A variety of stories lead the papers. The Times says any hope Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had of a significant cut in interest rates before the election have suffered a blow after data showed inflation falling more slowly than expected. Figures released on Wednesday showed inflation last month reached 3.2%, its lowest level since September 2021 but still higher than many analysts had expected. One senior figure is quoted saying the Tory strategy for the election is to instil a "genuine economic feelgood factor" but that, for it to work, "people need to feel it". [BBC]
The Financial Times says a warning about the national debt has raised doubts over whether the government will be able to deliver further cuts to national insurance. The paper says the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday listed the UK as one of four large economies that "critically" needed to take action to address imbalances between their spending and revenues. It says Mr Sunak has insisted further cuts to National Insurance will only go ahead if they are affordable. [BBC]
A vote in the House of Lords that saw the government's Rwanda asylum policy blocked for a fourth time leads the Daily Express. The paper says Labour, Liberal Democrat, and crossbench peers wanted further amendments to the plans but that "ministers refused to concede ground". It says the Lords "stand accused of being more interested in halting migrant flights" than in stopping Channel crossings. [BBC]
The Daily Mail reports that a poll has found the Conservatives currently trail Labour in public opinion on every major political issue. The paper says Labour maintains a lead not only on issues like the NHS, but also on "traditional Tory policy areas, including defence, tax, immigration - and event Brexit". It says the result should act as a "major wake-up call to Rishi Sunak". [BBC]
A report by health think tank the Nuffield Trust has said drug shortages have become the "new normal" in Britain and are being exacerbated by Brexit, according to the Guardian. The paper says the medicines affected include those used to treat epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, and ADHD and that pharmacy bosses have warned the shortages are endangering the lives of those with the most serious illnesses. Mark Dayan, the lead author of the report, tells the paper: "The rise in shortages of vital medicines from rare to commonplace has been a shocking development that few would have expected a decade ago." [BBC]
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner is facing new questions about her financial affairs, according to the Daily Telegraph. Ms Rayner has previously been accused of giving false information about her main residence and faced questions about whether she should have paid capital gains tax when she sold a former council house in 2015. She has said she is "completely confident" she has "followed the rules at all times" and pledged to step down if she is found to have broken the law. The Telegraph reports that, if what Mr Rayner has said is correct and the home sold in 2015 was her main residence, then her husband, Mark Rayner, should have paid capital gains on a property he sold the following year. [BBC]
The i says US President Joe Biden may seek to revive the Iran nuclear deal in order to avoid a further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. The deal, under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions, was agreed in 2015 but later scrapped by Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump. An administration source tells the paper: "The president is doing everything he can to avert a war." [BBC]
An elderly man has died and thousands of British travellers have been stranded in Dubai after the heaviest rainfall in the city for 75 years, according to the Metro. The front page includes a photo showing hundreds of cars backed up on a highway that has been completely submerged by water. [BBC]
The Daily Mirror leads with the death of Michael Donovan, the man behind a fake kidnap plot involving West Yorkshire girl Shannon Matthews. Donovan and Shannon's mother Karen Matthews staged the nine-year-old's disappearance in February 2008 in a scheme to claim a £50,000 reward. The paper says Donovan died of cancer aged 56. [BBC]
Prince Harry has officially registered himself as a US resident, according to the Sun. The paper says the prince called the US his "new country" in records filed at Companies House and that the move suggests he has "cut all ties with Britain". [BBC]
And the Daily Star reports that Ben Mee, whose story of buying Dartmoor Zoo became the basis for a film starring Matt Damon, has claimed that escaped cats, including pumas, are roaming the UK. "Big cats do walk among us," reads the headline. [BBC]
[BBC]
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