By Mark Hanson / @markhanson
The “George Osborne: Wrong on recession, Wrong on recovery” internet campaign is the latest example of Labour producing the collateral to enable their supporters to spread their message for them.
The campaign shows that George Osborne has repeatedly called it wrong; from opposing the necessary nationalisation of Northern Rock to proposing to let the recession run its course without a fiscal stimulus to boost jobs and family incomes.
The campaign looks at what the real consequences would have been if George Osborne's misjudgements had been enacted and led to a deeper, longer and more painful recession. It also helps underline the point that any signs of recovery in the economy are not down to chance, but down to the decisions taken by the Labour Government that would not have been taken had the Tories been in charge. At the same time as launching this campaign the Party will also be releasing their Labour Campaign Network – believed to be a first for any political party in the world in terms of online campaigning.
The Labour Campaign Network recognises the important work that Labour supporting bloggers and websites do to help spread the Party’s message and campaigns – and enables them to add a placeholder to their website which will always carry Labour’s very latest internet campaign.
Both the Osborne campaign creative and the Labour Campaign Network are in keeping with the core theme of Labour’s overall internet strategy – that new media is about enabling and enhancing the ability of their supporters to campaign for them.
This follows on from the success the party had just earlier this week when thousands of Ed Miliband’s online supporters co-signed a letter with him to David Cameron asking for clarification on Tory Party policy on climate changes after Ken Clarke’s remarks on wind farms – forcing Ken Clarke to retract his comments.
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I believe that the majority of voters will recognise this for what it is; an attempt to paper over the massive cracks of New Labour's failure to deal with the real issues that need dealing with in the UK while wasting billions on a climate change argument that is so lost, the latest 'screaming minnie' climatologist is trying to save his bacon by telling us we all need to become vegetarians to save the world!
Here's a thought to deal with: many voters trust Osbourne as much as Darling - which is also about as far as we can throw both of them. This being the case, just why are the Tories on 41% of the UK vote share? Even more scary is, if you take out the fact that the Tories in Scotland are on 18% - just what level of support does that really leave the Tories in England?
So to all the 'Labour can do no wrong brigade' of activists, we'll loyally peddle what ever garbage Millbank give us, just when are you going to deal with the political reality New Labour actually finds itself in.
Labour could well be fighting the next election with three million unemployed, remember that stick you used to bash the Tories with?
Labour have trashed the economy, and thus consigned many hundreds of thousands (at least) of people in this country to a life of uncertainty, impoverishment and harsh economic compromise. The very people you lot are supposed to help. Some of Brown's wizardry with pension dividend taxes will not be fully felt for decades to come, whereupon many people will be forced to forgoe retirment to keep the lights on.
The only chance we've got is to employ a Government with some concept of fiscal discipline to stop the debt becoming unmanagable.
Can i ask , Do you trust the leadership of the party ? Did you belive Mr Brown when he said no-one would be hurt by the scrapping of the 10p tax? or Mr Blairs WMD ? Or the promise on the EU treaty ? Boom or bust?
ricki
If (and i mean if ) Mr Osbourne is wrong then does that mean private education is rubbish ? Would a tory goverment from 97 run up the debt ?
All we hear is wrong wrong wrong should someone investigate the private schools for levels of standerds?
ricki
Thousands of people signing Ed Millipede's letter is an overwhelming success he says.
What Osborne's judgements would have been if if if............
Labour 'producing the collateral'.
Oh my God!
Self important drivel with its very own collateral damage.
Seriously what are you on to think that the week after the announcement that we're in the longest recession EVER RECORDED is a good time to "imagineer" what would have happened if Osborne was in charge?
And for the love of God please, unless the real intent is for this campaign to backfire even more than it will do, stop using strawmen (lies) that the Tories had no fiscal stimulus policy - they DID.
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Both the Osborne campaign creative and the Labour Campaign Network are in keeping with the core theme of Labour’s overall internet strategy – that new media is about enabling and enhancing the ability of their supporters to campaign for them.
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And the core theme of being totally out of touch and based on alternative realities.
The good thing about the campaign is that it's cheap - and with the Labour party on the verge of bankruptcy it needs all the cheap tricks it can get hold of.
You have a series of comments below, please do come back and address the points made, it is the right think to do.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/edmundconway/100001543/this-recession-just-became-a-depression/
Are you ignoring Darlings forecast or are you just ignorant of it?
Excellent value add Mr Hanson.
Turning to the bigger picture, even if you are only a "new media strategist" (whatever that means), you must have noticed the news last week that our economy remains in recession, unlike most other major Western economies. This is, no doubt, because thanks to the prudence and foresight of our beloved Prime Minister, we were best placed to deal with a global downturn (which has not produced a recession in Australia, for example) and because of the brilliant decisions he and his equally talented sidekick, Alastair Darling, made.
Twittering on about nonsense as you seem to do does not impact on the opinion polls. It does not do so because people are, in the main, not so stupid as to fall for the desperate spin and half truths which passes for Labour policy and attack lines.
Attack them on the area where you are strongest, where your track record is largely impeccable, and where you can point to clear evidence that not only your policies are correct but they have achieved what you set out to achieve.
Oh , it;s the economy. Well that's different. By far the worst article I have read on the economy..obviously the authors don't know what they are talking about: and boy how it shows.
If he did, I agree with you, his credibility is in absolute shreds as country after country comes out of recession whilst Britain doesn't.
We can both make random unfounded claims, isn't this fun.
Anyone with any sense knows you cannot pay off debt with more debt! only Socialist idiots think this is the case, Browns scorched earth policy is a vain attempt to prove hes right and everyone else is wrong, just like he promised no more boom and bust! the blithering ridiculous idiot.
The UK will pay for this Economic nightmare for at least the next 20 years and the Electorate will never forget what a Socialist Goverment really is, morally and financially bankrupt.
All Osborne's ideas suggest is more uncritical following of the market