Whoah !!! The Guardian UK abandons New Labour to support Clegg & the Liberal Democrats

[marmar]

Brown’s Party Loses Newspaper’s Traditional Support (Update2)
By Mark Deen and Robert Hutton


May 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour Party lost its traditional backing from the Guardian newspaper, capping a week when polls showed he was beaten in the final televised campaign debate and was forced to apologize for calling a supporter “bigoted.”

With an election in five days, the YouGov Plc daily poll showed opposition Conservative Party leader David Cameron ahead of Brown by six points in the popular tally and gaining a plurality of seats in parliament, though short of a majority. A separate poll by Harris Interactive put Labour in third place.

The Guardian, which called for Brown to step down in June last year when he faced a cabinet rebellion, endorsed the Liberal Democrats. It’s the first switch from Labour since 1983 when the party led by Michael Foot campaigned for unilateral nuclear disarmament, nationalization of industries and withdrawal from the European Common Market, a precursor to the European Union.

“Invited to embrace five more years of a Labour government, and of Gordon Brown as prime minister, it is hard to feel enthusiasm,” the Guardian said in an editorial. “The Liberal Democrats have for some time most closely matched our own priorities and instincts.”

The London-based Times newspaper today said it was endorsing the Conservatives for the first time since 1992 a day after the Economist magazine said it was ditching Labour for the Cameron’s party. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.B.sGCFZR2Q&pos=8