The Sun tonight came out with a last-minute endorsement of Sir Keir Starmer, leading to condemnation from readers and in Labour heartlands.
The eleventh hour decision, as polls pointed to a record defeat for the Tories, was branded ‘sickening’ in Liverpool, a Labour stronghold which has shunned the paper since the Hillsborough disaster.
Hours before the country went to the polls, the red top tabloid said the Conservatives had become a ‘divided rabble, more interested in fighting themselves than running the country’, claiming it was ‘time for a change’.
Sir Keir said he was ‘delighted’ to have received the backing of The Sun, claiming: ‘I think that shows just how much this is a changed Labour Party, back in the service of working people.’
And Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting welcomed the endorsement of the paper following 15 years of backing the Tories, posting on X – formerly Twitter – that ‘the Sun is shining on Labour’.
But readers slammed the endorsement as ‘blatant opportunism’, accusing the paper of ‘selling out’.
It also sparked fury in Liverpool, where a widespread boycott has been in place due to its coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in which 97 football fans died – and an angry repudiation from supporters groups.
Alan Gibbons, a former Labour councillor, said it was a ‘very sad day for the Labour Party’.
‘A lot of Labour supporters in Liverpool will be incredibly disaffected and disappointed to find the party welcoming the Sun’s endorsement,’ said Mr Gibbons, who was secretary of Walton Constituency Labour Party until 2020.
‘Keir Starmer should have said “Thanks but no thanks”.’
Mr Gibbons – now campaigning for an independent socialist candidate after Labour expelled him – added: ‘I find it sickening that Wes Streeting can accept the Sun’s endorsement when he knows the impact the paper’s lies have had on the people of Liverpool.’
Louise Brookes, whose brother Andrew, 26, was killed in the Hillsborough disaster in April 1989, warned: ‘Labour have got to be very careful about building a relationship with the Sun.
‘I don’t think people in Liverpool will tolerate it, and they could end up finding out it costs them a lot of votes in the city.’
Peter Scarfe, chairman of the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance, said: ‘I am sure I speak for many survivors and family members alike when I say that if the Sun thinks by trying to run such a story will win us over, they’ve another thing coming.’
The move was also met with bafflement by the Sun’s traditional readership, with some accusing the newspaper of ‘selling out’.
In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, retired machinist Thomas Wilson, 63, said: ‘A lot of people will be annoyed and feel betrayed that the Sun has switched to supporting Labour.’
Meanwhile Labour voters said it made them feel ‘uncomfortable’ to have the paper’s support.
Mark Hutchinson, a 49-year-old NHS worker, said: ‘I have voted Labour ever since the Thatcher days but this is a concern.
‘I do think it’s time for a change so I will support Labour, but it would make me uncomfortable if the Sun supports the party.’
Staunch Labour voter Mark Bryson, 38, a manual labourer, said: ‘I think they are jumping on the bandwagon because Labour is doing well and are looking likely to win.’
In 1992 the paper famously crowed ‘It was the Sun wot won it’, claiming its support had swayed 10million readers to back John Major – but switched its support to Labour ahead of Tony Blair’s 1997 election victory.
However Labour candidates seeking re-election tomorrow remained silent, despite having previously slammed Sir Keir for courting the paper’s support.