Murdoch looks set to continue backing Blair

BRITAIN: Rupert Murdoch, arguably the most powerful media magnate in the world and certainly the most influential in Britain, indicated yesterday that his UK newspapers were unlikely to drop their support for Tony Blair.

In a speech in the United States, Mr Murdoch, owner through News International of the Times, the Sunday Times, the Sun and the News of The World, as well as being the controlling shareholder in Sky television, criticised the Conservatives' approach to immigration.

The Conservative party leader, Michael Howard, has made reducing the number of immigrants allowed into Britain, as well as tightening controls over asylum seekers, a key plank of his campaign platform.

At a media briefing during the Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles, Mr Murdoch said he supported Mr Blair's points system on illegal immigration.

"The idea of a points system for immigrants . . . I think is great. The Conservatives want to do the same thing, but they would put an absolute cap on it and I think that's wrong," he said.

The Murdoch-owned Sun has yet to declare who it will back in the general election, having batted for Mr Blair's New Labour in 1997 and 2001. The Sun sells 3.2 million papers a day and is read mainly by blue-collar workers, whose support was key to Margaret Thatcher's electoral victories.

The paper was a strident supporter of Lady Thatcher, but switched support to Mr Blair in 1997 in a move regarded as equally important to Labour - both in terms of reflecting an existing trend in popular opinion and encouraging it to happen.

The Sun, never shy about proclaiming its power, declared on its front page after the Conservatives' 1992 fourth consecutive election victory: "It Wos The Sun Wot Won It" in recognition of a polling day front page - "If Neil Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights" - which was credited with inflicting fatal damage on the then Labour leader. But by 1997, the paper had switched to Mr Blair's New Labour, support that continued for the 2001 general election.

In recent years, however, the paper has been critical of Mr Blair and is rabidly anti-European Union and strongly opposed to the euro. Recently, it led a highly critical campaign against the government on the subject of immigration and Travellers.

Conservative ineptitude, combined with Mr Blair's centre to centre-right positioning of Labour and Mr Murdoch's instinct always to support a winner, suggest he will back the government once again.

The only paper so far to declare for Labour is Sun rival the Daily Mirror, which came out early for Mr Blair despite intense criticism of the Iraq war.

Other UK newspapers, including the Guardian, the Independent and the Financial Times, have yet to declare.