Prime minister’s plan to lower the voting age to 16 is dominating the papers on Friday, with the Daily Mirror declaring it a “historic ballot box reform”.
“Votes as 16 as Starmer panics over Reform” says the headline of the Daily Telegraph, as Labour unveiled its accelerated plan in Parliament on Thursday evening. Under the proposed changes, 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to head to the polling booth at the next general election.
The i Paper is also leading on the vote, with their headline declaring that “Reform and Corbyn are likely to benefit”. The prime minister has argued that 16 and 17-year-olds already pay taxes and should get a say in the running of the country, but the i Paper writes that his critics are accusing him of trying to “rig political system”.
The Metro’s headline reads “Starmer’s new generation”, with the Friday edition of the paper reporting that the prime minister said the move will “modernise our democracy”. Singer Alexandra Burke is also pictured as Morticia who she portrays in The Addams Family: The Musical Comedy which is on tour.
“Labour in for ‘nasty voter surprise'” reads the headline of the Daily Express, with Nigel Farage predicting Labour’s decision will “backfire” amid his claims of a surge in young voter support for Reform. Elsewhere, Lucy Bronze roars after scoring a penalty that earned the Lionesses a spot in the semi-finals of Euro 2025.
The Afghan data leak naming “British spies and soldiers” is the leading story for the Times. The paper says that when the super-injunction blocking reporting on the breach was lifted, the press was hit by a secondary injunction which barred the disclosure of additional information due to national security concerns. At a High Court hearing on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence finally agreed that the specifics of the dataset could be reported, and so the media were able to reveal that more than 100 British special forces, MI6 spies and military officers were compromised in the leak, in addition to the thousands of Afghan nationals who were named.
Rory McElroy is the main image on the front page of the Guardian, pictured on the green at the Open 2025 after it kicked off at Royal Portrush. The Friday edition of the paper is leading with “Diane Abbott suspended by Labour for second time” as their main story after the MP doubled down and said she did not regret her controversial past remarks on racism.
The Financial Times reports employment in the UK fell for the fifth month in a row in June and wage growth slowed “in the latest sign that the government’s tax rises, a higher minimum wage and the US trade war are hitting the jobs market”. The broadsheet points out headcount was cut by 41,000 last month, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The Daily Mail warns that police will use facial recognition cameras at Notting Hill Carnival this year, in what the paper is calling an “unprecedented crackdown on violence”. Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz are pictured on the front page, holidaying in St Tropez amid ongoing speculation on their relationship with the rest of the Beckham family. The paper asks “Will Brooklyn send mum and dad a postcard?”
“Torode race slur a Kanye rap” reads the Sun’s front page, alleging that sacked MasterChef host John Torode repeated lyrics from Kanye West’s hit Gold Digger, which includes racial slurs. The TV chef identified himself as having an upheld claim of using racist language against him, but denied the allegation, stating he has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened.
British fans are seen celebrating the Lionesses win over Sweden on the front page of the Daily Star after a nail-biting penalty shoot-out. It pictures England goalie Hannah Hampton who the paper describes as the “penalty shoot-out hero”.
