The Guardian: "Has the Sun lost its clout?"

General consensus is that Conservative party leader, David Cameron, will come out top and while the Sun appears to have switched allegiances to the Tories, Wilby notes the support hasn't yet been made explicit and suggests the red-top no longer yields enough influence over the public to be seen to be to be on the side of an unpopular and supposedly losing team.

Wilby begins by saying that the Sun has reluctantly offered its backing to Cameron purely because he is seen "as the lesser of evils" and will probably hold its political cards close to its chest until an opportune moment arises. He points out: "First, Murdoch [who owns the Sun] likes to present himself as an anti-establishment man on the side of the little people. He hesitates to be seen backing a party that has several toffs among its leadership. Second, and perhaps paradoxically, Murdoch likes to be on the inside track, close to the government of the day. The Sun has supported the party in charge for all but a few weeks in the past 30 years."

Wilby also suggests the Sun has a journalistic motive for strategically choosing when to switch parties, highlighting that it will want to be leading the news by the time election day arrives: "It will choose a moment when it can make maximum impact," says Wilby before noting that the Sun's endorsement of new Labour only became clear two months before the 1997 election.

However, while the Sun is seen to dither and doubt it does itself no favours, says Wilby, who calls on the newspaper to take a more definite line of action that will allow for a stronger editorial voice to come through.

When it comes to politics, the press has always had a role in helping to form and reflect public opinion, never is this more true than when election fever hits. Newspapers provide governments with a vital link to the public and when politicians find themselves in favour with a national daily, they gain the additional benefit of being able to talk directly to readers, offering political figures an unparalleled opportunity to engage with the electorate.

The Daily Telegraph's recent exposure on MPs' expenses scandal, for instance, has done much to turn voters off politicians, but given that parliament members from all parties have been caught fiddling receipts at the expense of the taxpayer, the political menu on offer is likely to leave most voters with a bad taste in their mouths. In any case, the full impact of the scandal will not be known until at least June 3 next year, sooner if the UK public has its way.

Whilst the expenses row has helped to boost Telegraph sales, not everyone has been happy with the way the issue has been handled by the press. Celebrated actor and television presenter Stephen Fry was particularly critical, he referred to the affair as a "tedious, bourgeois obsession about what [MPs] charged for wisteria," dismissing it as a media concoction devised to shift newspapers. In any case, the so-called "expenses-gate" has caused public outrage, dominating radio phone-ins, television programmes, chat shows, websites and other newspapers, demonstrating just how influential one newspaper can be. 

The Sun has been a steadfast editorial media supporter of new Labour since Tony Blair came onto the mainstream political scene and redefined the social values of the party. "More important than its endorsement is its capacity to heap relentless ridicule on a party leader," says Wilby, yet so far unwilling to commit its support one way or another, some say it is looking almost as insubstantial as the prime minister it no longer approves of.



Sources: Guardian.co.uk , Sun.co.uk , Telegraph.co.uk