Murdoch could back the Tories

Thursday, 29 June 2006 12:00 AM

Rupert Murdoch has revealed that he could back the Conservatives at the next general election.

The media mogul, who owns The Sun and The Times, told The Australian newspaper that he can see himself backing David Cameron.

Mr Murdoch has backed Tony Blair since switching his allegiance to Labour ahead of the 1997 general election.

He has supported the prime minister on unpopular issues such as the war in Iraq and his actions to tackle terrorism.

But in an interview with the paper, the chairman and chief executive of News Corporation called for Mr Blair to step down at least a year before the next general election so the electorate - and his newspapers - have time to assess his likely successor, chancellor Gordon Brown.

"We've been a very big support of Tony on big issues, he's been a very courageous world leader. We've also been critical of him on other things like Europe," Mr Murdoch said.

"But for no reason other than the dynamics of British politics we would like to see at least a year to 18 months' standoff between Gordon Brown and David Cameron so we can decide which of those most coincides with our views."

When asked whether he could seem himself supporting Mr Cameron, Mr Murdoch replied: "Oh yes."

Earlier this year, Mr Murdoch said that Tony Blair had overseen a "pretty good government", despite the high tax rates.

He was, however, critical of the government for running a "nanny state" and its "micro-management approach".

Speaking in January, shortly after David Cameron had been elected as leader of the Conservative party, Mr Murdoch challenged him to focus less on being image friendly and more on delivering concrete policy.

"I would really like to know a little bit more about what his vision is for the future of the country and his people," he told Radio Five Live.

The Sun was a firm backer of the Conservatives under John Major in 1992, and its switch to New Labour in 1997 was seen by some as a key moment in establishing the credibility of the party among the electorate.

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• conservatives
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• labour
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• party politics