This article was last updated on July 4, 2024
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British newspapers are making a switch to Labor after years
Today’s elections in the United Kingdom promise to be anything but boring. The Conservatives are heading for a tough election night, it is said the expectation. Labor, on the other hand, can hope for a dream result. Not only the voter has made a U-turn, some British tabloids have also changed course.
The British voter has it lost confidence in politicians, British professor John Curtice recently said. “It could even be a historically big election victory. The polls look particularly bad for the Conservatives,” the voting authority said.
Murdoch newspapers elect Labour
In the run-up to the elections, the British tabloids also opted for a remarkable turnaround. In the United Kingdom it is customary for a newspaper to express a political preference in an opinion piece.
The Sunday Times, one of the largest quality newspapers, recently indicated that it is now backing Labor after twenty years. According to the newspaper, the UK needs a “radical reset” after fourteen years of Conservative rule.
“It’s time for a change,” headlined gossip newspaper The Sun. Since 2005, the newspaper, which, like The Sunday Times, is also owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, has supported the Conservatives. But the time has come for something else, the newspaper said. In the past, The Sun has often chosen the eventual winner of elections.
The more right-wing newspapers such as the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph still support the Conservatives. The Guardian, The Independent, business magazine The Economist and The Daily Mirror traditionally have a Labor preference.
Labor leader and likely future Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded enthusiastically to the newspaper’s support. “I think this shows how much this party has changed. We are back at the service of working people,” he said during a campaign visit.
United Kingdom Correspondent Fleur Launspach:
“British newspapers openly express their support for political candidates during election campaigns. British tabloids often provide explicit voting advice and their preferred politicians can count on favorable reporting. The choice of The Telegraph is easy to guess – yesterday the newspaper headlined: “The country is about to enter a nightmare far darker than anyone can imagine.” According to this newspaper, that nightmare begins with Labor at the helm.
The mostly right-wing tabloids usually express their support for the Conservative Party during British campaigns. That The Sun has chosen to support Labor is telling: the newspaper likes to pick the winner. Moreover, The Sun likes to praise itself with the story that their support in 1992 was decisive for the elections of that time. Yet the tabloids and newspapers no longer have as much power and influence as they used to.
The famous example from Tony Blair’s time is that, while still leader of the opposition, he went all the way to Australia to ask for Rupert Murdoch’s political support. He got it, and Blair won. The Sun and the Daily Mail still have the largest reach in the country. But as paper circulation declines, the political impact of tabloids also diminishes somewhat.”
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