Top story: Cost of catching up with baby boomers
Hello, it’s Warren Murray getting you out of bed on the right side of the news.
It would buy a lot of avocado on toast! Let’s get that predictable remark out of the way before examining the actual merits of the Resolution Foundation’s proposal of a “citizen’s inheritance” of £10,000 at the age of 25 to address the wealth gap between millennials and baby boomers.
Those born from 1946 to 1965 have typically done better out of the system than today’s generation, who are saddled with mounting student debts, unaffordable housing and insecure work. “We need to redress that imbalance if we are to maintain the promise of an asset-owning democracy,” says the foundation’s just-released, thought-provoking intergenerational report, which shows clearly how wealth inequality between aged brackets has worsened.
The £10,000 grant would be funded by restructuring inheritance tax. The millennial verdict? “It would change your ability to save for a house,” said one. “Without restrictions I would be straight down to Selfridge’s,” said another.
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‘Make train travel easier’ – Rail companies are pushing for an overhaul of ticketing rules so they can offer fares more suited to modern work patterns and travel needs. Britain’s ticketing options have ballooned in complexity to offer passengers about 55m different fares. The 1990s rules pre-date smartphones, ubiquitous internet use and smart payment systems. The Rail Delivery Group says tickets such as a three-day-a-week season fare are too difficult to offer under current rules – and some existing fares need to go to make way for them. The passengers’ group Transport Focus and the British Chambers of Commerce have welcomed the RDG’s public consultation, which will report back in the autumn.
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Ireland ‘will not move’ on border – Theresa May is being warned not to expect a last-minute climbdown from Dublin over Brexit and the prospect of a hard border in Ireland. “Leo Varadkar [May’s Irish counterpart] is someone who will do the right thing for Ireland,” said a Dublin source. “They think we’ll get to the last point of the negotiations – and the border will be the last thing – and we’ll move, and we won’t.” May is facing increasing cross-party pressure for Britain to join the European Economic Area, with peers due to vote on a series of amendments tonight. Boris Johnson has dismissed May’s plan for a customs partnership as “crazy”. Chuka Umunna, co-leader of a cross-party pro-Europe group of MPs, voiced frustration with his Labour party’s unclear stance: “The party must pick sides,” he said. “To oppose the single market is to be aligned with Jacob Rees-Mogg.”
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Oxford siege – An armed standoff involving and a man who fired shots from an inner-city residence in Oxford has ended peacefully, according to police. Thames Valley police reopened Paradise Square, Paradise Street and Norfolk Street this morning after the incident, which began on Monday and continued through the night as police negotiated with the suspect. It was not being treated as terrorism, police said.
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Knotted hanky days to end – Or, “Britain in short-lived warm weather shocker”. The early May bank holiday was officially a record-breaker, with a high of 28.7C recorded in London. But we all knew it couldn’t last – from tomorrow it will be “nowhere near as warm”, with temperatures struggling to hit 20C and most likely resting in the mid-teens, according to Met Office forecasters. Today still promises temperatures of 28C in parts before that cool, rainy change moves in from Wednesday.
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Below the belt – Russell Crowe has gotten his own back at the comedian John Oliver, who bought the actor’s jockstrap from Cinderella Man and donated it to a Blockbuster video store in Alaska. Crowe has given the proceeds from his “divorce auction” for that item to a koala treatment clinic, which has been duly named the “John Oliver Koala Chlamidya Ward”. “Well played Russell Crowe. We’ve accomplished everything we set out to do on this show … That’s right, let’s shut it down. This show is over,” said Oliver.
Lunchtime read: On patrol with the Red Ants
“The singing starts, low and purposeful, as the Red Ants work. Children are carried out, followed by distressed mothers clutching salvaged belongings in plastic bags. Most adults knew this would happen one day. For those too young to understand, the sky has fallen in.”
In Johannesburg, South Africa, Jason Burke describes the scene of another mass eviction by the authorities’ chosen muscle when it comes to turfing out “hijackers” from tenements and shack settlements. A lack of adequate housing is one of the most toxic legacies of the apartheid regime that governed South Africa for nearly 50 years. These men in red overalls are usually poor themselves, young, uneducated and holding criminal records. Many are also squatters, all say they feel sorry for those they remove – sometimes in pitched battles that turn deadly. But “work is work”, so the cycle continues.
Sport
Messages of support continue to flood in for Sir Alex Ferguson, as the football world waits for news on his recovery from a brain haemorrhage.
Welshman Mark Williams has beaten John Higgins 18-16 in an epic World Snooker Championship final. The test that resulted in the adverse finding against Chris Froome has been called into question, with the finding likely to be part of his defence at the court of arbitration for sport. Richard Williams reflects on Steven Gerrard’s appointment at the Rangers, and argues that predicting which players will be good managers is pure guesswork. Stuart Lancaster is not interested in the vacant job at Harlequins and has ruled out a return to the Aviva Premiership in the immediate future.
Business
China stocks have risen sharply after reports that Sino-US talks will resume eased worries of a trade war. Hong Kong stocks also edged higher. Oil prices fell ahead of Donald Trump’s decision on whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Turning to the pound, it’s buying $1.354 and €1.137 this morning.
The papers
The Guardian splashes with the “citizen’s inheritance” but our front-page pic is Vladimir Putin on the red carpet at his coronation … sorry, “inauguration” … as Russian president, again. It’s the “Law of the gun”, says the Express, as extra police are ordered on to Britain’s streets after bank holiday weekend violence. “Kid vicious” is how the Sun sums up a rise in crime committed by under-10s.
The Times covers that rail fares story and frames it as the franchisees blaming the government’s rules for ticketing rip-offs. “Rail bosses admit it’s cheaper to split tickets” is the Telegraph’s take. “NHS cuts will kill our kids”, warns the Mirror, about cuts to paediatric services. The FT goes with “Trade jobs axe tests claims of ‘global Britain’ after Brexit” – Liam Fox’s department is having to cut back on officials who help companies break into overseas markets. The Metro has Boris Johnson backing Trump for the peace Nobel.
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