Newspaper headlines: 'Network derailed' and 'summer of discontent'
- Published
Many of Monday's papers lead on the upcoming rail strikes.
"Network derailed" is the headline on the front page of the Metro, which warns that commuters will scramble for the last train home tonight, before what it calls days of misery.
The Independent says unions are urging the government to stop its attempts to divide workers, external by fanning the flames of the dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
The paper reports that they've written to the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, calling on him to try to resolve the row. He has dismissed calls to intervene, claiming union bosses are gunning for industrial action.
The Daily Express says Mr Shapps has written to the Labour leader, external Sir Keir Starmer to say it's staggering that he hasn't condemned the strikes by what the paper calls militants hellbent on causing misery.
It says the transport secretary has warned Sir Keir that voters will never forgive his failure to speak out against the industrial action.
Labour has neither endorsed or denounced the strike - but Sir Keir has accused the government of wanting one so it can feed off the division.
In an interview with the i, external, the general secretary of the RMT, Mick Lynch, warns that industrial action could continue well into the autumn, saying the public should expect a long fight between unions and Network Rail.
The Daily Telegraph reports that rail bosses are preparing for a "war of attrition", external, and says they are planning to offer cash bonuses to train signallers to cross picket lines.
"Summer strike plague spreads" says the Daily Mail, external.
It reports that teachers, NHS staff, barristers and postal workers could also go on strike - with unions balloting up to 1.5 million workers.
The Daily Mirror says this could lead to what it terms a "summer of discontent", external.
The Sun also draws parallels to the widespread industrial action that took place in the winter of 1978 and 1979, declaring "this country is returning to the 1970s", external.
The Times says the government will this week attempt to overturn a legal ban, external on allowing agency staff to fill in for striking workers.
Senior rail leaders tell the paper that, while they broadly welcome the plan, it is not a silver bullet.
Away from the strike, the Daily Mail says the Duke of Cambridge wishes Prince Andrew would just vanish from public view, external.
It quotes royal insiders as saying Prince William would have "cut his uncle loose a long time ago if it had been up to him" - following allegations of sexual abuse, which the Duke of York has consistently denied.
The Times reports Sir Keir Starmer is preparing a speech in which he will rule out bringing back free movement across Europe, external if Labour wins the next election.
He has previously said he would defend free movement as the UK left the EU, but a Labour source says that he wants to clarify the party's position on immigration.
And the Daily Express says that 1,000 teddy bears, bought nearly 60 years ago, are expected to fetch £35,000 at auction.
The owner tells the paper that she is selling two thirds of her toys, but can't "bear" to lose them all...
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