Editorial 08 July 2024.
‘Rachel Reeves unveils Labour plans’ & ‘Shock French election results’
It’s politics galore on the front pages of Monday’s newspapers, with many looking ahead at what Rachel Reeves is expected to say in her first speech as chancellor. Reeves is the UK’s first woman chancellor of the exchequer.
French politics is also splashed on many papers, as the left-wing bloc won a shocking victory in the second and final parliamentary election on Sunday. France now faces a political deadlock after Sunday’s election dealt a blow to the far-right National Rally – but left no party with a majority.
As Europe’s summer of sports is in full swing, the front pages offer their analysis of Wimbledon, the Euros and the British Grand Prix. The coverage is continued via the back pages.
‘Rachel Reeves unveils Labour plans’
It’s no surprise the papers have different takes on the context of Rachel Reeves’s first speech as chancellor. The UK media landscape remains overwhelmingly conservative and there’s fear-mongering amongst the right-leaning tabloids.
The Daily Mail claims Reeves will “declare war on Britain’s planning system.”
The Telegraph says Labour’s promise to bring back mandatory housebuilding targets will raise fears the party will “push councils to build on green belt land”.
The Times has a similar assessment: “Homes on green belt in new dash for growth.”
Over to the left-leaning newspapers.
The FT reports that in anticipation of bold action from a Labour government, shares in house-building companies rose following the election win.
The i newspaper – which refused to back a political party at this year’s general election – says Labour is heading for a new “Brexit clash” with the EU over migration. A source tells the paper that easier mobility for young people is a key priority for the bloc. Labour, however, has ruled out free movement and is reluctant to increase youth migration, the paper adds.
The Times offers its analysis saying “Increasing mobility could take the new government into some difficult areas”. The paper says that while the bloc would welcome Britain back into the Erasmus student exchange scheme, the £135m a year cost was seen by the previous Conservative government as “prohibitively high”.
The Telegraph suggests freeing prisoners who have served only 40% of their sentences is amongst the options Labour is looking into to address overcrowding in jails.
A source tells the paper that it “feels like the only measure that buys time” as prisons could run out of space in a few weeks.
The Daily Express – which was strongly against a Labour government – has laid out its priorities for the new government. The paper has unveiled 10 pledges for PM Keir Starmer. It includes supporting women’s rights, saving high streets and protecting the countryside. Tory MP Esther McVey tells the paper that her fellow Conservatives should abc the paper’s proposals and stop what she calls the “circular firing squads” within the party.
‘Shock French election results’
The Guardian reports on people celebrating in Nantes after projections showing the left-wing bloc is on course to come first – pushing the first-round winners, the far-right National Rally (RN), into third place. The paper notes the results are a surprise considering how well the RN did in the first round – and it was expected to continue into these elections.
The Times says France has been “plunged into political chaos” after the coalition “fell short of an absolute majority”. The paper notes some feel France may be “ungovernable” with no parties being able to pass legislation leaving the country in chaos just weeks before the start of the election.
The FT continues the commentary saying the country will be in limbo over its next government. If the polls are correct, then none of the three main political blocs will have the majority and it could leave France in a political gridlock.
The Telegraph takes a different angle. The paper reports the results were a “shock defeat for Le Pen” whose party trailed behind “at the hands of the hard left and Emmanuel Macron” after the electorate “turned out in force to keep her party from power”.