Editorial 03 July 2024.
Just one day until the election, the front pages continue to be dominated by domestic politics.
Wednesday’s newspapers report on the late intervention in the election campaign by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The right-leaning newspapers that traditionally back the Conservative Party have welcomed the intervention of Boris Johnson – believing he can help stop the Tories from being completely wiped out.
The left-leaning newspapers are fully behind Labour’s final push, reporting that the 14 years of economic austerity and Tory failures are almost over.
Away from the election, there’s room on the front pages for pictures of Andy Murray after news came he had pulled out of his last-ever Wimbledon Singles. The back pages continue their Wimbledon coverage, and there’s room to report on the latest from the Euros.
‘Boris Johnson surprise appearance as he backs Rishi’
The Daily Telegraph says former Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a “surprise appearance” at a rally last night, telling the audience it was “not too late” to “draw back from the brink” and stop Labour forming the next government. It says Johnson blamed Sunak for playing a key role in the downfall of Johnson’s government but the two have since “buried the hatchet to put the Conservative Party first”.
The Times says Johnson warned that a Labour landslide was “pregnant with horrors” and described Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as a “Kremlin crawler”. The paper says the former prime minister had been expected to sit out the campaign and calls the appearance a “last-ditch attempt to win back disaffected Conservative voters.”
The Mail says Johnson and Starmer decided to bury their differences and united to try to stop “Starmergeddon.” They call Johnson’s late intervention a “rousing, rallying cry to disaffected Tories”
The Express says Sunak has launched an “impassioned appeal” telling its readers: “Your vote counts, your voice counts… please use it wisely”.
The left-leaning newspapers have a different outlook on the country’s political future,
The Daily Mirror reports that Sir Keir told a rally on Tuesday that the election was an “opportunity to turn our backs on 14 years of chaos, division and failure.” The paper’s Euros-themed headline reads: “14 years of hurt never stopped us dreaming…”.
The Guardian says the Tories are facing backlash after criticising Sir Keir Starmer for saying he would try to spend Friday evenings with his family if he won the election. The paper says Sir Keir, whose wife is from a Jewish family, said it should be “blindingly obvious that a Friday night is quite important in some religions”, adding some have described the intervention as insensitive and with antisemitic undertones.
The i newspaper – which had earlier announced it won’t back any party at the election – says whoever wins the election is facing a crisis in the country’s prisons. The paper says a controversial scheme under which some prisoners were released early has not sufficiently eased overcrowding and that prisons are just days away from being full. It says a contingency plan never previously used could see the introduction of a “one in, one out” system and inmates driven around the country to facilities with free cells.