Newspaper’s blow for Labour campaign

THE Financial Times has dealt another blow to Gordon Brown by switching its support from Labour to the Conservatives.

At the 1992, 1997, 2001, and 2005 elections, the FT declared for Labour. But it has now joined a host of other national papers and publications in calling for readers to vote for David Cameron.

Although the newspaper said it still had some reservations - including over the party’s “reflexive hostility” to Europe - it said the Tories offered the best option.

“They are not a perfect fit, but their instincts are sound,’’ it said. “Their fiscal plans, while vague, suggest they would do most to reduce the size of the state - cutting more and taxing less than their opponents. They would create the best environment for enterprise and wealth creation.’’

While Gordon Brown had proved a better “crisis manager’’ than his critics claimed, it said that Labour needed a spell in opposition to “rejuvenate itself’’.

Although it praised the Liberal Democrats for their commitment to civil liberties and political reform, it expressed doubts about their economic policies, describing them as “an uneasy mix of sanctimony and populism’’.

The FT joins The Times and The Economist in coming out in support of the Conservatives in the course of the campaign.