17/03/2016 The Papers

from the Cheltenham Fosterville. Thistle Cracker won the big race of

the day. That is all coming up after The Papers. -- Cheltenham Festival.

Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers

With me are Liam Halligan, economics correspondent

at the Sunday Telegraph, and broadcaster Penny Smith.

The Financial Times leads on the aftermath of the budget.

It says George Osborne is facing a rebellion among Conservative MPs

over his ?1 billion cut to disability benefits.

The Telegraph has 'Tory rebellion on welfare cuts', as its top story.

It says backbenchers are threatening to block the Chancellor's plans to

limit benefits for 640,000 disabled people.

The Mirror says there is open rebellion in the Conservative Party

Its banner headline reads, 'Tory revolt at disabled benefit cut'.

The Metro leads with a different treasury story.

A warning from the environment minister

Rory Stewart that the government might introduce a coffee cup tax.

It says there's concern over the billions of cups which end up

New Day leads on the death of the tampon tax.

It comes after British women have paid ?240 million in VAT on sanitary

It says paracetamol has been proven to be useless for sufferers

Let's have a look at some of those. The Telegraph. More details that

Tory rebellion. The second day of the budget. Some aspects of the

budget are unravelling. The government has a small majority in

Parliament, just 12, we sometimes forget that. There's now alliance of

some Tories, eurosceptics and Labour backbenchers who are punishing the

Chancellor for taking the relatively small amount of money, ?1.3 billion,

but a huge amount of money for the people it affects, around 640,000

disabled people. Their personal independence payments are being

phased out and he faces a rebellion. I suspect we will see a quick

retreat on this, given that the government won't want to give anyone

excuse to keep them. But it might not necessarily be to do with the

eurosceptics. It might be because people don't think it is a decent

thing to do when the taxes are being cut for the wealthy are 5% or 10%.

This isn't the right thing to be doing for people who can't work. If

there was going to be a rebellion this will happen quicker. We have

Tory Eurosceptics and backbenchers who see an opportunity to exert

power and that's what they're doing. But it might not just be because of

that, it might be because it is also about saying this is not a decent

thing to be doing. Especially when as you look on Independent we the

wealthiest 10% by far being the biggest beneficiaries. That is

at... The poorest in society. Today, the ISS... IFS, a respected think

tank, have laid into the government. Stronger than I have ever seen them

do. They have particularly highlighted what they see as the

regressive nature of Parliament's package of measures, especially the

increase in the higher rate threshold to about ?45,000. George

Osborne would say, as he did in the budget, the richest 1% of people pay

28% of income tax, which is higher than during the Labour years. A lot

of rich people have benefited, as John McDonald said, we had lower

capital gains tax and so on. As Penney says, the top 10% of people

gained more than ?250 a year and the next richest gained ?150 from this

package. Which is next to nothing for them and would mean quite a

lot... There's a gentleman who says George Osborne doesn't have to

worry, I do. This is a man who worried he might not be able to

afford to replace his wheelchair. And overall spending on those

payments is going up and the most vulnerable would be protected. That

is the argument that he will maintain in the Commons. While he

turns it around. But the political optics look bad. As Labour are doing

now quite effectively, they are linking to get the places where

there have been cuts and linking together places where there have

been... They say clearly this paid for this. No matter which way you

look at it, it is taking cake from the people who can't afford...

Penney, better news if the government is looking at the The New

Day... This is the story that VAT is going to go. Well, it appears it

will. On sanitary products. Although, I did look at that picture

and think, they look like world up ropes. Anyway, British women have

paid out more than ?240 million in VAT over the past 15 years on the

basis that these are not necessities, unlike razors for men.

This is a bit of a nerdy story, but very symbolic. The EU has a rule

that you have a minimum VAT rate of 5% on everything. That dates back a

long time. Yes. If you want zero rated goods like food, like

medicine, you have to get wages. Razors have been seen as essentials

for quite a long time and women's sanitary products haven't. That's

been righted now. The British government is reporting that

European Parliament have agreed to put a statement of support for UK

adjustment into the summit communique. Whether or not it

actually amounts to a deal, there is some room for manoeuvre. It is

interesting with all of this political clout. The disability

benefit remains on one side... And also the forthcoming referendum.

