Newspaper headlines: By-election fallout and Lionesses roaring to go

By BBC News
Staff

The Daily Telegraph says a number of unnamed cabinet ministers now want Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to consider abandoning green policies in the wake of the Tories' "shock" by-election win in Uxbridge.

The Conservatives held on to ex-PM Boris Johnson's former seat amid anger at plans by the Labour mayor of London to expand charges for polluting cars - a scheme the paper calls "arrogant".

It says Tory MPs looking for a path to victory at the next general election are now examining what it calls green "wedge issues", which they can campaign on to coax voters away from Labour. They are said to be encouraging Mr Sunak to scrap or delay net zero schemes in time for the next election manifesto.

Likewise, the Financial Times suggests that Uxbridge has persuaded some Conservative MPs to argue that Mr Sunak should now exploit voter concerns about the cost of green measures at a national level.

Craig Mackinlay, chair of the net zero scrutiny group of Tory MPs, said that "rethinking the net zero pathway" could put clear water between the Conservatives and Labour.

But in its editorial, the paper cautions the prime minister against obeying the "siren voices" urging him to swerve to what it calls the right-wing populism of abandoning green policies, and bringing in unaffordable tax cuts.

The Times suggests that the Uxbridge by-election win has buoyed the prime minister as he plans a series of "divisive policies" on crime, migration and transgender rights to highlight differences with Labour.

The paper says he believes that if a substantive issue is at stake - as was the case in Uxbridge - the Tories can win. It said they had effectively turned the by-election into a referendum on mayor Sadiq Khan's ultra-low emission zone plans.

For the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, the focus is on Rishi Sunak's pledge to double down on his plans.

Go True Blue is the Mail's headline, saying senior Tories want the prime minister to cut taxes and concentrate on house-building to lure voters back. The Express quotes Mr Sunak as saying the next general election is not a done deal. He said voters would back the Conservatives when confronted with the reality of Labour policies.

The Guardian, though, says the chances of the Tories succeeding at the next general election look increasingly slim, after suffering what it called "shattering defeats" in both the North Yorkshire and Somerset by-elections.

It claims those results underline the extent to which the national mood has turned against Mr Sunak's party.

There is no by-election coverage on the front of the Sun. Instead, Hell Hol! is the headline, over a picture of a congested motorway.

It says the British summer getaway ground to a halt yesterday because of delays via land, sea and air. There is worse to come, it warns.

For the Daily Mirror, it is all eyes on Brisbane, Australia, where the England women's football team - the Lionesses - kick off their World Cup campaign against Haiti in a few hours time.

Roar Us On it says simply, over a huge picture of the team captain, Millie Bright.

And the front pages of the Times,Express and Daily Mail all carry a picture of Prince George, posing for a photo-shoot at Windsor. He turns 10 today.