Best and worst front pages from the UK election
The United Kingdom’s newspapers have nailed their colours to the mast on the final day of the British election campaign.
Rallying cries for one leader or another are becoming incredibly important, as the polls predict a knife-edge result.
Both the Conservatives led by Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour are predicted to take 34 per cent of the vote, which could lead to a tie for seats, polling agency YouGov reports.
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Perhaps most bizarrely, Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun suggested Labour leader Ed Miliband couldn’t eat a bacon sandwich, so couldn’t run the country, and called on its readers to “keep him OUT”.
Wow @TheSunNewspaper, you hit a new low. Looking at you, @RupertMurdoch. This is no journalism, it’s filth #JeSuisEd pic.twitter.com/bUx7RGTEpj
— Esther Prade (@EstherPrade) May 6, 2015
Perhaps counter to the tabloid’s intention, Twitter reacted sympathetically by posting pictures of themselves and Conservative politicians eating in the #jesuisEd hashtag.
Boris supporting #JeSuisEd pic.twitter.com/dqdWOZDpLF — Tracy Wheeler (@TracyWheelie) May 6, 2015
#Thatcher getting in on the #JeSuisEd act. pic.twitter.com/00aLuEMANo
— Katy W (@Whimsykayak) May 6, 2015
#JeSuisEd is brilliant. Hey @rupertmurdoch why don’t you join in?If short of images please feel free to use these. pic.twitter.com/6jRKN93ecn
— Alex Braithwaite (@labour52rose) May 6, 2015
Even @rupertmurdoch is backing #JeSuisEd pic.twitter.com/vvwmFVdli7 — Tom Whitwell (@TomWhitwell) May 6, 2015
The Sun’s cover was just the start, as other papers made clear pitches for their preferred leaders.
The Daily Mail decided to create a contradiction when it led with a 50-50 page: one half scared readers about the “class-war zealot” “Red Ed” (Milliband), while the other half complained of the time it will take to see a GP under the Tory government’s health policy.
Newspaper proprietors appeared at odds with editorial direction in this case.
One of the crucial debates in the election is over the future of the National Health Service; Conservatives want to devolve powers to local councils while Labour wants to tip in more money at the expense of rich property owners, the Telegraph reports.
Minor party the UK Independence Party (UKIP) scored a nod from this Daily Express front page. UKIP is likely to grab about 12 per cent of the vote according to the polls. The party could prove essential to breaking a predicted post-election deadlock.
But the bouquets and brickbats weren’t reserved for the front runners, a host of other papers decided to attack parties and their front pages were on-message. The Guardian characteristically attacked the Conservatives:
And the Telegraph took aim at the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) – a new force in the realm of UK elections – which rose to prominence after Scotland’s close independence referendum in 2014. According to the polls, the SNP looks like taking out almost all the seats in Scotland, which would harm Labour’s chances of ruling in majority.
The election will be held on Thursday and counting will begin on Friday morning Australian time.