“Mr Miliband has failed to hide his fatal indifference to the essential business of creating wealth. He has fought this campaign on initiatives that resonate with those hit hardest by slow earnings growth. In the process he has shamelessly misled voters about Tory plans for the NHS, which do not include privatisation…

Mr Miliband says he will cut the deficit but has not said how or by how much. This is an empty promise betrayed by spending pledges that cannot be funded with the money raised from new taxes on “mansions” and bank bonuses. The Labour leader claims he will find extra funds by ending tax avoidance and tax relief on pensions for the rich. The reality would be £90 billion more borrowing over the next parliament and an unsustainable debt burden to be shouldered by his successors.

Mr Miliband’s instinct is to see the state as an employer, benefactor and political constituency. His overtures to business do not convince because he champions an expanding public sector at the expense of the private one, yet Labour on his watch has lost credibility as the party of social justice too. Rent controls would only reduce the supply and quality of low-cost housing. Increasing debts hurt the poor first, as interest payments divert funds from public services…

Mr Cameron would govern better with a clear Tory majority but the polls now indicate that is a remote possibility. The choice seems to come down to a Labour party propped up by Scottish Nationalists or the Conservatives in a renewed coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The former would tear at the heart of the Union and unpick hard-won gains since the recession. The latter would advance the cause of enterprise and freedom in which The Times believes.”

Read their endorsement in full here.