Editorial 07 July 2024.
‘Starmer’s first day as prime minister’ & ‘England through to the semis’
Sunday’s front pages are dominated by two stories: Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first full day in office and England beat Switzerland on penalties to book their spot in the Euros semi-final.
Starmer’s first cabinet meeting, Rwanda plans and the UK seeking closer ties to the EU are on the front pages, with the left and right-leaning newspapers having very different views on Starmer’s plans.
‘Rwanda plan is dead’
The Sunday Express reports PM Starmer has torn up the Conservative’s flagship Rwanda plan on his first day. “I’m not prepared to continue with gimmicks,” the paper quotes Sir Keir as saying, as his announcement “finally kills off a failing plan launched more than two years ago”, the paper adds.
The Sunday Times says former Labour prime minister Tony Blair has warned Sir Keir that he needs a plan for migration. In an article for the paper, Blair says the new government’s focus should be on illegal migration, as it avoids “any vulnerability on wokeism”.
The Mail on Sunday leads on claims the prime minister is planning to “retreat” on Brexit. The paper says the process to renegotiate the UK’s post-Brexit deal “within weeks.” The paper cites EU sources as saying Sir Keir is willing to sign the UK back up to some Brussels rules in exchange for more relaxed free movement.
‘NHS reform’
The Sunday Telegraph says the NHS is set for reform. Alan Milburn – former health secretary in Tony Blair’s government – is set to help this Labour government reform the NHS as an adviser. The paper describes it as a sign that “private sector and consumer choice will be at the heart of their plans”.
The Observer leads on Sir Keir’s first cabinet meeting as the new prime minister stressed he was “restless for change” and pledged that politics will return to a duty of service. “Self-interest is yesterday’s politics,” Sir Keir said. The paper reports that the PM has asked staff from hospitals to give incentives to staff who work longer hours to “help set up the model in other hospitals as quickly as we can”.
What do the editorials say?
The Sun’s editorial gives a positive assessment of PM Starmer’s first-ever news conference on Saturday. The editorial calls it the “confident, analytical, performance of a prime minister determined to be across every detail.” But the paper warns he’ll soon find out that governing a country is not the same as prosecuting a court case.
The Sunday Mirror’s editorial says now the work of rebuilding Britain begins after 14 years of “despair” under the Conservatives. The paper says the prime minister knows that, if Reform UK is to be kept at bay, Labour must deliver.
Tony Blair offers advice, via the Sunday Times, on how to deal with Nigel Farage and his party. Blair suggests Sir Keir should focus on illegal immigration and law and order and avoid “any vulnerability on wokeism.” Blair also suggests the introduction of digital ID cards would help tackle illegal immigration.
The former home secretary Suella Braverman has written an article in the Telegraph saying the Conservatives deserved to lose the election. She goes on to accuse Rishi Sunak of pursuing an “idiotic strategy of intermittently and inconsistently making Tory Right noises, which disintegrated when set against our liberal Conservative record”.
The paper says Braverman is laying the groundwork for a bid to lead the party.
The Sun reports that another possible contender, Robert Jenrick, tells the paper that the Tories suffered a humiliating defeat because they failed to bring down immigration. He says the party must now “repent.”
England through to the semis
“Roar power” is the Sunday People’s lead, as it celebrates England’s win. The Sunday Mirror says “We’ve done it” calling it Euros redemption as England won on penalties. The Daily Star leads on England’s win after a penalty shoot-out against Switzerland at the Euros, taking the Lions to the championship’s semi-finals.