A tale of two parties: Press and television coverage of the campaign

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the issues and personalities that defined an election dominated by the two major parties and particularly their leaders. Coverage of the so-called ‘electoral process’ was not as prominent in this campaign, with a boost in the reporting of policy reflecting the impact of Labour’s leaked manifesto together with the Conservative’s ‘dementia tax’ problems. The government’s social care plans even led some normally supportive newspapers to briefly switch from attacking Labour to criticizing the Conservatives. Despite the recent experience of the EU referendum, and the related controversy over immigration, this topic was not as dominant as some predicted it would be at the beginning of the campaign. This reflected the way other issues, such as security in the aftermath of the atrocities, asserted themselves on the news agenda.