With five days left before the second general election in two years, national newspapers are making their endorsements clear for Thursday’s poll.
The Guardian
The Guardian’s election editorial has come out in strong support of Labour. The editorial welcomes the enthusiasm of Jeremy Corbyn on the campaign trail so far, contrasting the Labour leader’s energy with the lacklustre performance of Theresa May.
Labour’s leader has had a good campaign. He has been energetic and effective on the stump, comfortable in his own skin and in the presence of others. He clearly likes people and is interested in them. He has generated an unfamiliar sense of the possible; once again, people are excited by politics. The campaign itself has been unexpectedly strategic, based on a manifesto adroitly pitched both at energising Labour’s base and the under-35s, who have responded with rare enthusiasm.
Most pundits think the voters will repudiate Mr Corbyn’s Labour party. They may do so. But Mr Corbyn has shown that the party might be the start of something big rather than the last gasp of something small. On 8 June, Labour deserves our vote.
The Economist
The threat of May’s hard Brexit has prompted the Economist magazine to back the Liberal Democrats. Coming out in favour of Tim Farron’s party, which has pledged to hold a referendum on the final Brexit deal, their election editorial admits that choosing a party for the looming election is “a dismal choice”.
No party passes with flying colours. But the closest is the Liberal Democrats. Brexit is the main task of the next government and they want membership of the single market and free movement.
They are more honest than the Tories about the need to raise taxes for public services; and more sensible than Labour, spreading the burden rather than leaning only on high-earners.
The Financial Times
The pink paper has endorsed the Conservative party (£) – despite it having been strongly opposed to Britain leaving the European Union. In the 2015 election the newspaper backed a continuation of the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition.
This time, although it admits little enthusiasm for the current Tory leader, it says the alternative would be disastrous. Warning that Jeremy Corbyn is a “relic” of a bygone age of state-owned industry, the editorial pours scorn on a leader it says is “in hock” to the trade unions.
He is a pacifist relic of the 1970s, in hock to the trade unions, with no grip on economic issues,” the editorial states. “It is no accident that the arrival of Mr Corbyn and his hard-left supporters in mainstream politics has coincided with a revival of antisemitism and misogyny. Labour’s team is unfit for government, let alone the delicate Brexit talks.
The New Statesman
On the other side of the political divide, the New Statesman stops short of an enthusiastic endorsement of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. But the left-leaning magazine urges readers to vote for their local Labour candidate, reminding voters that Britain does not have a presidential-style electoral system.
Labour’s historic mission is to redress the power of capital and defend the labour interest for the common good. The mission of the Conservatives is to be the party of the moneyed interest and to defend the market state.
Britain does not have a presidential system. When we cast our vote at an election we do so for an individual candidate in a particular constituency. Many admirable Labour candidates are struggling to hold on to their seats – including, at random, Jon Cruddas in Dagenham, Holly Lynch in Halifax, Jess Phillips in Birmingham Yardley, Alison McGovern in Wirral South, Peter Kyle in Hove and Wes Streeting in Ilford North – because of the invidious position they have been put in by the party’s leadership.
So when you cast your vote on 8 June remember that you are voting not for a party leader but for an individual candidate. That distinction matters.
The Times
As soon as Theresa May announced the snap election last month, the Times gave her its full backing (£) – both for the election itself and for her leadership. In an editorial in May the paper said Britain “stands to benefit from a bigger Conservative majority, as long as it is wisely used”.
The newspaper has not yet published its final pre-election endorsement.
The Daily Telegraph
The traditional rightwing newspaper also came out as an early backer of Theresa May. Like the Times, it gave its backing to the prime minister when she announced the snap election.
It wrote: “The country needs strong leadership now more than ever and over the past nine months Mrs May has shown she is the only one who can provide it. She deserves the big majority we hope she will secure on 8 June.”
Like the Times, it has not yet published a leader declaring which way it would vote in the election, but the safe money is on full-throated support for the Tories.
The Sun
Rupert Murdoch’s other British newspaper has been equally supportive of May. In an editorial last month the tabloid said: “A thumping Tory victory – and surely few can imagine any other result – will give her the mandate she lacks as prime minister and crucial new authority before negotiating with EU leaders.”
The Daily Mail
Edited by Paul Dacre, a long-time supporter of the Tories, the Mail has been a cheerleader for May throughout the campaign.
It is no secret that the Mail admires Mrs May. We were the first newspaper to support her leadership bid and we have liked what we have seen of her ever since. Her low-key style – in which cabinet ministers are encouraged to have views and she herself speaks only when she has something important to say – could hardly be more different from the Cameron chumocracy, whose business activities since they left office speak volumes about the sort of people they were.
So, yes, this is a wonderful opportunity for the lady to clear the air, while every vote she wins on June 8 will strengthen her hand in the vital EU negotiations ahead. This was the right decision for Britain. The Mail wishes her every success.
The Daily Express
The day after the election was called the Express’s editorial said: “With the impressive start she has made as prime minister and the huge respect she has won already for her no-nonsense style this can only be of benefit to the country … Faced with pitiful opposition Theresa May has an opportunity to secure a huge number of seats and ensure the Brexit process goes smoothly.”
The Daily Mirror
The only left-leaning red top, the Mirror was an early cheerleader for a Labour victory. The day after the election was announcedit said in its leader column: “Labour is the only party that can offer the electorate the burning desire to fight against inequality and rage against the appalling divides that still exist in Britain today.”
The paper backed Ed Miliband’s Labour in 2015 and it is likely to do the same for Jeremy Corbyn, but it has yet to publish a 2017 election leader.
London Evening Standard
The Evening Standard newspaper, which has been edited by the former chancellor George Osborne since May, has not published its endorsement for the upcoming vote. While the paper has backed successive Tory candidates for the mayor of London, in recent weeks May has come under fire in its pages.
