Editorial 24.09.24
“Light at the end of this tunnel” – Tuesday’s front pages continue their coverage of the Labour Party conference taking place this week, the first party conference in power in more than 15 years.
Some newspapers cover Rachel Reeves’s speech yesterday, as the chancellor promised no return to austerity and laid out a more optimistic view of the UK economy. Many newspapers look ahead to the speech by PM Sir Keir Starmer, who will speak at the conference in Liverpool today.
Elsewhere, there is coverage of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East with many of the front pages featuring images of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon. Many papers fret the region is on the brink of an all-out war.
Beyond the main stories, there is a light sprinkling of other domestic news, the latest from the Premier League dominates the back pages.
Keir Starmer’s party conference speech today
‘Starmer won’t lower taxes but can bring joy,’ says the Telegraph.
The Daily Telegraph uses its headline to highlight the prime minister’s positive speech. He will tell the country that there is ‘light at the end of this tunnel.’ The paper says the PM will use his speech to warn he can’t lower taxes yet but can “bring joy” back to people’s lives over the next five years.
‘Starmer to crack down on benefit fraud,’ says the Times.
The Times focuses on Sir Keir’s plans to give investigators new powers to access information about people’s bank accounts, as part of measures to crack down on benefit fraud.
‘Hillsborough Law will be confirmed today,’ says the Mirror.
The Mirror leads with another one of the prime minister’s pledges expected during his speech. The paper says he will today confirm a Hillsborough Law will be introduced to stop state bodies from misleading investigations.
‘Rachel Reeves optimistic note’
‘Chancellor’s speech struck an optimistic note,’ suggests the Financial Times.
The FT is amongst the papers reporting on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s speech at the conference in Liverpool yesterday, telling readers it struck an “optimistic note.”
‘Reeves considering cut to benefits spending,’ says the i.
The i newspaper reports Reeves is considering a cut to benefits spending in order to free up funding to get people back into work. The paper quotes Liz Kendall telling a conference fringe event that ministers are preparing to pitch “really big reforms” on job centres and welfare.
‘Protests at conference over winter fuel payments,’ the Express reports.
The Daily Express continues its coverage of the winter fuel debate. The paper reports dozens of retired union members gathered yesterday to oppose the decision to means-test the payments. The paper reports on the booing in the venue when it was announced that a debate on the matter would be delayed.
‘Mike Lynch chilling threat in Liverpool,’ concerns the Mail.
The Daily Mail says a “chilling threat” from RMT union leader Mick Lynch. It says that during his speech at a fringe event in Liverpool, Lynch said the goal of union chiefs was the “complete organisation of the UK economy.” The unions have been “flexing their muscles” at the Labour conference, with the Royal College of Nursing leaving the chancellor embarrassed when it rejected a pay rise, the paper writes.