Rishi Sunak features on the front of the Metro as the first day of general election campaigning kicks off. The prime minister visited Ilkeston, Derbyshire, where he held a Q&A with staff at a warehouse, as part of a two-day tour of the UK’s nations. The headline reads “Rishi’s bumpy take-off” as it reports Mr Sunak admitted there would be no migrant flights to Rwanda before polling day. Elsewhere, Hollywood actor Tom Holland swapped a Spiderman suit for a tank top for his latest role in West End play Romeo & Juliet. “Tom’s a marvel,” the paper writes.
On the front of the Financial Times, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner smile as they campaign in Gillingham, Kent, promising to end the Tory “chaos” of the past 14 years. The broadsheet too leads on Mr Sunak admitting he could not deliver his flagship Rwanda policy before 4 July, as well as his phased smoking ban. It describes it as a “series of setbacks” and an “awkward first day” on the campaign trail for the prime minister.
“Rishi lashes out! ‘Starmer hasn’t courage to face me on television'” is the Daily Express’s headline as it reports on Mr Sunak challenging Sir Keir to a TV debate every single week until election day. Tory chairman Richard Holden tells the paper the Labour leader is “spineless” and is “chickening out” of debates he promised to do. Also on the front page is “bubbly” Leah Harrison, 10, who was killed on a school trip in North Yorkshire.
The i notes legislation for compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal is still on track. Elsewhere, it writes allies of media Tycoon Rupert Murdoch are urging him to stop his outlets backing Labour.
The Guardian pictures the prime minister stepping off a plane in Scotland at Inverness Airport. “Sunak begins election campaign by abandoning flagship policies,” it headlines. It also reports ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells blocked a review that could have exposed the Horizon scandal more than 10 years ago but Ms Vennells insisted she was not part of a cover-up. Beyoncé in cowboy hat is pictured as the paper sets out to answer why country music is the big pop craze of 2024.
The Daily Mirror writes the election has got off to a “bad start” for the prime minister with “blunders, admissions of failure and Tory attacks”. It highlights an awkward moment, when Mr Sunak chatting to staff at a Welsh brewery mentioned Euro 2024 despite Wales not qualifying. Elsewhere, footballers Aaron Ramsdale, Conor Gallagher and Marcus Rashford look dapper in new official clothing the team will be wearing off the pitch. But as the paper notes, Rashford did not make the squad. And BBC Radio 1 presenter and ex-Saturdays singer Mollie King features as the tabloid reports she found strength after losing her dad and giving birth.
The Daily Mail also pictures Leah calling her death a tragedy and noting she had just finished her exams. The paper’s lead focuses on the Conservatives pledging to cut green levies on fuel bills. Also featured is an account of a parent snorting drug ketamine at their teenage daughter’s party. “It didn’t go well,” they say.
On the front of the Times, Mr Sunak is seen laughing as he is presented with an umbrella by MP Maggie Throup after his rather wet Downing Street election announcement. Leading on energy bills, the paper says the Conservatives will seek to use net-zero polices to distinguish themselves from Labour, accusing Mr Starmer’s party of failing to be honest about the costs its environmental pledges will place on households. The paper also notes the “first millennial saint” after a 15-year-old, who died from leukaemia in 2006, had a second miracle attributed to him approved by the Pope.
“The general ejection” is the headline on the front of the Daily Star. It reports holiday bookings are up 57% as people try to avoid “six weeks of fibs and bluster” in the run up to the election.
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