Scotland’s papers: Cuts and tax hikes in ‘new age of austerity’

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The chancellor’s Autumn Statement is the big story on Thursday’s front pages and the i’s headline “Hunt reveals UK’s new age of austerity” predicts more gloom. The paper looks at Jeremy Hunt’s plans to balance the books after the pandemic and Liz Truss’s tenure as prime minister, saying that Mr Hunt will announce £30bn of cuts to public spending and £24bn in tax rises.

“Outrageous” is the Daily Record’s headline, claiming the Tories “trashed the economy” and now we have to pay for it. The paper says the chancellor will cut £35bn from public services and reports fears from the Poverty Alliance that the cuts will hit the poorest hardest.

Mr Hunt’s warning of “difficult decisions” is the top line in The Scotsman. It points out the context of the new plan being launched 24 hours after inflation in the UK reached a 41-year high.

The Scottish Daily Express calls today “D-Day for UK”, saying that Mr Hunt vows to deliver a “fair and honest” budget.

According to The Times, Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement will target the wealthy. The paper claims the chancellor will say the wealthiest must bear the “heaviest load”, with the level at which people pay the 45p rate of income tax falling from £150,000 to £125,000.

“Grin and bear it” is the Metro’s headline, with a picture of a smiling Mr Hunt, preparing to “deliver a dose of painful tax rises”. The paper says big public spending cuts will mark Britain’s toughest budget for decades”.

The Scottish edition of the Daily Telegraph quotes the chancellor as saying the UK must “face into the storm”. The paper says he is expected to tell MPs that “the British people are tough, inventive and resourceful. We have risen to bigger challenges before”.

The Herald turns its attention to the Scottish government’s finances, saying Audit Scotland has warned ministers they need to act or face “bursting its budget”. It says auditors fear the government risk “serious financial mismanagement” if it fails to balance the books.

The National leads with the announcement that Supreme Court judges will issue a decision on Nicola Sturgeon’s plans for a second independence referendum next week. The judgement will come next Wednesday on whether the Scottish Parliament can hold a second vote without Westminster’s approval.

Next Thursday’s teachers’ strike is the main story in the Edinburgh Evening News. Local authorities have started to announce school closures.

A potential egg shortage is the Scottish Daily Mail’s lead. It looks at a decision by some UK supermarkets to ration eggs and limit the number of boxes people can buy. It says bird flu and the war in Ukraine are to blame for shortages.

The Scottish Sun’s front page is given to a story about gangster Steven “Bonzo” Daniel’s home being rammed by a car which then burst into flames.

Lives could be in danger due to a shortage of firefighting staff in rural areas of the Highlands, reports the P&J. Councillors say Thurso’s station is only available for emergency calls “half of the time”.

Dundee’s Evening Telegraph has managed to get hold of figures on bullying in the city’s schools and encourages readers to look up their children’s schools.

A firefighter tells The Courier of his “disgust” that a paramedic accused of making inappropriate comments at the scene of a fatal crash has not been suspended.

Anger over funding proposals for a new stadium in Aberdeen make the front of the Evening Express. The city council and Aberdeen football club are at odds over the project, the paper reports.

The shock closure of The Forge market in Glasgow is the lead in the Glasgow Times which says independent traders were baffled at being forced to close their businesses.

And the Daily Star of Scotland focuses on former US president Donald Trump’s announcement that he will run for president again in 2024. Referring to Mr Trump’s tan and his pledge to plant an American flag in Mars, a headline on the paper says “orange man vows to conquer red planet”.