Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
All of Tuesday’s papers feature details from Tuesday’s State Opening of Parliament. A picture of Prince Charles, who stepped in for the Queen, reading the Queen’s Speech features on many of the front pages.
The Guardian says PM Boris Johnson has been accused of being “bereft of ideas or purpose” after the Queen’s Speech 2022 failed to include specific measures to tackle the immediate cost of living crisis.
The Daily Mail highlights how the long-awaited Employment Bill was also missing from the government’s legislative programme. The paper calls it the “death knell” for giving staff a default right to work from home.
For the Times, the paper focuses on the government’s plan to allow residents to hold “street votes” on whether their neighbours should be permitted to develop their homes without full planning permission.
Several of the papers focus less on the contents of the Queen’s Speech and more on Prince Charles stepping in to the role – after the Queen was forced to miss this year’s State Opening due to mobility issues.
The Sun says an “emotional” Prince Charles gave a glimpse of the monarchy’s future. The paper’s headline reads: “I hope I did you proud, mummy.”
For the Metro, the Queen’s Speech was missing its “real jewel” and Prince Charles “seemed to feel it the most, as he gazed across to where she should have been.”
Whilst the Daily Express says the absence of the Queen created a “poignant void” amid a sense that a long tradition is ending and a new era is beginning.
UK politics today – Northern Ireland Protocol, Brexit, Boris Johnson
Liz Truss is preparing to announce that the UK will unilaterally make changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, reports the Daily Telegraph. The paper says it comes after she warning Brussels that its proposals to solve the problem with post-Brexit trading arrangements “would make the situation worse.”
The Times says PM Boris Johnson is facing a parliamentary rebellion over his plans to override the agreement. The paper quotes a former minister, “even if it gets through the Commons it will be mullered in the Lords.”
WAG court case
Another popular story on the front pages is the court case involving Coleen Rooney who is being sued by Rebekah Vardy after Mrs Rooney accused Mrs Vardy of leaking stories about her private life.
The Mirror says the showdown at the High Court kicked off with “claims, counter-claims and a sleazy account of a sexual encounter.”
For the Daily Mail, they say the trial is “idiotic, frivolous, yet deliciously entertaining” – they suggest the drama could rival the US case between Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard.