[user104658]

Originally Posted by MTVN

It's strange that in an era where newspapers are in perennial decline they are still credited with dictating the opinion of the country and deciding elections. To say the Conservatives won the election because of the Sun was rubbish in 1992 and it's even more rubbish now.

The printed press is in decline, the media overall still holds as much sway as it ever did. Press and propaganda decides elections. It's not rubbish at all. If it is "rubbish" then someone might want to tell the main parties, because they spend literally millions on advertising and propaganda, and are terrified of losing the investors that allow them to pay for that. Why? Because they know that an effective PR campaign is vital to winning an election.

Ask Livia, IIRC she "used to" spin for the Tories, she might know more about what sort of budget they had. Although, it seems she still does it for free these days .