Newspaper headlines: Hunt cuts NI but is told 'Britain deserves better'

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who delivered his Budget on Wednesday, appears on almost all the front pages.

The Financial Times says his decision to cut National Insurance contributions by 2p was designed to chip away at Labour's polling lead. It adds, though, that the giveaway was funded in part by higher borrowing and that Mr Hunt is relying on unrealistic spending plans, which could involve unspecified future cuts to already-strained public services. The paper's editorial says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said his government will make tough decisions for the country's long term interests but that "there's only a little evidence of that in this electioneering budget".

"A solid Tory budget, but sadly lacking in pyrotechnics" is the Daily Mail's verdict. The paper says the measures would be "perfectly sound" if the Tories were 20 points ahead in the polls, but that they are currently stuck in the trenches and need something to get them back on the offensive.

Similarly, the Sun's editorial asks: "Is 2p too little too late?" The papers says that in ordinary times Mr Hunt's "solid and thoughtful" Budget might have been acclaimed but that the Tories remain adrift in the polls and that that statement contained no game-changing measures.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, pictured before delivering his Budget on Wednesday, features on many of the front pages

The Daily Telegraph singles out the chancellor's remarks that he would like to abolish National Insurance for workers altogether. It says the pledge to do so could be in the Conservatives' next election manifesto, though adds that no schedule has been given for the radical ambition and that it would cost £50bn. Its editorial warns that scrapping National Insurance would be "fraught with difficulty" because it would "remove even a semblance of the contributory principle from social and welfare payments".

Under the headline "Britain ready for take off!", the Daily Express says Mr Hunt is "turbocharging the economy, by putting more cash in people's pockets". According to the paper, the budget shows the UK has come through the economic crisis, allowing the government to return some cash to the people who earn it.

The Times also welcomes the tax cuts. It says Mr Hunt made a bold choice to reward work "rather than offer yet more bungs to pensioners", many of whom are natural Conservative voters.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described Mr Hunt's statement as the 'last desperate act of a party that has failed'

The Daily Mirror is unimpressed, describing the budget as "full of gimmicks" and declaring that "we deserve better". In an editorial, the paper says Mr Hunt tried to bribe voters. It says nobody will fall for what it calls a "Tory con trick" because tax cuts are massively offset by tax rises elsewhere as well as spending cuts scheduled after the next general election.

The words of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer - who described Mr Hunt's statement as the "last desperate act of a party that has failed" - make the Guardian's front page headline. The paper says that, despite the giveaway, taxes are set to rise to their highest level since 1948.

And the i says it has been told Labour won't tax high earners in order to plug a £20bn black hole in Britain's public spending if it wins power. The paper says Sir Keir and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves are "determined to resist any left-wing pressure" for taxes on wealth, such as a mansion tax. The paper quotes one Labour MP saying: "We're going to have to find some policies that strike out a different pathway forward... on the economy, or we will end up being the midwives of austerity 2.0".

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