Newspapers weigh into election as poll nears
The Financial Times has become the latest national newspaper to endorse the Conservatives as the three main parties ramp up their marketing efforts in a bid to secure votes ahead of the election on Thursday (4 May).
The Pearson-owned broadsheet joins the Daily Mail, The Times, Daily Express, The Sun, News of the World and the Daily Telegraph in backing the Tories.
The FT’s declaration follows the Guardian and sister Sunday title The Observer’s endorsement of the Liberal Democrats over the weekend (1 and 2 May).
The Daily Mirror, which backs Labour, is calling on its readers to vote tactically for the Liberal Democrats in seats Labour cannot win in an attempt to “save Britain from a Tory nightmare”.
Senior Labour figures have also asked voters to “vote with their head, not with their hearts” in marginal seats to avoid an outright Conservative victory.
The three main party leaders are to criss-cross the country in the next few days in a bid to secure the backing of undecided voters.
Labour has today (4 May) launched a viral video that ridicules the Tories’ “Big Society” campaign theme. Labour claims the Tories’ big society “amounts to “nothing more than abandoning people to DIY public services, with no guarantees for patients, parents or communities.”
Opinion polls continue to point to a hung parliament despite the Conservatives maintaining their lead.
