The King’s Speech dominates most of Thursday’s newspaper headlines. The Daily Mail brands Labour’s legislative agenda a “red revolution” and lists rights to work from home, more diversity monitoring and “extra power for the unions” as examples of policies that could hinder the new government’s plan to take the “brakes off Britain”.
“Starmer unveils his Big State Britain” is the Telegraph’s headline, alongside a photo of the King and Queen attending the State Opening of Parliament. It says the prime minister has “signalled the return of big government” and has given workers and tenants “extra rights to push back against bosses and landlords”. The paper also reports US President Joe Biden saying he will only stand down from the presidential race if he is diagnosed with a serious medical condition.
The Guardian reports that Sir Keir used his first King’s Speech to lambast the “snake oil of populism” and pledged to “fix the foundations” of the country. It also has a separate story on how the prime minister has sought to “ward off the first rebellion of his premiership” with a child poverty plan, as backbench MPs were preparing to back calls for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped.
The Financial Times highlights Sir Keir’s characterisation of his legislative plan as a “decade of renewal”. It describes it as a “pick-and-mix of traditional Labour state intervention coupled with fiscal discipline and radical planning reforms beloved of the Tory right”. It also has a story on how the UK’s market for used electric cars is “booming” as a result of prices dropping.
“Red Revolution!” the Daily Express says of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s “radical” plans for the country. It quotes Tories warning that the UK should brace itself for tax increases.
“Taking back control” is the Mirror’s headline, adding that the prime minister has praised the newspaper’s campaigns on knife crime and killers being made to attend court to face sentencing.
The Times reports that Sir Keir will “begin a push to secure a new deal with Europe on migration” on Thursday at a summit he is hosting in Oxfordshire. It says that EU diplomats expect the prime minister to use a private meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a potential agreement to send some small boats of migrants back to France, in return for accepting a number of asylum seekers from Europe.
Labour’s plans to bring railways into public ownership is the focus of the i’s front page. It says that Avanti West Coast is the first “failing rail operator facing the threat of nationalisation” and reports that Transport Secretary Louise Haigh told executives that she “won’t tolerate the unacceptable levels of service” they have been providing. The paper reports that Rail Partners, which represents rail operators, has criticised the move, calling it a “political not a practical solution”.
And the Daily Star warns that hot weather due to hit the UK this week could bring “deadly stingrays” to our shores.
