving politics. The paper suggests that he's deciding whether to stand down at the next election.

The Sun says Boris Johnson's being lined up to become a special envoy to Ukraine. A source says this would allow him "an early and dignified exit from the 'political tinderbox'".

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, insists that a fourth new Conservative Prime Minister in six years would be a recipe for more high taxes and low growth. He claims the UK has a "zombie government" and needs a general election now.

The Times reports on plans to bring in bus fares in England this October that will cost no more than £2. The scheme would subsidise single journeys of up to eighty miles for just six months. Some bus operators have raised concerns about what would happen when the planned cap is lifted.

And the Telegraph says that Savile Row - the street which has long been synonymous with bespoke suits - is trying to "tailor to younger generations."

From next week, the paper explains, one store, is going to offer custom tracksuits. The paper asks about the wisdom of the move, suggesting there's a reason that everyone from Winston Churchill and Cary Grant and just about every British royal male has frequented the street... and it isn't "because it's where to find a nice hoodie".