LONDON — Some of Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. media titles could switch their allegiance to the opposition Labour Party ahead of the next election, the mogul’s biographer predicted.
Speaking to POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy in her new Power Play podcast, Michael Wolff — longtime Murdoch observer and author of “The Fall: The End of the Murdoch Empire” which publishes this week — discussed the impending exit of the Australian media boss from the chairmanship of Fox Corp. and News Corp.
And he pointed out that some of Murdoch’s U.K.-based titles — which have traditionally favored the Conservatives — could make the leap and endorse Labour if its leader Keir Starmer continues to lead in the polls.
“He’s done it before. Could he do it now? For sure,” Wolff said when asked if Murdoch could back Labour. “I think the voice of his daughter in London is an important voice,” Wolff added, referring to Elisabeth Murdoch, who is based-in the U.K. “And I think that if he saw a Labour government being to his benefit, he would of course support it. If he saw Labour as a certain winner, his support would begin to bend in that direction.”
Starmer, whose Labour Party holds a commanding lead over the Conservatives in opinion polling, has already attempted to court Murdoch. The Labour leader attended the mogul’s annual summer party in London this year. Op-eds by the Labour leader sometimes appear in Murdoch-owned newspapers, including the Sun.
That paper famously backed Tony Blair as he prepared to take the Downing Street reins in 1997, in what was seen as an important symbolic moment leading up to that year’s election. The Times of London, owned by News Corp, has also backed the Conservatives in the past four general elections — although the two titles’ editorial lines are often highly distinct.
In a sign Murdoch-owned titles are likely to take a keen interest in the future of the Conservatives, the New York Post this week gave a glowing write-up to Suella Braverman, Tory home secretary and a likely contender in the party’s next leadership race.
Braverman provoked fury on the left — and in some parts of her own party — with a U.S. speech hitting out at multiculturalism and making the case for stronger borders. But the post’s leader column praised a “thundering” performance, adding: “Thanks to Braverman for making the case better than any American politician has.”
Murdoch announced his plans to step down as chair of Fox Corporation and News Corp last week. His eldest son Lachlan is set to take over.
However, Wolff — who told POLITICO “there is no one who goes as far back and in depth in this family drama as I do” — said he expects Rupert to remain top dog despite the shift.
“My feeling is that nothing changes, that this is a kind of theatrical moment in which the plot is not really furthered. The truth of it is that Rupert remains in charge,” Wolff said.
“Lachlan only sits there because he now holds his father’s favor. And, as it has many times over the years, that can change at the drop of a hat,” he added.
