Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
A lot of Friday’s front pages lead with the National Grid’s warning that the UK might face blackouts this winter due to the ongoing energy crisis.
The warning is a worst-case scenario situation and power cuts this winter will only happen if gas supplies run extremely low.
Despite it being a worst-case scenario, the morning’s papers have run heavily with the warning.
Blackouts this winter amid energy crisis
The Daily Mirror’s headline is “return to the dark ages,” whilst the Metro says “winter of disconnect.”
Prime Minister Liz Truss has insisted the country has enough gas supplies to get through this winter.
The Guardian looks at the concerns of charities who say “rolling power cuts could put lives at risk,” with health leaders worried about the thousands of people who use “life-saving machines at home.”
The government rejected a public information campaign to encourage people to cut back on their energy use, the Times says.
The plans to tell people to turn down their thermostats were dropped after health officials warned of the risk of such a measure to older and vulnerable people.
The Daily Mail’s front page focuses on a voluntary scheme by the National Grid to get people to cut their electricity usage during peak times.
The Financial Times says the Bank of England’s explanation for its historic and unprecedented intervention to calm the financial markets, in the wake of the chancellor’s mini-budget. The paper says “Bank of England says UK was on brink of crisis after market turmoil.”
The Daily Star has a funnier take on the warning – the headline: “Wash your grundies at midnight”. The paper says energy bosses will pay consumers to wash clothes in the early hours in order to prevent “the Great British Blackout.”
The Sun has no space on its front page for political news. Instead, the paper’s lead story is on comedian Seaan Walsh joining the lineup for the new series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
