This week we observed the UK Political Party machines go into full swing election mode. Which party and which Politicians can grab the most media airtime and press coverage good or bad. The core electoral base is being mobilised to start repeating the catchy slogans and spin from the PR gurus.
The race for power in the UK has started but for the party faithful the social networks have been blazing for some time with the tit for tat daily mud slinging and spin on Twitter. For a good majority of the people in the UK it’s going to be hard to actually listen to the PR and Spin as the political establishment is still recovering from the all time low public opinion from the fall out of the expenses scandal which is still fresh in people’s minds.
As the election campaigns roll forward spending millions on advertising and PR to sell you, the public on which party is best fit to do the job for the next few years. This has to be one of the most interesting elections in UK history. Here are some of the topics the media has already put to the people as "The Issues" for the hearts and minds in the 2010 election.
- Inheritance Tax
- Abolishing Stamp Duty on shares
- "Swedish" School Reforms
- Rise in national insurance
- NHS IT Scheme
The above topics were put to a few people to gauge the reaction and the majority said other than the rise in national insurance the rest is totally irrelevant to their every day bread and butter issues.
There is a lot of people out of work; the recession hit a lot of families. People have lost their homes, businesses have gone under and the banks have been bailed out with 100's of billions. You’re not going to hear the debate you want and should deserve because everything that is said and done from now until the election results come in is all focused on winning power.
You will hear all sorts of promises over the next few months. I will do this, I will do that, we promise this and we will do that but will they, really ask yourself will they do what they are saying do you trust Politicians and Political parties to follow through on what they say to get your vote. Did they do it before when they got into power? Is it time the electorate exercised its power and voted both Labour and the Conservatives out of the top spots. Are the politicians and political parties going to tackle real issues or talk about hand picked strategic issues like the NHS? We all have to really remember what the UK has gone through since the last election. The worst economic disaster since the great depression, would the country be in a better or worse state if the UK did not go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Would the country be any better or worse during the recession if the Conservatives had been in power?
Just remember citizens you were promised a referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty twice. Did you get it? Remember people you were told Weapons of Mass destruction in Iraq did they find them. How many British soldiers have been killed by the decisions of Politicians and sexed up intelligence. I don't think anyone has forgot about the expenses issue. Let’s throw some other issues out into the mix from the people.
The European Union, UKIP got more elected MEP's than Labour at the last European election. The European Union is clearly an issue that is important to people.
- ID card’s
- DNA Database
- Immigration
- The War
- Unemployment
- Dismantling of the welfare state
- Anti-social behaviour
- Taxes
- The environment
In the majority of mainstream papers if not all papers they never refer to the Conservatives & Unionists. How many citizens in England, Scotland and Wales are actually aware that The Conservatives are jointly running with the Ulster Unionists of N.Ireland? If the Conservatives take power in the UK you will see an Ulster Unionist in the government. It seems that the mainstream British media are playing this relationship down while in N.Ireland it’s being branded everywhere as Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force (UCUNF).
Today as this was being wrote it was quite a media show to watch the attempted takeover of the Labour leadership and the ousting of Gordon Brown, was this genuine or was it just to take the limelight from the Conservatives election campaign. It looks like it fell flat on its face which leads me to believe that it was a staged media stunt crafted over Christmas by some of the best PR gurus and spin doctors that Labour has with the sole intention of making Gordon Brown and Labour look strong.
The Polls are looking good it really could be anybody’s, UKIP contesting the general election yet unheard of in the media or press, Conservatives and Unionists looking good and Labour pushing hard utilizing social media to the full, what will become of the BNP will they make it to the House of Commons.
Which political party and core electoral base has the ability to effectively use Internet technology to reach those new and swing voters? Labour from what we can see is leading the way here with its grasp of most social media platforms however do they have what it takes to engage with the young people on these platforms. Do they know how to effectively use these social media tools and social networks to mobilise people to take action as witnessed in the recent Obama campaign in the US.
Political Power is up for grabs; one might well see the Lib Dems actually assert themselves as a more mainstream party it’s quite possible as many people we sampled distrust both Labour and the Conservatives after the Wars, bank bail outs and the expenses scandal, the people could be ready to embrace the Lib Dems for once but does Nick Clegg have what it takes. The Lib Dems could very well take power if they were just a little bit hungrier for it and really embraced the social media within their election campaign. Many people will say they can't do it, well I never thought I would see an African American become president of the USA in my life time and it happened so anything is possible in todays political and economic climate we are truly living in interesting times. Social networking and social media can be very inexpensive and yet very powerful, the party that understands this and is able to dominate the social media landscape will effectively win the 2010 election. It's the bloggers and tweeters who will make or break these campaigns but who will grasp it.
