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.
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
RELAXED: After talks on Ukraine and trade, the French president met with students while his wife visited pandas, after the pair parted ways with their Chinese counterparts French President Emmanuel Macron concluded his fourth state visit to China yesterday in Chengdu, striking a more relaxed note after tough discussions on Ukraine and trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) a day earlier. Far from the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing where the two leaders held talks, Xi and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛), showed Macron and his wife Brigitte around the centuries-old Dujiangyan Dam, a World Heritage Site set against the mountainous landscape of Sichuan Province. Macron was told through an interpreter about the ancient irrigation system, which dates back to the third century
RSS