Editorial 24 June 2024.
There’ll be little surprise that Monday’s front pages continue to be dominated by the upcoming general election. One of Monday’s popular focus points is the ongoing fallout from the Conservative Party election betting scandals. It’s a story mostly picked up the left-leaning newspapers, whilst the traditional right-leaning Conservative-supporting press leads on Labour – with stories around transgender legislation and fears of what a Labour government will do in power – especially if they end up with a ‘super majority’.
Elsewhere, several front pages feature images of Scotland – who crashed out of the Euros yesterday, following a 1-0 loss to Hungary. England – which plays on Tuesday – is also featured on the front and back pages, as several stars have slammed the constant criticism from the media and pundits over the Three Lions’ first two performances.
Images from Vogue World Paris are splashed on a couple of front pages.
‘Tory betting scandal engulfing Westminster’
Many of the papers – especially the centre to centre-left newspapers – continue the coverage of the betting scandal.
So far, four Tory candidates or officials – as well as a protection officer for the prime minister – are being looked into by the Gambling Commission over allegations they placed bets on the date the general election would be called.
‘Tories turn on PM over failure to get a grip on betting scandal’
The Independent
The Guardian says Rishi Sunak is facing a “growing clamour” to come clean about what it describes as the gambling scandal “engulfing” Westminster after a fifth person was drawn into the row. The paper says that senior Conservatives are urging Sunak to suspend the Tories under suspension, pending the results of investigations.
The Independent leads on the same story saying senior Tories want the prime minister to suspend all those under investigation and claims more top Tories are set to be implicated in the betting scandal. The paper reveals that an unnamed cabinet minister is believed to be amongst those being investigated, with numerous senior Tories ruling themselves out including Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, James Cleverly, Mark Harper and Mr Gove.
The i news suggests the latest scandal is putting pressure on the prime minister to take action and argue his lack of response has many questioning his leadership.
The Daily Mirror claims to have insight into the “real Rishi” – the paper interviews the boss of Iceland, who says the prime minister roasted him back in March 2022 (when Rishi was Chancellor) for speaking out about the increased use of food banks.
‘10 days left to stop disaster of a Starmer majority’
Daily Mail
‘Labour supermajority fears’
The right-leaning newspapers are light on their coverage of the betting scandal. Instead, they focus on some other political topics – mostly on their fears of what a Labour government would look like.
The Daily Mail says PM Rishi Sunak is set to warn voters they have just ten days to save Britain from what it says will be a “disaster” of a Labour supermajority. The paper’s leader column agrees saying a “wild imbalance” in the next parliament would “neutralise effective opposition” and damage democracy.
The Daily Express says the PM has warned that Labour would “unpick” Brexit and rejoin the EU if it wins power.
The Telegraph has a different Labour concern. The paper picks up on comments by shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson who says the guidance on what pupils are taught about sex and gender would be reviewed by a Labour government. The paper suggests this could lead to a scrapping of the ban on teaching children there are more than two genders. The Telegraph says the Conservatives have warned Labour would “play politics” with the lives of children by allowing contested gender ideology into classrooms.
The Times highlights an ITV interview with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage who says the West should hold peace talks with Russia to break the stalemate in Ukraine. The paper says the comments are likely to bring more disapproval after Farage faced widespread backlash over his comments that the West were to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
‘Harry Kane hits back at critics’
Following heavy criticism over England’s performance in their opening two games of the Euros 2024, England’s captain Harry Kane has hit back
Despite a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw, England’s performance has been widely panned for being disjointed and slow. On Tuesday they play their last group stage match.
The Sun says Kane hit back at Gary Linekar – BBC presenter and former footballer – for his criticism. Kane told a news conference that the nation had won nothing for a “long, long time” and noted how many television pundits are former players were “part of that” failure.
The Daily Star says Kane’s response is “surprising and refreshing” and proves he has “fire in his belly” that can hopefully translate into performances on the pitch.