Re: the Sun - a reality check!

Conservatives are (rightly) making a fuss over the Sun's decision to back David Cameron - announced in a triumph for good spin operations on the same day as Gordon Brown's speech to Labour party conference.

I say rightly because this is straight out of political playbook 101.

However, as similar as Labour's response is to the Tory response of 1997, this time there is slightly more a ring of truth to the idea that the opinion of a newspaper doesn't matter as much anymore.

However again, that's not the point I'm going to make which is instead a swift spiritual reality check to the head (I hope!)

The Sun (wait for it....) is a (gasp) RIGHT WING PAPER (double gasp)!!!!!

Why is no-one saying this?

Unhelpful attitude to Europe? Check.
Opposed to the idea the state can be a delivery agent for good? Check.
Lazy bastards who can't check facts and blame scousers for things they haven't done! Check.

Don't get me wrong - I'm very grateful for their support in helping to get new labour elected, but this would be less of a blow if we came out and said that the policy cost of earning the Sun's support is too high and Cameron is welcome to them.

For almost ten years, the party of the centre left has had the support of a right wing paper. No wonder people have been known to comment that they're all the same and no-one can tell the difference. We've been given the answer to that on a plate and this is a real chance to paint the clear red water between the parties and start identifying the differences between the ways we would run the country. After all if the Sun can tell the difference.....

It is a feature of our newspapers that they are politically aligned and the Sun's move needs to be seen as a return to the natural order of things, not a prediction of electoral success. When the Mirror comes out for Cameron I'll start to worry.

SH