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How does the Daily Mail's coverage of UK politics compare to other British newspapers?
Executive summary
Public perception and several media‑rating services place the Daily Mail to the right of most British national newspapers: YouGov found 44% of people call it “very right‑wing” (public perception) and polling of readers shows a large Tory skew in its audience (e.g., 40% Tory v. 38% Labour in one poll) [1] [2]. Independent media‑bias projects disagree on degree and reliability: Media Bias/Fact Check rates the Mail “Right” with low factual credibility [3], while Ad Fontes places it near the centre on bias but flags mixed reliability and wide variation across articles [4] [5].
1. The Daily Mail’s reputation: seen as Britain’s most right‑wing paper
Public polling and historical profiles consistently identify the Daily Mail as firmly on the right of Britain’s press: a 2017 YouGov survey reported the Daily Mail is seen as Britain’s most right‑wing paper with 44% of respondents calling it “very right‑wing” [1]. Historical accounts link the title’s long‑standing editorial stance to anti‑socialist, pro‑empire positions dating back to its founders and running through much of the twentieth century [6].
2. Audience alignment and electoral signals
Reader composition and recent polling underline a conservative readership: a December 2004 survey showed a majority of Daily Mail readers historically voted Conservative (53% then) and newer polling cited in reporting found 40% of Mail readers intend to vote Tory vs. 38% for Labour—making it one of the few national papers still with a Tory‑leaning readership [7] [2]. That reader profile colors how the paper’s political coverage is both produced and consumed [2].
3. Third‑party bias and reliability ratings conflict
Professional rating outfits disagree on how to characterise the Mail. Media Bias/Fact Check gives a “Right” bias rating and calls its factual reporting “low” based on failed fact checks and sourcing practices [3]. By contrast, Ad Fontes’ article‑level methodology places the Daily Mail near the centre on bias overall but classifies its reliability as “mixed” and notes article scores range from “skews left” to “hyper‑partisan right,” producing “wide variation in reliability” [4] [5]. AllSides currently rates the Mail as Right as well [8].
4. What “right‑wing” means in practice across UK newspapers
Being “right‑wing” for the Mail often shows up as editorial opposition to socialist policies, defence of the status quo, and advocacy for tough immigration and law‑and‑order positions—continuities traced in academic histories of the paper [6]. By comparison, other UK titles occupy different positions: the Telegraph is rated “lean right” by AllSides [9], while outlets such as the Guardian are generally perceived as left‑of‑centre (YouGov contextualises the spectrum though specific Guardian data is in the same YouGov framing) [1].
5. Variation within the paper: opinion vs. reporting
Ad Fontes’ analysis emphasises that the Daily Mail publishes a mix: many articles are centrist, while others lean strongly right or even become hyper‑partisan; overall the weighted view places it between opinion and “wide variation in reliability” rather than categorically at one extreme [5]. This suggests comparing headlines or editorials with straight news stories is important: bias and reliability vary piece‑by‑piece [5] [4].
6. Trust and credibility in the public eye
Trust metrics complicate simple labels. Media Bias/Fact Check notes low credibility indicators—citing failed fact checks and a 2017 Wikipedia reliability controversy—while other services note the Mail’s awards and wide reach [3] [4]. Public trust surveys (referenced by various analyses) indicate significant partisan differences in who trusts the Mail: conservatives trust it more than liberals [10].
7. How to compare the Mail to other British newspapers in practice
If you compare the Daily Mail to, say, the Telegraph, the key differences are degree and tone: both are to the right of centre by several measures, but the Telegraph is commonly labelled “lean right” while the Mail is perceived as more populist, mass‑market, and more consistently right‑aligned among the public [9] [1]. Ad Fontes’ article‑level scatterplot shows the Mail’s content ranges more widely than a consistent single‑position paper, so one must compare specific articles and sections rather than treat the paper as monolithic [5].
8. Limitations and what the sources do not say
Available sources do not offer a single, up‑to‑date quantitative ranking of every UK paper side‑by‑side for 2025; the datasets cited are from varied years and methodologies (YouGov 2017, MBFC 2024, Ad Fontes 2023/2024, reader polls 2004/2023) so trends may have shifted since those snapshots [1] [3] [4] [2]. Also, direct content comparisons (topic‑by‑topic) between the Mail and each rival title are not provided in the available material, so conclusions about specifics must rely on these broader ratings and reader‑poll signals [5] [3].
Bottom line: multiple measures place the Daily Mail to the right of most national competitors and show a Tory‑tilted readership, but professional assessments diverge on how extreme or reliable its coverage is—some rate it “Right” and low credibility [3] [8], others find its bias closer to the centre while flagging wide variation and mixed reliability across individual pieces [4] [5].