“Strike hell” is how the Metro describes the various walkouts happening in the UK on 1 February. Action by rail workers, university lecturers, teachers and civil servants “will bring the country to a standstill”, the paper reports, adding in a bold headline that the general attitude of unions seems to be “one out all out”. Elsewhere there is a large image of the new host of reality television show Love Island, Maya Jama, who made her debut on Monday.
The Daily Telegraph also addresses next month’s strike action, accusing teachers in particular of refusing to put in place contingency measures “that could limit the impact of staff walkouts”. The paper’s main story, however, is about an alleged bid by Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch to ensure parents and faith leaders are not “criminalised” for having conversations with transgender children about conversion therapy. A ban on trans conversion therapy was confirmed in the Commons on Tuesday.
The 1 February strikes are described by the i as the “largest” the UK has faced since 1979. Meanwhile, Business Secretary Grant Shapps has warned MPs that action must be taken to prevent hundreds of thousands of families being forced onto energy prepayment meters, the paper reports.
The Daily Mirror leads on the NHS strikes, calling health officials “idiotic” for refusing nurses a fair pay deal while offering agency staff “£40 an hour” if they continue working. The move has “sparked fury”, the paper writes, as members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union prepare to strike on Wednesday and Thursday. There is also a slot for British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe who has entered the race to buy Manchester United FC – a story that appears on numerous front pages.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid to buy Manchester United also features in the Times’ Wednesday offering. The paper largely focuses on other stories of the day, including a report on Tory MPs allegedly being encouraged to replace the much-used phrase “levelling up” with “stepping up” or even “gauging up”. A large image of the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is the centrepiece of the front page, though, after she was detained by police at a protest in Germany.
A different image of Ms Thunberg being detained by police can be seen on the Guardian’s front page. But the paper’s main focus is MPs’ anger at the Metropolitan Police for allowing serial rapist and former officer David Carrick “to be shielded from the sack despite multiple warnings of his abuse”. Cross-party MPs have called for officers who took no action against Carrick to also be fired, it writes, despite the police watchdog announcing it had no plans to investigate how he went “undetected”.
Stripping Carrick, the “rapist PC”, of his £22,000 pension is how the Daily Mail believes the government should respond to the revelations. The disgraced former officer could keep his entire state-funded pension because he “committed his appalling crimes while off duty”, the paper writes. Elsewhere there is a nod to Ken Bruce, whose departure from BBC Radio 2 after 31 years was announced on Tuesday.
As the nurses’ strike gets underway, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) leader Pat Cullen appears on the front page of the Daily Express, saying she is “begging” for the government to reach a pay deal with NHS staff. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to ditch some 4,000 EU laws, and deliver a post-Brexit boom for the UK, sits front and centre. Meanwhile, the BBC’s Ken Bruce gets another front page slot.
“Match of the Wahey” is the Sun’s lead headline, referring to a prank on Tuesday night that saw sexual noises interrupt live BBC coverage of an FA Cup match. Moaning was heard while Gary Lineker presented the third-round replay between Wolves and Liverpool, which was later discovered to be the result of a mobile phone taped to the back of the set. The BBC issued an apology for the incident but Lineker said that as far as pranks go, he thought it was a “good one”.
Wednesday’s Financial Times paints an optimistic picture of the world’s economy in 2023, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly predicting an improvement in the second half of the year and into 2024. It comes as a result of China dropping Covid controls, the US launching a green investment boom and western Europe adjusting to the war in Ukraine, the paper writes.
A different story altogether sits on the Daily Star’s front page, with a Republican congressman accusing US President Joe Biden of covering up “hundreds” of UFO sightings. “Huge if true” is how the paper describes the claims. There is also some breaking news in the UK, it playfully writes, referring to the cold weather.
Strikes loom large on many of the front pages. The Metro says it is “one out all out” in what it calls the “strike hell” planned for 1 February. It reports that the industrial action by rail workers, university lecturers, teachers and civil servants will be Britain’s biggest day of strikes for a generation. “Idiotic” is the Mirror’s verdict on the government’s negotiations with health unions as another day of nursing strikes gets underway. The paper reports that bosses are refusing nurses a fair pay deal while offering agency staff £40 an hour to cross the picket lines.
The Daily Telegraph says that, in a highly unusual move, Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch is preparing to send a letter to all Conservative MPs, setting out her concerns over the government’s proposed ban on transgender conversion therapy. The paper says Ms Badenoch, who is also the trade secretary, will point out that legitimate conversations between parents and trans children should not be outlawed – and that her stance reflects those of other Tory MPs who may stage a rebellion.
Image source, PA Media
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) leader Pat Cullen told the Daily Express she was still trying to get a pay deal over the line
“Strip the rapist PC of his £22,000 pension” is the lead headline for the Daily Mail. It says David Carrick – the former Met Police officer who admitted 24 counts of rape – could keep his entire state-funded pension because his crimes were committed off-duty. The story is also the lead for the Guardian, which says there is mounting pressure for an inquiry so officers who shielded Carrick are sacked too.
Several front pages carry pictures of a smiling Ken Bruce – the veteran BBC radio presenter who, on Tuesday, announced he was leaving after 31 years to join Greatest Hits Radio. “Latest golden oldie to depart Radio 2” is the Mail’s headline; the Daily Express calls it “the end of an era”; while in a reference to the hugely popular music quiz Bruce created, the Telegraph goes with “Radio 2 loses its Popmaster”.
Image source, Greatest Hits Radio
Ken Bruce announced his departure from BBC Radio 2 on air on Tuesday
“Levelling up is so 2019” declares the front page of the Times. It says Conservative MPs have been given a new direction by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government – to shun the phrase in favour of others such as “stepping-up”, “enhancing communities” or even “gauging up”. James Frayne from the Westminster-based research consultancy Public First tells the paper that banning the term is a “mercy killing” – arguing it was hard to think of a more stupid phrase, or one so hated by the public.
And “Match of the Wahey” is the Sun’s take on the news that the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup match between Wolves and Liverpool on Tuesday was interrupted by the sounds of a blue movie. It says the presenter Gary Lineker was “drowned out by porn film groans” before he tweeted a picture of a mobile phone found taped to the back of the set, revealing the source of the X-rated interruption. The YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis has claimed he was behind the stunt. The BBC apologised and said it was investigating.
