The i leads on the nurses strike in England, as members of the Royal College of Nursing union join the latest bout of walkouts in England over pay and working conditions. During the 28-hour strike that began on Sunday evening, A&E, intensive care and cancer wards will be hit for the first time, as nurses warn Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “improve wage offer or face more walkouts”. An RCN insider tells the i extended strikes will damage Sunak at the polls.
The Daily Telegraph focuses its coverage of the 28-hour strike action on the impact to cancer patients, as it headlines: “Cancer nurses on strike for first time”. The paper reports that Chief Nursing Officer for England, Dame Ruth May, said she was grateful to the RCN for agreeing on critical mitigations during walkouts, but strikes “will still have a very significant impact on services” and patients can expect to wait for longer to be seen. The strike will impact around half of England’s NHS trusts.
The Guardian reports that millions of UK households are collectively missing out on at least £19bn a year in unclaimed welfare benefits. The paper contextualises this loss with the surge of food banks and many families struggling with rising living costs. It reports that according to a study by the consultancy Policy In Practice, lower income households are not claiming benefits that they are eligible for – and the complexity of the benefit system has been identified as a contributing factor.
The Daily Express reports that pensioners were underpaid £530m last year due to errors by officials. In its report, the paper added that roughly 1.3m people were affected, “losing out on more than £400 each “when many are struggling with the soaring cost of living”.
The Times says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans to boost support for first-time home buyers, which is likely to be a “key plank” of the Tories’ campaign for a fifth term at Downing Street. The paper reports that No 10 officials “are looking at proposals to help thousands of renters who have been unable to get on the housing ladder in the face of high prices and rising interest rates”. It comes as Labour pledged more support for first-time buyers this weekend, including a pledge to bring back homebuilding targets. The paper also pictures members of the British military, as some 7,000 members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces rehearsed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire yesterday ahead of the Coronation parade.
As King Charles III’s Coronation nears, the Daily Mirror reports that according to a royal source, Prince William will give a “heartfelt and loving” speech paying tribute to both the King and Camilla after “a glittering Coronation concert at Windsor Castle”.
In an optimistic note, the Daily Mail reports that King Charles’s Coronation will “help deliver a £1bn boost to struggling parts of the economy” according to experts. It reports that the trade body UK Hospitality predicts the £1bn boost in May is largely due to the Coronation, two other bank holidays and the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.
In its Monday lead, the Financial Times reports that the US bank First Republic is nearing collapse, as veteran investor Charlie Munger said American banks were “full of… bad loans” held against commercial property. The 99-year-old’s comments come after US regulators raced to find a rescuer to buy the bank.
The Daily Star reports on an “invasion of the fat rats”, as pest experts have said obese rats “gorging on our discarded fast food” are breeding “heavily” and targeting homes.
