Britain’s Conservative-leaning newspapers have been handed a moment of decisive influence in the election of the next prime minister. The political analysis they project – the headlines they choose – could effectively anoint the next resident of No 10. But while these Tory titles continue to quarrel over the merits of rival candidates, the impact on voters in the Conservative party is unsure. According to Chris Blackhurst, a former editor of the Independent, the limited electoral constituency, estimated at just over 150,000 party members, is looking for guidance in a confusing battle. “This leadership election represents the high-water mark, in terms of power, for the right-wing press barons,” he said. “The entire electorate in this race is composed of their readers. Their ability to influence the outcome far exceeds any sway they might possess in a general election.” The Daily Mail and the Telegraph, the two most widely read titles among Tory members, have a combined moment of potential agency. What are they doing with it? Well, this weekend the Telegraph has given a midway boost to Penny Mordaunt, reporting her allegations of a dark arts campaign to undermine her standing.
She is being targeted by smears, she says in an extensive interview which appears alongside a plea from columnist Allison Pearson for Tories not to discard Mordaunt in a fit of “self-harming madness”. Pearson also condemns Truss as a terrible communicator. Yet the pages of the Telegraph, which is owned by Frederick Barclay’s Press Holdings media group, also find space for the veteran commentator Simon Heffer to pass on a mean quip about Mordaunt from an anonymous MP. “The lights are on but nobody is home,” he quotes. The Telegraph saves its most damning words for the parliamentary assassins, or “tawdry plotters”, who knifed the prime minster, ignoring the fact that these plotters include almost everybody who has ever worked with him. The Daily Mail, on the other hand, has made its distaste for Mordaunt abundantly clear, running a host of stories over the past week attacking her views on gender, questioning her role in the navy and even criticising the man she co-wrote a book with for “liking” a disobliging tweet. In the news empire overseen by Paul Dacre, Liz Truss is preferred, because she is seen as more plugged into traditional party interests. The foreign secretary is, according to a Mail editorial, “the one who most embodies the Conservative principles of aspiration, family values and low taxes”. Her “imaginative” plans include reversing the national insurance rise and ending some green levies on business, presumably in favour of the “nature survey” she outlined in last week’s TV debate.
In the same paper, which is ultimately controlled and chaired by Viscount Rothermere, a review of the TV debate by columnist Sarah Vine applauds Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch as straight talkers, but gives Sunak ultimate credit for his grip on detail. Amanda Platell, the Australian Fleet Street doyen, fills a page of the Mail with her fears about a Mordaunt premiership. The idea “fills me with horror”, she writes, remembering a period as Mordaunt’s boss inside the Tory PR machine. She generously calls Mordaunt’s slogan PM4PM “witty”, but argues that she is “untried” and too “woke”. It is Sunak who gets the most sustained drubbing in the Mail, however. He now has the backing of China, a report notes, under the headline, “The endorsement that nobody wanted”. Readers are also warned of Sunak’s old plan for a green tax on fuel, and his secret sympathies for the BBC. Over in the Rupert Murdoch newspaper stable, his mass market tabloid, the Sun, has a less significant role than it would in a general election. For now, the Times is the main player and it takes a cooler stance. Sunak is its top choice, thanks to his experience and economic nous. Yesterday the paper said the TV debate had seen the chancellor justify his status as the frontrunner. Mordaunt and Truss both underperformed, it claimed. Does the traditional Tory press still hold sway? Not everyone is sure. “I don’t think there is the hegemony in the Tory press that there once was,” said journalist and commentator Kate Maltby. Pointing to the influence of the website Conservative Home, she added: “The Tory membership is also now more internet savvy and social media-dominated than it was even just four years ago.”