What the papers say – August 15

Monday’s papers focus on Labour’s promise to ‘freeze cruel bills now’ with a ‘fully-funded’ plan to combat the ‘national economic emergency’.

What the papers say (PA) (PA Archive)

At the start of the working week the front pages carry Sir Keir Starmer’s £29 billion emergency plan to stop energy bills rising over winter and predicted disappointment for A-level pupils applying for university spots.

Metro and the Daily Mirror splash with the Labour leader’s promise to “freeze cruel bills now”, outlining his party’s “fully-funded” plan to combat the “national economic emergency” with an extension of the windfall levy on oil and gas companies.

The Times also leads with Sir Keir’s proposal, adding that “three in four Tory voters” are backing Labour’s energy plan.

According to the i, the Opposition’s pledge comes as the Tory candidates face growing pressure to propose reforms to energy price caps.

Elsewhere, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail report A-level pupils have been told by the higher education watchdog to be prepared for “disappointment” when results are announced this week, with predictions of a surge in applicants being rejected from their preferred universities after exam boards were ordered to crack down on spiralling grade inflation.

Overwhelmed food banks unable to cope with “unprecedented demand” are being forced to turn away families in need as more people fall into hardship caused by the cost-of-living crisis, The Independent writes.

The Guardian, meanwhile, reports Indonesian labourers who pick berries on a farm that supplies the UK’s biggest supermarkets say they have been “saddled with debts of up to £5,000 by unlicensed foreign brokers to work in Britain for a single season”.

US politicians are demanding more information about the potential threat to national security posed by Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents, says the Financial Times.

The Sun carries the forecasted rain after searing temperatures.

And the Daily Star declares Brits could be forced to leave windows “filthy for months” if drought conditions get any worse.