Newspapers reveal their political allegiances ahead of the big vote
MORE than a dozen national newspapers have already advised their readers on which way to vote in Thursday’s General Election. Last night the Independent raised eyebrows by endorsing a second Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.
The Mail on Sunday, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Telegraph, the Sun and the Financial Times have come out in favour of the Tories, while the Guardian, Observer and Mirror titles have urged readers to vote Labour.
Meanwhile, the Scottish edition of the Sun deviated from the national paper by siding with the SNP, and the Daily Express stands alone in its backing of Ukip.
With a few exceptions, these endorsements are largely in line with the publications’ views at the time of the last General Election. The Guardian and the Observer switched allegiances, supporting the Liberal Democrats in 2010, but are backing Labour this time.
While most publications have backed the Conservatives, YouGov’s head of political and social research Joe Twyman said the endorsements alone are unlikely to bring Tory success. “This time around, the only people who are likely to believe it would change the election result are newspapers themselves,” Twyman said. City A.M. will make its own endorsement later this week.