Newspaper headlines: Nursing union 'U-turn' and the 'Princess of Scales'

By BBC News
Staff
Many front pages, including the Sunday Telegraph, feature a picture of the Princess of Wales playing the piano during a surprise Eurovision appearance. The paper leads with reports that Labour wants to give EU citizens who live in the UK and pay tax the vote, if the party wins the next general election. Under new manifesto plans, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will also give the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, the paper says.
"Kate's Eurovision tribute to Ukraine" is the headline in the Mail on Sunday. The Princess of Wales gave a piano performance in support of Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, reports the paper. It says this comes after organisers of the singing competition made a controversial decision to ban Ukrainian's president Volodymyr Zelensky from addressing the event.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reports that the nursing union leader Pat Cullen is demanding a double-digit pay rise "in a U-turn from her previous position". In an interview with the paper, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called for the health secretary to reopen negotiations and said talks needed to begin with "double figures". Ms Cullen had previously called for her members to accept the government's offer of 5% - but union members rejected the deal and is preparing a ballot on further strike action.
Rishi Sunak will not budge, declares the Daily Express, after the prime minister faced a simmering Conservative revolt on Saturday evening. The paper says Mr Sunak brushed off criticism from the right of the Tory Party, saying he would deliver for Britain. The Express also features the picture of the Princess of Wales, alongside the words: "Forget Mae, Kate steals the show at Eurovision."
Former EastEnders star Dean Gaffney has revealed how a medical check for ITV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! saved his life, the Sunday Mirror reports. The 45-year-old said there was no doubt the show's medical team "saved my life". The paper says Gaffney was rushed for emergency surgery to remove growths he was told could have become cancerous if they had not been discovered.
X Factor star Wagner will be selling pictures of himself in the nude, the Daily Star reports. The paper features a rather revealing picture of the 67-year-old who says: "I'm going to make a fortune flogging pics of myself playing bongos in the buff." Good luck to him.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that Labour plans to give millions of EU citizens the vote if it wins the next election.

It suggests the proposals would give migrants with settled status - who live permanently in the UK, and pay taxes here - the right to take part in general elections.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds are also thought to be included in the plans, which could form part of Labour's next manifesto.

The Telegraph says the move would amount to the biggest expansion of the franchise in almost a century - and could "force the Conservatives out of London altogether".

Reuters

Turmoil within the Tory Party dominates the front page of the Observer - which claims Rishi Sunak is "losing control".

The paper says the Conservatives look "increasingly anarchic" - with former cabinet ministers openly criticising the direction of Mr Sunak's leadership, and "dozens" of backbenchers planning a new rebellion over Brexit.

Last week's decision to row back on plans to scrap thousands of EU laws by the end of the year is fuelling much of the criticism.

The paper thinks discipline on the right of the party is at risk of "completely disintegrating".

But the Sunday Express insists Mr Sunak has "faced down" a "simmering Tory revolt" by vowing to "stay the course" and "deliver for Britain".

It says the prime minister has "brushed off" criticism from the right of the party, and will now double down on his plans to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

He "won't budge", says the paper, on the idea of housing migrants on accommodation barges - despite criticism from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Allies of Boris Johnson have told the Sunday Times that they expect the former prime minister to "cut a deal" with the committee investigating whether he misled Parliament about lockdown parties in Downing Street.

It's thought Mr Johnson will accept the committee's verdict - if he can "find a form of words" which makes it clear he didn't mislead MPs deliberately.

It's understood that he's expecting to be suspended from Parliament for "about four days" - below the 10-day threshold which would trigger a recall petition, and probably a by-election.

New research, published in the Observer, suggests government reforms of the student loan system will benefit the highest paid graduates - at the expense of lower and middle income earners like nurses and teachers.

The study, by the consultancy London Economics, says many lower-paid graduates will see their lifetime repayments increase by more than £30,000 - while those of the highest earners will fall by an average of £25,000.

Ministers say the changes will increase the number of graduates who pay off their loans in full.

Kensington Palace/PA Media

And the surprise cameo by the Princess of Wales at the start of the Eurovision Song Contest makes most of the front pages.

A photo of the princess at the piano fills the front of the Mail on Sunday - which describes her performance as a "powerful statement of solidarity" with Ukraine.

"Wales, douze points" is the caption in the Sunday Times.

For the Sunday Telegraph she's the "Princess of Scales."