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Most of the front pages examine Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s New Year speech. The headlines in the Daily Mail and Daily Express both focus on his appeal to be judged on his results.
The Guardian says Mr Sunak appears to acknowledge his time in Downing Street will be defined by his handling of the crises facing the UK.
The Times’ leader column welcomes Rishi Sunak’s speech as “refreshing” and “encouraging.” The paper suggests his pledges are “measurable” and offer a “dose of realism.” The Sun also believes his plan is “laudable and essential.”
But the Daily Mirror’s editorial describes the speech as “vacuous” with what it calls “woolly pledges” and “corny buzzwords.”
The Daily Star is also sceptical, likening his aims to those of Blackadder’s hapless sidekick, Baldrick, and echoes his catchphrase in its headline: “I have a cunning plan.”
“Largely meaningless” is also the Daily Telegraph’s verdict about his economic goals. Its editorial rounds on Mr Sunak for the modesty of his plans — concluding “Britain requires shock therapy, not gentle reforms.”
Both the Telegraph and the Financial Times look ahead to Sir Keir Starmer’s speech later today. The Telegraph suggests his vow not to get the “big government chequebook out again” is a message designed to be a break from the rhetoric of Jeremy Corbyn and even Gordon Brown.
The FT says Sir Keir will draw on Blairite themes with his push for a radical reform of public services. The paper believes he’s aiming to put the economy centre stage suggesting it’s an area in which he lags.
On its front page, the Times says the government is planning to curb the right to strike with a law that would enable employers to sue unions, and sack staff. The paper says that the laws would introduce minimum service level for sectors including health, and borders as well as rail – and that any walkout which breached them would be deemed illegal. Unions are expected to take legal action to stop the proposals.
The Daily Mirror leads with the revelation by a daughter that her 58-year-old father died while waiting for an ambulance. Minnie Rahman says she made three calls to 999 for her father, Iqbal, who died on Christmas Eve. West Midlands Ambulance Service apologised, saying it was experiencing long hospital handover delays.
The i also looks at the problems facing the health service. It suggests three NHS authorities have signed deals to send patients, who are well enough to leave hospital, to hotels where they can receive some care.
Meanwhile the Telegraph reports that hospitals are running out of oxygen because of the number of patients being treated in corridors and waiting in ambulances. Doctors say there aren’t enough portable canisters left.
And the Sun tells the tale of a heavily pregnant woman who dressed up as the Virgin Mary for what it calls “a laugh” on Christmas Day but then expectedly went into labour early. Lauren Conte from Peterborough said they’d all joked about the baby arriving on Christmas Day but hadn’t expected it to happen. She named her child with a nod to the Nativity “Joshua Joseph.”
