Political Allegiance
The Times had declared its support for Clement Attlee's Labour at the 1945 general election; the party went on to win the election by a landslide over Winston Churchill's Conservative government. However, the newspaper reverted to the Tories for the next election five years later. It supported the Conservatives for the subsequent three elections, followed by support for both the Conservatives and the Liberal Party for the next five elections, expressly supporting a Con-Lib coalition in 1974. The paper then backed the Conservatives solidly until 2001.
For the 2001 general election The Times declared its support for Tony Blair's Labour government, which was re-elected by a landslide. It supported Labour again in 2005, when Labour achieved a third successive win, though with a reduced majority. For the 2010 general election, however, the newspaper declared its support for the Tories once again; the election ended in the Tories taking the most votes and seats but having to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in order to form a government as they had failed to gain an overall majority.
| Year | Party supported |
|---|---|
| 1945 | Labour |
| 1950 | Conservatives |
| 1955 | Conservatives, Liberal |
| 1974 | Conservatives-Liberal Coalition |
| 1979 | Conservatives |
| 2001 | Labour |
| 2010 | Conservatives |
This makes it the most varied newspaper in terms of political support in British history.
Read more about this topic: The Times
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or allegiance:
“Every political system is an accumulation of habits, customs, prejudices, and principles that have survived a long process of trial and error and of ceaseless response to changing circumstances. If the system works well on the whole, it is a lucky accident—the luckiest, indeed, that can befall a society.”
—Edward C. Banfield (b. 1916)
“Mine honesty and I begin to square.
The loyalty well held to fools does make
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Does conquer him that did his master conquer
And earns a place i’ the story.”
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