PM's 'pledges' and NHS faces 'quad-demic'

The Daily Telegraph describes the prime minister's "plan for change", announced in a speech on Thursday, as a watering down of Labour's manifesto promises. "PM drops pledges as economy stumbles" says the headline.

The i focuses on Sir Keir Starmer's call for the country to judge him on whether living standards rise quickly. It says he is "gambling" the next election on that.

The Daily Express says campaigners have accused the prime minister of "ignoring" the "biggest problem" facing the UK - because there were no targets for tackling immigration.

Referring to the setting at Pinewood studios, the Daily Mail likens the speech to a film production, saying Sir Keir is on the "second take" of his premiership. Poking fun at the Labour leader, the report compares him to the actor George Lazenby, best known as being the only man to play James Bond just once. He replaced Sean Connery in the iconic role, but the paper stops short of suggesting who the prime minister's Roger Moore could be.

Writing in the Times, the PM promises to get building by pushing through reforms to Britain's planning system. In his column, Sir Keir claims that the "blockers and bureaucrats" are "choking" economic growth and making home ownership unaffordable. He has instructed ministers to draw up laws to streamline environmental rules, that can delay, and add millions of pounds to the cost of a development. Citing the £100m on tunnel built to protect bats as part of the HS2 project, Sir Keir said that his government would not accept what he called "this nonsense" any more.

The Guardian warns its readers that the NHS in England is facing a "quad-demic of emergencies" this winter. The paper says health staff are preparing for hospitals to be busier than ever for this time of year. The flu, Covid, norovirus and the RSV bug are on the rise, according to the report.

"We're four it now" declares the Daily Mirror. It says flu cases alone have risen by 350%.

Metro's front page features a picture of the man wanted in connection with the killing of a senior health insurance executive in New York. "Smiling assassin" reads the headline. The paper says the gunman wrote the words "depose, deny and defend" on his bullets, which it compares to the title of a 2010 book "Delay, Deny, Defend" about how insurance companies avoid paying out for claims.

Almost all council staff in England work the occasional day from home, according to the Telegraph. The paper's claim is based on data from 88 of England's 317 local authorities. Of those, 86 said they allowed staff to work from home at least once a week. The report mentions a 2023 study by UCLA and MIT, which concluded there was an 18% drop in productivity when people are out of the office.

Some of the papers carry a warning from the lyricist behind the Village People song, YMCA. The Guardian and the i say Victor Willis has threatened to sue news organisations that describe the 1978 hit as a "gay anthem". In a post on Facebook, Willis says the lyrics are about "men hanging out together" for sports and other activities.

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