The Daily Telegraph, external says GPs want an 11% increase in funding for surgeries and that a leaked letter from the British Medical Association calls the uplift a “reasonable objective”. A spokesperson for the union is quoted as saying there’s still “a long way to go” in negotiations.
The paper’s editorial warns against giving into unions, saying such deals put “public sector workers ahead of tax payers” and have “disturbing shades of the 1970s”. But the Daily Mirror’s, external political columnist, Paul Routledge, praises ministers for trying to end industrial disputes, saying: “Sort-it government is what the public wants.”
The Daily Mail, external highlights figures published on Thursday which suggest the UK economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to June. It says Labour’s “doom-laden claims about the Tories’ economic legacy” have been left in “tatters”.
The Daily Express, external has a similar take. Its front page headline declares there’s “surely no need for tax hikes with our growing economy”. The shadow chief secretary to the treasury, Laura Trott, has written a comment piece, external for the paper arguing that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has “no excuse” to announce any increases in taxation when she sets out her budget this autumn.
The Financial Times, external has spoken to government insiders who insist ministers aren’t “abandoning supercomputing” – despite scrapping £1.3bn in support for projects. The paper says Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is trying to contain the fallout from the decision – which included axing funding for a supercomputer at Edinburgh University. A government source is quoted as saying the “project made little strategic sense” because it “was not focused on AI” – although they insist ministers are expected to match previous spending commitments.
