THE nationals are full of speculation on a scrap plan in today’s budget – with one saying it’s a dead cert!
Here, editor James Baggott reviews the national papers on the morning of one of the most important Budgets ever.
We’ll be covering the Budget all day at CarDealerMag.co.uk with a live blog when Alistair Darling stands up to deliver his speech at 12.30pm.
Make sure you come back!
THE SUN
Victory, declares The Sun, for White Van Man. Pandering to its core readership the paper says it has won its battle for a scrappage scheme – claiming vans will be included in the scheme too. It says the chancellor WILL announce a scheme today offering drivers £1,000 for cars older than 10 years with carmakers stumping up the other half. But Ken Gibson says, in his My View column, that it will only work if manufacturers do add their half. ‘If those companies don’t chip in, it makes the £300m scheme irrelevant as motorists are unlikely to be attracted by a £1,000 grant,’ he writes.
THE TIMES
The paper reports a scrappage scheme will be announced for cars over 10 years old. It also thinks the chancellor will say the government will pay £1,000 with the other half coming from carmakers. Like its sister paper, The Sun, it also says the scheme will apply to vans.
DAILY MAIL
The Mail thinks a scrappage scheme will get the go ahead but is light on details. In its round-up of possible outcomes from today’s Budget it says there will be ‘a scheme offering a £2,000 incentive for motorists to trade old cars for new models’.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
The paper recognises that the motoring world is hurting and acknowledges the fact tens of thousands of people in the UK are employed by the industry. It says the chancellor has been badgered by Lord Mandelson to implement a £250m ‘bangers for cash’ scheme that will provide a £2,000 discount for people with cars older than NINE years. It says the amount needed for the scheme is ‘small fry’ compared to what it has ploughed into banks and reckons the scheme will be introduced.
DAILY MIRROR
The Mirror seem to have forgotten a scrap scheme could even take place, or the Budget for that matter, with little coverage in today’s paper.
DAILY EXPRESS
Also seems to have forgotten its few readers probably have cars and might just be interested in a proposed scrappage scheme with little mention of it in today’s paper.
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