Papers divided on Tory tax plans

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Conservative plans to reverse - in part - a rise in national insurance have attracted much opinion in the papers.

The <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1261449/Osborne-Ill-cut-Labours-National-Insurance-stealth-tax-jobs.html">Daily Mail calls it a "step in the right direction",</a> and <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7079679.ece">the Times an attempt to seize electoral initiative.</a>

The <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7533416/General-Election-2010-Tories-to-block-National-Insurance-rise.html">Daily Telegraph says the proposal, for low and middle income earners, will allow the Tories to fight the election</a> on a platform of lower taxes.

And <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/mar/29/national-insurance-george-osborne-conservatives">the Guardian says offering a direct tax cut but failing to explain fully how to fund it is a "gamble".</a>

'Vague and vacuous'

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/03/28/tony-blair-returns-to-demolish-david-cameron-s-claim-to-be-his-heir-115875-22145442/">The Daily Mirror focuses on what it calls Labour's secret election weapon </a> - former prime minister Tony Blair.

It says he will re-emerge on the political centre stage in a speech attacking the Tories.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2911451/Gordon-Browns-five-key-election-pledges-blasted.html">Labour's five election pledges set out at the weekend get short shrift in the Sun,</a> where they are described as "vacant, vague and vacuous".

The paper's front page carries <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2911523/Britains-oldest-dad-Gerry-Burks-is-74.html">the story of "Britain's oldest dad"</a> Gerry Burks, who at 74 has produced a son.

Pill-poppers

Elsewhere, the <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1261436/A-nation-pill-poppers-Prescriptions-soar-pick-16-EACH-year.html">Daily Mail says Britain has become a nation of pill-poppers,</a> who turn to tablets to cure every ill.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fdfc257c-3aa7-11df-b6d5-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Ffdfc257c-3aa7-11df-b6d5-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fuk%2Fworld%2Fuk">The Financial Times reports on the UK's "largest-ever" insider trading probe</a> in London - involving various shares.

The <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/29/raf-jets-scrambled-terrorist-alerts">Guardian tells us RAF jets have been scrambled twice this month,</a> in response to terrorist alerts on passenger airliners over Britain.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/28/government-plan-football-clubs-fans">The paper also says the government is drawing up plans to give football fans</a> a greater say in how clubs are run.

Arctic blast

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/165769/Arctic-Easter-blast-on-the-way">The Daily Express claims an Arctic Easter blast is on the way,</a> which will bring freezing conditions and travel chaos across Britain.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/like-hollywood-basildon-puts-its-name-up-in-lights-1929994.html">The Independent says Basildon in Essex is installing its own Hollywood-style white sign,</a> to be lit up at night.

In the Hollywood Hills, the letters stand 45ft tall but on the A127, they will be 5ft, it reports.

Finally, <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7532996/Ageing-spies-unable-to-use-the-internet.html">the Daily Telegraph claims MI5 has embarked on a redundancy programme</a> to recruit more technology-savvy spies.