Brexit ‘day of drama’ and Ryanair strike threat

The vote by MPs to block any attempt to suspend Parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit is the lead for several newspapers.

The Guardian says MPs have given Boris Johnson a brutal preview of the scale of the challenge facing him if he becomes prime minister. His life has become more difficult, the i says.

Cartoons in the Times and the Daily Telegraph show Mr Johnson bound and tied up following yesterday’s vote. It’s a prospect that horrifies some; the Telegraph describes it as a monumental act of self-harm. Any Tory who genuinely wants Mr Johnson to rescue an agreement, the paper says, should give him as much latitude as possible.

In the Sun’s view, the vote is not some noble defence of democracy – but simply a move to make it harder to honour the referendum result by leaving the EU with no deal. But the i says the idea that Parliament could be suspended at a critical moment in national history is outrageous, robbing MPs of an opportunity to debate and vote on our future.

The politics.co.uk website says the vote shows Parliament is ready to stand up for itself in the battles to come with the executive. British constitutional democracy is fighting back, it declares.

The Daily Telegraph lays the blame for the rebellion at the door of the chancellor, with the headline: “Hammond stirs up trouble for Boris in Brexit parting shot”.

It says Theresa May has been accused of a final act of weakness in failing to discipline either the chancellor or seven other ministers who abstained from the vote.

The Financial Times notes that while Tory Eurosceptics repeatedly thwarted Mrs May’s Brexit deal, Mr Johnson now faces a mirror-image group of Europhile rebels who are determined to stop him from carrying out a no-deal exit.

The Times reports three cabinet ministers are preparing to quit on the day Mr Johnson becomes prime minister if, as expected, he wins the Tory leadership race. According to the paper, Justice Secretary David Gauke is set to resign soon after Theresa May completes her final Prime Minister’s Questions.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart are also considering departing before Mr Johnson arrives, it adds. The paper says the resignations will deny the new PM the chance to sack the strongest opponents of a no-deal Brexit.

The Daily Express leads with a pledge by Mr Johnson to end what it calls the cruel injustice of people having to sell their home to cover the cost of dementia care. In an interview with the paper, he says he wants to build a cross-party consensus to find a solution.

As part of its campaign on the issue, the Daily Mail carries a poll which suggests one in three people with dementia have been forced to sell their home to pay for care. Just over 1,000 people were questioned for the survey and 27% of those who took part said they had spent more than £50,000 on care.

According to the Daily Mirror‘s main story, Tory plans to save cash by removing free TV licences could backfire and add £1.6bn to the welfare bill. The paper reports the BBC’s decision to limit free licences to over-75s on pension credit will spark a rush to sign up for the benefit, which could cost twice what is saved.

Finally, several papers report that the UK is set for an invasion of painted lady butterflies this summer, in what naturalists are describing as a once-in-a-decade phenomenon.

The Times reports large clusters of the butterfly, with its distinctive orange and black features, have been spotted in Cornwall, Sussex, Norfolk and parts of Wales, having flown from north Africa and southern Europe.

According to the Telegraph, there have been sightings as far north as Shetland and St Kilda – which has no native butterflies.