“Red alert:” fierce “heat wave must send temperatures above 40 ºC”: the Guardian leads with time and an image of firefighters on duty in France. The Conservative Party’s televised bleeding also ends: “The debate over conservative leadership exposes deep divisions.” The introduction says it was a “bad mood” program.
“Blowtorch Britain” says the Mirror, as “the record heat of 42C is activated”. The “brothers” who are shown jumping into the sea in Brighton seem happy enough to face the conditions.
Metro also talks about “Meltdown Monday,” while the leadership debate is cleverly handled with an image of contenders flanking its moderator, Julie Etchingham: the overlapping headline is “Who’s the weakest Conservative link?” .
The Telegraph could not decide between “heat wave” or “disintegration”, therefore, “the melting of the heat wave stops the UK”. In the coverage of the debate, all guns are training on the former chancellor: “Rivals accuse Sunak of leading the country into recession.”
It is also hot on the surface of the Sun. “Hotter than the Sahara,” in fact. “And India … and Pakistan … and Algeria … and Ethiopia,” though presumably not all together. The strap at the top of an aerial image of the beach is “Super scorchio” and the newspaper predicts “Full beaches as offices and schools close.”
Others use the time for their cover photo, but sprinkle conservative leadership. The most forceful wording is probably in the Times, which says “Sunak attacks ‘socialist’ truss.” The newspaper describes last night’s debate as a “bitter television shock”. At the forefront of the heat wave is “Schools have been told to stay open as temperatures rise to record highs.”
“The rivalry between Mordaunt and Truss No. 10 ignites,” says the i. It is unclear whether “on” is a weather reference. There is another photo of the beach and the furniture says “The UK is getting ready for the hottest day in history when the heat wave arrives”.
Penny Mordaunt called for an end to “toxic defamation” … but the Express says, “There’s no chance! The race for number 10 is personal.” And, somewhat typical of this newspaper, there has a petition to unite as British today, whatever the risks of heat: “It’s not the end of the world! Stay calm and keep going… ”
On the Daily Mail front, the line of attack of the day has priority over the immediate coverage of the debate: “Mordaunt discredited the No. 10 ban on meeting with the boycotted group.” As for the image, it jumps on the now-confirmed wedding of Batfleck and J-Lo.
Also leader Nadhim Zahawi (the chancellor) presents the main story of the Financial Times today: “The battle is rising over plans for the restructuring of the city to achieve the ‘Big Bang 2.0’.” For the photo, it’s Brighton Beach again and an unfavorable allusion to skin tone: “Beyond the Pale: Health Alerts for Record Heat.”