What the papers say – November 23

The reaction to Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement leads Britain’s papers on Thursday.

What the papers say (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

The front pages on Thursday are primarily focused on the autumn statement, but not all are on board with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s vision as the UK moves into a general election year.

The Metro and The Sun have already begun celebrating the new year, as newly announced national insurance cuts are set to begin with the calendar change.

The i and the Financial Times have honed in on the UK’s tax burden, which is set to hit a record high despite the cuts announced in the autumn statement.

The Daily Mirror criticised the autumn statement by pointing out that, while many will be celebrating cuts to national insurance, millions of Brits will be worse off.

The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail seized on words said by the Mr Hunt as he revealed the autumn statement: “These are the biggest tax cuts since the 1980s”.

The Independent asked “who are they kidding?” as they looked at the good and bad news from the autumn statement.

The Guardian called out the cuts for their timing, saying: “Hunt reveals £20bn in tax cuts as Tories move on to election footing”.

The Times kept it simple, reporting “Hunt eases tax burden”.

The Daily Express claimed victory as they say Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak listened to the masthead by “pledging to honour the triple lock”.

And the Daily Star took a different approach, leading with a story on blind musician Stevie Wonder, who got behind the wheel of a car with pop duo Eurythmics in the car.