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Nick Clegg's rise could lock Murdoch and the media elite out of UK politics

David Yelland: At the Sun, we deliberately ignored the Lib Dems. The cosy pro-Cameron press may now be left floundering.

I doubt if Rupert Murdoch watched the election debate last week. His focus is very firmly on the United States, especially his resurgent Wall Street Journal. But if he did, there would have been one man totally unknown to him. One man utterly beyond the tentacles of any of his family, his editors or his advisers. That man is Nick Clegg.

Make no mistake, if the Liberal Democrats actually won the election – or held the balance of power – it would be the first time in decades that Murdoch was locked out of British politics. In so many ways, a vote for the Lib Dems is a vote against Murdoch and the media elite.

I can say this with some authority because in my five years editing the Sun I did not once meet a Lib Dem leader, even though I met Tony Blair, William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith on countless occasions. (Full disclosure: I have since met Nick Clegg.)

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Rattled News International heavyweights respond to Cleggmania with visit to Simon Kelner's office.

Things are hotting up. Hours after the traditional British election egg was thrown at David Cameron's shoulder, we learned this morning that James Murdoch and his enforcer, Rebekah Brooks, nee Wade, burst their way into the offices of the Independent to give executives a hard time.

Gosh, that's pretty uncool, and may suggest that expensive suits at News International are rattled by Cleggmania, which could leave them out in the cold if the Tories fail to win on 6 May.

foodimista wrote:More Murdoch meddling

Murdoch-Wade posse crash Independent's office – that's pretty uncool, isn't it?

Rattled News International heavyweights respond to Cleggmania with visit to Simon Kelner's office.