- author, Christy Cooney
- role, BBC News
The Sunday Times has endorsed the Labour Party in the upcoming general election.
The editorial said the Conservative Party had “effectively lost its right to govern” and that “the time has come to entrust Labour with regaining control of the government.”
The newspaper is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News UK and has supported the Conservative Party in every election since 2005.
Although newspaper circulation is declining, support is still seen as an important indicator of the breadth of a party’s support base.
The editorial accused both Labour and the Conservative parties of “avoiding meaningful debate” and not being honest with the public about their financial situation throughout the election campaign.
The paper also praised Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt for restoring stability after the departure of Chancellor Liz Truss, but added that they “ultimately failed to repair the damage they inflicted on the Conservative party’s election result or unite their divided colleagues”.
“The UK now needs a fundamental reset,” the report said.
“We believe now is the time to entrust Labour with restoring our ability to govern. Britain must be a better place to live, work and do business.”
“The scale of the challenge is enormous. An exhausted Conservative Party has neither the strength to withstand nor the capacity to accept it. There comes a time when change is the only option.”
The Sunday Times is part of the media empire owned by Rupert Murdoch and famously canvassed support for Tony Blair’s New Labour party before the 1997 election.
The paper continued to support the Conservatives that year, but in 2001 it supported Labour, and in 2005 it supported the Conservatives again.
Murdoch’s most widely read newspaper, the Sun, is yet to announce an endorsement, despite often backing the winning party in past elections.
Newspapers which have so far supported Labour include the Daily Mirror, the Guardian and the Independent, while the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph have both supported the Conservatives.
