The backlash following the decision to prevent Andy Burnham from standing in the upcoming by-elections continued, with the Mail reporting a growing rebellion among government officials. It was reported that 50 MPs signed a letter protesting the decision, stating that the pressure on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had “intensified”.
The Times says senior Labor figures have “privately admitted” they expected to lose the Gorton & Denton by-election as a result of the Burnham bloc. The newspaper says the fight for the seat is “likely to be deeply divisive”, with the Greens and Reform UK “poised to put pressure” on Sir Keir. The Prime Minister defended his decision on Burnham, insisting that allowing her to run for the seat would “divert our resources” from “very important” campaigning in May’s election.
Many newspapers picture former Man United footballer Sir David Beckham and his family at an awards ceremony in Paris after Lady Beckham was made a Knight of Arts and Letters. Under the headline “Klan unity”, The Sun called it a “show of solidarity” and noted that the family was seen together for the first time on Instagram last week following an argument with eldest son Brooklyn. The couple was joined by their three other children: Romeo, Cruz and Harper.
“You are my everything,” said Star, who showed his acceptance of the knighthood by pairing a photo of the family in Paris with a quote from Lady Beckham’s Instagram post.
The Beckhams are also front and center in the Guardian, although the paper’s headline reads: “Conservatives face backlash following ‘mental health’ row over Braverman departure”. The Conservative Party was reportedly forced to set the record straight after Suella Braverman initially said she had defected to Reform England due to “mental health” issues. In a new statement, the party said the original was a draft version sent by mistake.
A beaming Braverman and UK Reform leader Nigel Farage splashed across the Mirror with the headline: “Reform’s latest scam”.
i Paper says the announcement about Braverman comes at a time of increasing exodus from the Conservative party. The front page also features Farage saying the Conservatives face a “disaster” in the May election.
“More transfer deals in January!” Metro announces, marking both Braverman’s departure and The Great British Bake Off’s updated cast. This confirms that Nigella Lawson will replace Prue Leith in the upcoming series of the hit television show.
The gold price remains in the lead after hitting $5,000 per ounce for the first time in the Tuesday issue of the Financial Times. The newspaper reported that the US dollar fell to a four-month low on Monday amid fears of another government shutdown.
The Telegraph newspaper says China has been hacking the mobile phones of senior Downing Street officials “for several years” as part of an operation that the newspaper understands has “compromised senior members of the government”. Previous phone hacking allegations were rejected by China as “baseless”.
In an interview with the Express on Holocaust Remembrance Day, 80-year-old Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke told the newspaper she was still hopeful for a better future if people could stand up to prejudice and combat rising antisemitism.