Yes, of course. You used the word prison one hour ago? -- prism. You

have to look at it through the prism of the referendum. You should have a

necklace with a prism on it, through which you can look at everything!

For the next three months. Let's have a look at The Daily Mail. We

touched on this one hour ago we touched on this one hour ago in

paper. The coffee cup tax, which is being mooted. They are talking about

a Tory wall. It is amazing. Up until a few days ago, when I saw it in the

papers, I hadn't thought about it. The plastic bag tax. Every where I

go, I think, have people stopped buying plastic bags? I have the

little foldaway bags all the time, but I've been using those of course

for years! You were way ahead of this. So ahead! But I always ask,

has it worked? They all say it has. So many people say that... The

retailers say they are issuing 80% less plastic bags, so less plastic

that end up in the sea or in landfill. The Environment Minister,

who is a clever bloke, floated in the Commons today the idea of

something similar on coffee cups. The idea of getting coffee but not

in a disposable cup. In the last couple of hours we've just had the

fizzy drinks tax, the food industry is very powerful and the government

needs their support on June 23, if you are looking through the prism of

the referendum. Is it just about the referendum prism? So let's just say

she is pouring cold water into the coffee. Some people are posting the

coffee cup tax. It does make sense. Billions, this tidal wave of

rubbish. And these cops are made out of a blend of cardboard and plastic.

Apparently they are hard to recycle. So this raises the question, is it

to raise funds or stop doing things? A bit of both. The sugar

tax, the government said they wanted people, especially kids, to drink

less fizzy drinks, but that hasn't stopped the chancellor pencilling in

?450 million from this thing by... In the first year of operation. So

he's presumably assuming that it won't work. The law of unintended

consequences properly means people will just eat chocolate instead, or

chocolate milk. What do you think about the chocolate tax? Well, it

probably would help me out. I would go onto toffee apples! You are

head-on plastic bags but falling behind on chocolate. Yes. The

Guardian. I know this has caught your eyes. I am a school governor.

What do you bring to the party? I tell the jokes, of course. In the

government education white paper, Nicky Morgan the education secretary

has apparently put the idea out there, it is obviously a white

papers or doesn't mean it is law or will become law, that the slots on

the boards of governors of schools reserved for parents, who don't

necessarily... They aren't necessarily lawyers or accountants,

just parents who are elected by other parents, those slots could be

scrapped. I think that's a shame. It would mean if you want to be on the

board of governors as a parent you would have to bring tangible

professionally recognised skills, like accountancy or the law. What a

shame. There are certainly parents out there who make school governors

and they're not professionally qualified. They just understand

children. Yes, and also perhaps bring something else, for example

they might have a different take on all sorts of things like sports.

Indeed. I wonder why the government is doing this. More accountants? It

will be interesting to see where this one goes. Take us to the inside

of the Mail. It is on the front page as well. Our last days of laughter

and ice cream by Paul Daniels. His wife was his former state

assistant. 20 years younger and at the time that caused eyebrows, the

age difference, and of course we all remember that interview when she

said, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels? Debbie

has been talking about him and saying that he always made her

laugh, they loved every single day and he loved people and he was... He

was a really... She talks about how lovely he was and how the last 48

hours he was kind of underwear. She said he was happy, and confused. --

kind of unaware. It was a moving interview. He was born in

Middlesborough. Probably quite a lot of people wouldn't have known that.

28 years together. She said they had a marriage that everyone dreams. It

was a lovely interview. One of those people who had been on the

television screens for about 25 years. So many years. Lots of

magicians are quoting him as the person who inspired them. That was

the other thing that has been touched on in interviews.

We will close with the Egyptian queen story you wanted to mention? A

tiny bit of the Telegraph? They have scanned the tomb of Tutankhamen and

they have found that almost certainly, there would be other

areas there behind the chambers. Two hidden chambers which may well be

their resting place of queen Nefertiti, the legendary beauty and

the wife of Tutankhamen's father. It is always odd, because when you say

the mum, she is also a mummy. But how exciting is that? And unsealed

by a British archaeologist, Nicholas Reeves. British archaeologist also

unearthed Tutankhamen originally. Thank you very much. Coming up next,