Today's issue ... Newspaper political backing

The Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger has indicated that the paper might turn its back on the Labour Party and lend its support to the Liberal Democrats in the next General Election.

Speaking in London on Tuesday he stressed that no final decision had been made and any decision would follow consultation with colleagues.

Talk of ending the paper's tradition of support for the Labour Party follows its criticism of the war in Iraq and its backing for the Liberal Democrats during the Hartlepool by-election.

The Daily Express has already switched allegiance away from Labour to the Conservatives.

politics.co.uk asks just how important is newspaper backing?