The Sunday Telegraph reflects , externalon what it calls the “contrasting tones” in the Easter messages of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, with the prime minister urging people to “pause and reflect” and the Labour leader saying it is a time of “new beginnings”. The paper says “it is little wonder” the two statements are so different, with the Conservatives far behind in the polls.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Sunday Times publishes the results, external of a new survey, which suggest the Tories will suffer the “worst electoral defeat in history”, retaining just 98 MPs. It says Labour is set to “sweep to power”, with a majority of 286, and expects the results “to reignite efforts by Tories plotting to topple the prime minister”.
But a separate poll in the Sun on Sunday, external says that more than 60% of voters oppose attempts to oust Mr Sunak. The paper says the results will provide him with “a crumb of comfort” – warning Tory rebels that they will end up with only one thing, an early election.
According to the Sunday Express, external, the prime minister is considering holding the vote in the summer – with No 10 concerned that the US election in November will boost publicity for Nigel Farage, the honorary president of Reform UK.
Conservative MP Bob Seely writes in the Sun, external that Reform tried to “tempt” him weeks before former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson defected. Mr Seely describes it as a “duff deal”. But Reform tells the paper it is “his only chance of saving his skin”.
The Observer leads on a leaked recording, external of the Conservative chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who claims lawyers have advised the government that Israel has breached international humanitarian law in Gaza.
In the tape, Alicia Kearns says ministers have not made the advice public. The paper says the claims put Mr Sunak “under intense pressure” because any such legal advice would mean the government having to immediately stop selling arms to Israel. The Foreign Office says any advice is confidential.
Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho tells the Sunday Telegraph, external that Labour’s pledge to convert the country to clean power by 2030 “would leave the UK over-reliant” on Chinese-made metals and batteries. She describes the plan as “mad, bad and dangerous”, and claims that industry figures believe it to be unfeasible.
According to the Mail on Sunday, external, Angela Rayner’s comments about the tax affairs of Mr Sunak’s wife have “returned to haunt her”.
It says Labour’s deputy leader has been “branded a hypocrite” for demanding Akshata Murty answer questions about her finances, while “refusing to come clean over her own murky property dealings”.
The paper says Sir Alistair Graham – a former chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Standards – has demanded a police investigation into claims that she may have owed capital gains tax on the property of a house. Ms Rayner denies any wrongdoing.
The Sunday Mirror reports , externalon what it calls “huge price hikes on traditional Easter staples”.
It cites figures from the Office for National Statistics, which show the cost of a large bar of chocolate has gone up by 11% since last year, while a roast dinner at a pub or restaurant is now between 7-8% more expensive.
The paper’s headline is: “Easter now costs an arm and an egg”.
