The Sun sets on Labour

ON Wednesday September 30, as Gordon Brown anxiously awaited the public verdict on what many will consider his last ditch attempt to save his party in the polls, the Sun, who have unfalteringly backed Labour since the Blairite campaign of 1997 publicly pulled their political support.

In a move which has angered several Labour MPs, Murdoch’s project has become the target of much criticism: Peter Mandelson allegedly branding them “chumps” and the Prime Minister himself rushing to exit an uncomfortable interview with Sky News’s political editor Adam Boulton.

Although a highly provocative political move, and one which will undoubtedly please the Conservative Party, the Sun’s infamous front page is first and foremost an unabashed and astounding media stunt.

Fresh from James Murdoch’s grating Edinburgh speech on the overpowering dominance of the BBC, as well as reports that the Times readership is suffering a fall due to increasingly available free web content, the Murdoch dynasty appear to have taken matters into their own hands.

Famed for creating the news as well as reporting it, the Sun has now put itself into the headlines of most national newspapers and news broadcasts for a long period to come. It remains to be seen whether Dominic Mohan, the newspaper’s latest editor, had much influence in this decision, but it will be interesting to see how the once red Sun sells now that it is blue.

One suspects that by tapping into the public consciousness the Sun will see sales improve, and even non Sun readers will be overcome with the temptation to try out a paper which is so brazen.

The Labour Party has been losing public interest ever since Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister. Despite the many good measures put in place by Brown both as PM and particularly as Chancellor, these can easily be overlooked due to his uncharismatic presence and lack of media savvy.

Cameron knows how to court the Press: he’s slick, knows what the media wants and will provide that snappy little quote every reporter is searching for. For Cameron, his party’s relationship with the media is a reciprocal one. For Brown, it is a necessary inconvenience, and therein lies his lack of media and public appeal.

To be PM is to be the face of the country: to be a confident, unashamed and sociable-seeming head. Look at Obama: a family man who is witty, can hold a conversation with the American youth without once seeming cringe-worthy, and dare I say it, a rather sexy man. Brown could have the greatest policy Britain has ever known, but with his hunched stance and lack of media savvy, no-one wants to hear it.

All that the Sun has done is realise that it was flogging a dead horse and switched allegiance. Murdoch’s personal politics aside, the switch is sure to boost paper sales and perhaps also boost the newspaper industry. The media is about provoking a reaction, and the Sun has come to be the modern day definition.

The media industry, like politics, is all about survival, and with Labour losing votes, so was the Sun. Now the paper has done all it can to save itself, and after all, is responsible only for itself and its readers, not for a flagging political party.