Shropshire Star

What the papers say – June 18

Backlash over Theresa May’s NHS announcement leads many of the papers.

Published
What the papers say

Theresa May’s impending announcement on the NHS features prominently on the front pages on Monday.

The Prime Minister is due to promise a £20 billion funding boost to the health service during a speech in London.

MPs have said the money must be conditional on the NHS taking action to cut waste, the Daily Mail reports, which runs with the headline: “Let’s go to war on NHS waste”.

The Times says Mrs May is facing a “black hole” in her plan, reporting that the Government has yet to confirm how up to £11 billion of the money will be found.

The paper says ministers were unable to agree on all of the sources of revenue before the announcement.

The PM has also faced criticism for suggesting some of the money will come from a so-called Brexit dividend, The Guardian reports.

Experts from the Institute for Fiscal Studies pointed out that even the Government accepted there would be no immediate boost to coffers after Britain leaves the EU, the paper adds.

According to the Financial Times, the plan was also met with a backlash from Mrs May’s own party, as MPs warned of unpopular tax rises to pay for the plan.

Stealth taxes are expected to help fund the plan, the Daily Telegraph reports, with a freeze in personal tax thresholds after 2020.

The i brands the plan a “£20bn ‘birthday present’ for the NHS”, while the Metro says the PM was accused of grasping for a “magic money tree”.

Remaining on the politics theme, the Independent reports that Tory MPs are due to challenge Mrs May to pay greater attention to the UK’s housing crisis and demand she adopt a “radical agenda” to win voters’ support.

Elsewhere, the start of England’s World Cup campaign makes the front of The Sun, which urges readers to bring the country luck by kissing skipper Harry Kane’s boot.

Both the Daily Mirror and Daily Star lead on Ant McPartlin’s ex-wife’s “heartbreak” as the TV presenter has reportedly found love again.

And the Daily Express reports that health experts have warned Britons to stop taking prescription drugs and eat their way back to health.

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