A number of Thursday’s front pages lead with the breakthrough in the long-running train driver pay dispute. The Daily Mail writes that the offer of a 15% pay increase, over three years, could end “crippling” industrial action. The pay rise, that will see the average train driver salary for a four-day-week increase from £60,000 to £69,000, will cost the Treasury an estimated £100 million, fuelling concerns that ticket prices could now rise higher than they otherwise would have as a result, the paper writes.
Taylor Swift dominates The Times’ front page as she comes to London on her Eras Tour. The paper reports that the Conservatives have accused the government of “caving in” with the pay deal it has offered train drivers. According to the paper, the Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, said the pay increase was “the right thing to do”, whilst the general secretary of the Aslef union, Mick Whelan, called it a “fair offer”.
The news of Ukrainian forces making further advances inside Russia is on The Guardian’s front page. It says Kyiv also launched “major” drone attacks on four Russian airbases as President Volodymyr Zelensky used his nightly address to repeat calls for Western allies to allow Ukraine to target Russia with long-range strikes.
In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her own life aged 14, says that social media firms are “failing to remove dangerous content about self-harm and suicide”. He says the companies have made verbal promises but that there’s “no evidence anything has changed”.
The i newspaper leads with the UK’s inflation rate rising for the first time this year, which it says will benefit homeowners who could see mortgage rates drop to 3.5%. Expert analysis for the paper says that interest rates will probably be cut “multiple” times before December.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Express, Ester McVey calls for Rachel Reeves to reverse the “cruel” decision to scrap winter fuel payments for approximately10 million pensioners. The former work and pensions secretary labelled the decision announced by the chancellor last month as “out of the blue” and urged a U-turn.
The parents of a teacher who died in Cambodia are on the cover of Thursday’s Metro after they were sent the remains of another man. Maureen Thompson and Stephen Nightingale had raised money to repatriate their son. It was only when they went to view his body at a funeral home that they discovered they had been sent the remains of a 77-year-old Canadian instead.
“Sweets group moves into salty snacks” says The Financial Times in its lead story about confectionary giant Mars buying the company that makes Pringles. Mars, the manufacturer of M&M’s and Skittles, has made a deal to buy Kellanova for $35.9bn, which the FT have called “one of the largest deals of the year”.
“Horror of the cold baked beans deviants.” The Daily Star’s front page leads on an apparently divisive and contentious issue – do you eat baked beans hot or cold? The paper reports that a quarter of Britons don’t heat before they eat.
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