Welfare payments, winter blackout fears and a mobility scooter murder are splashed across Friday’s front pages.
The Irish Times reports that the prospect of across-the-board €15 increases to weekly welfare payments is receding amid concerns over its impact on the wider €6.7 billion budget package and Coalition tensions.
The Irish Examiner and the Irish Independent place a warning from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on their front pages.
The Examiner says households will be told to pay an extra €26 on average on their annual electricity bills, while the Independent reports that peak-time electricity usage will have to be cut to avoid power outages.
Mortgage rate hikes are back on the front page of the Irish Daily Mail, as the European Central Bank is set to raise interest rates once again amid soaring inflation across the euro zone.
The Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star speak to the family of Thomas O'Halloran, the 87-year-old Irishman who was stabbed to death on his mobility scooter in London.
The family of a victim of a freak car accident speaks to the Belfast Telegraph.
The Echo reports on ambulance wait times in the southern region, which are 11 minutes behind the target time.
The British papers cover health concerns, winter in Spain and a royal working in a garden centre.
The i reports that the Office of Budget Responsibility will tell Liz Truss she has billions of pounds less than she thinks she has to fund tax cuts if she becomes prime minister.
Friday's front page: Liz Truss to face 'no money' warning if she becomes PM #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/ej9Y7yARAq
— i newspaper (@theipaper) August 18, 2022
The Tory frontrunner plans to crack down on “militant unions who hold the country to ransom” with industrial action, according to the Daily Express.
Front page: Truss promises new laws to smash strike misery @trussliz#TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/zNNtrFVMVN pic.twitter.com/MJDjd0MOvF
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) August 18, 2022
“What has become of our country?” asks the Daily Mirror as it shares the story of an 87-year-old who waited 15 hours outside overnight for an ambulance.
Friday's front page: What has become of our country?https://t.co/xK4dpC7ZMx#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/q3iflWcuw5
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) August 18, 2022
Concerns about staffing numbers in care homes have prompted British health secretary Steve Barclay to consider an overseas hiring spree, reports The Times.
Friday’s TIMES: “Overseas hiring spree to rescue care homes” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/hhGF8Et7wl
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) August 18, 2022
The Sun, meanwhile, says the cost-of-living crisis “must be bad” as the Queen’s granddaughter Lady Louise Windsor works in a garden centre.
Friday’s SUN: “Queen’s grand-daughter works in garden centre” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/zuypaV8KaT
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) August 18, 2022
The Daily Star carries the story of a “savvy” worker who aims to save cash on fuel bills by moving to Spain for the winter.
Friday's front page: Wish you weren't here #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/8bo9X0qqPL pic.twitter.com/aBBoGh202U
— Daily Star (@dailystar) August 18, 2022
The Independent reports the latest A-level results show a growing North-South divide, with the Daily Mail saying tens of thousands of pupils were “desperately” trying to secure a university place following a record drop in grades.
Our front page tomorrow #TomorrowsPapersToday
Including @Nadine_Writes on Owami Davies, @JohnRentoul on his Tory race prediction and @clarisselou on the new Hugh Bonneville film I Came By pic.twitter.com/HvpBvHFDB3— Alastair Jamieson (@alastairjam) August 18, 2022
Friday’s Daily MAIL: “43,000 Scrambling For Place At University” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/x9wCkg79FT
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) August 18, 2022
Research shows the average water company boss’s total pay rose by 20 per cent over the last year amid pollution failings, according to The Guardian and Metro.
Guardian front page, Friday 19 August 2022: Water bosses' bonuses rose 20% amid pollution failings pic.twitter.com/7SXmnvovCA
— The Guardian (@guardian) August 18, 2022
Tomorrow's Paper Today 📰
FEELING FLUSH
🔴 'Scandal' of water bosses' 21% pay rise to total 24.8m
🔴As pipe leaks and sewage dumped in the sea continue pic.twitter.com/rj89wiacjX— Metro (@MetroUK) August 18, 2022
And The Daily Telegraph says authorities have asked for excess deaths figures to be examined as the paper reports lockdown’s effects may be killing more people than Covid-19.
🗞 The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:
'Lockdown feared to be killing more than Covid'#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4Oomry pic.twitter.com/xs8NF6GmOs— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 18, 2022
