Labour fight-back under scrutiny

Labour's promises of a "fight-back" at its annual conference are widely reported but the message in editorials is hardly reassuring for the party.

For the Daily Telegraph, it is Labour's final conference before a seemingly unstoppable return to opposition.

The fight has gone out of Labour troops who "look like prisoners with just six months to serve", says the Sun.

Gordon Brown's decline is painful to watch, as he is goaded by questions about his health, says the Guardian.

Leadership alternatives

The Times calls on the Cabinet to show courage, saying anyone ambitious enough has an "excellent" chance to replace Gordon Brown as Labour leader.

Similarly, the Independent's main story suggests Labour could head off general election defeat by ousting Mr Brown.

It said a survey found Labour would do better under eight alternative leaders.

Labour would be the largest party in a hung parliament if it was led by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, or Justice Secretary Jack Straw, it said.

Dog data

The Times has learned the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, has warned that his party is on the verge of collapse.

It has written to every party activist appealing for money, the paper says.

The Telegraph reports that all dogs in Britain will be fitted with microchips carrying their owner's details, under plans backed by the Tories and Labour.

Details would be stored on a national database aimed at reducing the number of strays, curbing the trade in stolen dogs and stopping animal violence.

Prayers answered

The Daily Mail follows the progress of relics of the 19th century French nun, St Therese of Lisieux, on a UK tour.

As 1,000 people welcomed the remains at a church in Bristol, the atmosphere was "part-wedding, part-funeral, part-royal visit, part-circus", it notes.

In Wiltshire, worshippers raising cash for a new church roof had their prayers answered when a communion chalice was valued at £2m, says the Daily Express.

The British Museum has had it on loan since the 1960s and wants to buy it.

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