Betrayal of Waspi women & England Nike kit backlash – Paper Talk
Editorial 22 March 2024.
Most of Friday’s front pages lead on the same story – the landmark report that calls for women impacted by pension changes. It calls for them to receive payments and follows a campaign by so-called Waspi women – named after the group Women Against State Pension Inequality.
Elsewhere, the new England kit makes a couple of front pages following backlash after the US company Nike changed the colours of the St. George’s flag – with many confused as to why.
‘Betrayal of Waspi women’
Regardless of their political leanings, most papers call for the government to compensate the Waspi Women. The traditional Conservative-supporting newspapers like the Express and the Mail join the left-leaning publications in calling on the government to offer better compensation than the figures currently being floated.
The Daily Express says “Pay up” after the report recommended compensation for women born in the 1950s who were not informed properly about changes to the state pension age.
The Mirror also calls for the women to be paid “what they are owed.”
The Metro says the government is in “crisis” over a bill which could top £35bn for compensation for women born in the 1950s. The paper says it is a “£35bn Waspi sting.”
The i newspaper says the Tories and Labour have been criticised for not clearly setting out how they would help.
Whilst the Mail has spoken to some of those affected who call the verdict a “moral victory.” But others are disappointed that the proposed compensation falls short of what they were hoping for. So far, the proposed figures are between £1,000 and just under £3,000.
‘England Nike kit backlash’
Most of the papers which cover the England Nike kit debacle are right-leaning tabloids – all of which use terms such as ‘woke’ to describe the change to the St. George’s flag.
The Sun leads with Sir Keir Starmer who has joined others in a “revolt” against the new England football shirt created by US company Nike. The new kit has been frailty well received but one small detail has sparked backlash. As part of the new Nike design, the St George’s Cross on the back of the collar now features blue and purple horizontal stripes.
The company has called it a “playful update”. Sir Keir told the Sun that Nike should change the colour back to the traditional red, saying the flag in its original form is “unifying”.
Nike has not ‘playfully updated’ any other national flag, not even their own USA flag.
The Telegraph describes the ‘updated flag’ as woke. There have also been fan complaints about the price of the new England kit.
‘Rwanda Bill back in Commons’
Elsewhere, the Times and Telegraph lead on hot topics for Conservative voters – the Rwanda Bill and the Benefits system. The Times reports the Rwanda Bill will be back in the Commons after Easter, following its defeat in the House earlier in the week and the Telegraph talks about the rising spending on benefits.
The left-leaning Guardian leads on its exclusive on the mens-only Garrick Club.
The Rwanda Bill is back in the news with the Times reporting it is due to return to the Commons after Easter. The Home Office has still not found an airline to operate deportation flights to Rwanda. Sources tell the paper that officials are looking at “multiple options” – including a private plane. The paper adds the MoD is understood to be “resisting attempts to use RAF aircraft”, as they are in high demand and used for other purposes.
The Daily Telegraph leads on forecasts with suggest the cost of sickness benefits will rise by more than a third by the end of the decade. The paper says the OBR expects spending on health and disability benefits to rise from around £65bn this year to £90bn in 2028-29.
The Guardian continues its coverage of its exclusive on the mens-only Garrick Club. The paper says a group of more than 60 lawyers across England and Wales have called on all judges who are members of the club to resign from it. The lawyers say they are worried about the paper’s recent reporting on the club – which says dozens of senior figures in the judiciary are members of the club.
‘UK to cut arms to Israel’
The Daily Telegraph reports Britain has warned Israel that it will cut off arms supplies unless it lets aid into Gaza.
The Guardian also leads on Gaza as the US is drafting a new UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. The paper says the move could indicate the Biden administration moving away from linking a ceasefire to a hostage deal.