Two major British daily newspapers have turned their backs on the ruling Labour Party, endorsing opposition parties in a blow to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown less than a week before a parliamentary election.
The Guardian newspaper, traditionally a staunch Labour supporter, said it had switched its support to the Liberal Democrats, perennially the third party in British politics, because it was the best way to bring about electoral reform.
The Times said it was deserting Labour for the opposition Conservatives, which it has not endorsed for 18 years, because it supports their views on reducing the size of government and acting sooner to cut a record public deficit, running at more than 11 percent of GDP.
The Lib Dems “reflect and lead an overwhelming national mood for real change,” the Guardian wrote in an editorial for yesterday’s newspaper, published on their Web site on Friday.
“Invited to embrace five more years of a Labour government, and of Gordon Brown as prime minister, it is hard to feel enthusiasm,” it added.
The Liberal Democrats, who have enjoyed a strong ratings boost since the first of three television leaders’ debates, have long campaigned for proportional representation, an electoral system well established across Europe.
Adjustments to Britain’s system of “first past the post” voting in 650 localities, or constituencies, have made the relationship between number of votes and number of parliamentary seats more obscure — and strengthened the case for reform.
As the system stands, Labour can score fewer votes than the Conservatives but still command more seats, a situation some opinion polls have indicated could arise after an election on Thursday.
Opinion polls consistently point to a hung parliament, in which no one party wins an overall majority, putting Lib Dem leader Clegg in a potentially pivotal position.
But the Guardian included a caveat in its backing of Clegg’s party, warning voters in Labour-Conservative marginal seats they must weigh up the tactical option of supporting Labour to prevent a Conservative win.
The newspaper, which last year argued Brown should step down as prime minister, said the “humiliation” of a campaign gaffe this week in which he was caught by a lapel microphone calling a Labour supporter “bigoted” after she questioned him on immigration, made it clear his party had made the wrong decision in keeping him as leader.
The Times said that while the campaign had been “electrified” by the rise of Nick Clegg, the Lib Dems had yet to build a serious platform to prepare for government.
“The economy is broken and so is politics. It is time for change, in both the philosophy and the style of government,” it wrote in an editorial published on its Web site on Friday. “David Cameron has shown the fortitude, judgment and character to lead this country back to a healthier, stronger future.”
On Thursday the influential Economist magazine switched its support from Labour to endorse the Conservatives, saying they seemed the party most committed to reducing the size of the public sector.
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