Is Labour winning the battle for News International’s affection?

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

This afternoon Paul Waugh reported that Sky were overlooked at Cameron’s presser – later going on to suggest that they’d been sin-binned.

At the same time, both Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have written articles in the Sun of late which featured bold, forceful attacks on the Tories.

Less than two years ago the Sun turned their back on Labour in the most open and public fashion. As I said only two weeks ago, that decision still leave’s a bad taste in many member’s mouths.

Yet it does seem that Labour have been getting a more favourable response from the Murdoch press in recent months. Perhaps it is a co-incidence that one former News International staffer has left Downing Street, as another begins to work for Miliband.

Many in the party will feel uncomfortable with the idea that the party might be courting the Sun, or another other Murdoch outlet. But his reach in the UK is vast. If the two Eds are to reach the “squeezed middle”, then they may need the affection of Sun readers.

As News International and the Conservatives appear to be frosty towards each other (on the surface at least), Labour may have an opportunity to win that affection.

As Paul Richards rightly noted back in 2009 – we can win without the Sun, but not without its readers.