Conservatives discover the pitfalls of internet campaigning in Wirral South
It's often said that this election is supposed to be the internet/social media general election.
Twitter is being used to good effect by both parties. But locally candidates are using the internet to differing impact and also to keep tabs on what their opponents are up to.
Wirral South's Labour candidate Alison McGovern has set up a facebook campaign site which has 268 followers.
On March 16 Denise Wooley Roberts complained about the state of Palatine Road in Bromborough.
Ms McGovern posted a reply saying she had contacted Wirral Council and would let Ms Roberts know when she had a response.
Her Conservative rival Jeff Clarke then appears to have got in on the act. On the blog section his website he posted this at 11.44pm on March 17.
The strapline on his website claims he is "fighting to give Wirral South people the voice they deserve". But he seems strangely tongue tied on the issue of potholes in Palatine Road, posting the picture with him stood next to a potholes but no words to go with it.
So it appears that Mr Clarke is monitoring Ms McGovern's website. Fair enough. In fact good for him - know your friends well and your enemies better.
But posting a picture with him stood next to a pothole with no words? Why? What's the point when there is no context or point of reference?
I still think that most people vote on national issues. And whether good or poor use of the internet in marginal seats is enough to win or lose a seat remains to be seen. But this should serve as a lesson to all candidates.
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David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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It looks like cheap & tacky Toryism to me. I'm pretty sure I'd feel the same distaste if the parties were reversed. A citizen raises a point of local concern with one candidate. That candidate promptly addresses the matter. Then along comes another candidate, with whom the concern has not been raised, and hijacks the matter for his own benefit. It's rude - like butting into a conversation; it's lazy & parasitic - because the Tory in this case cannot find campaign points of his own; and it's exploitative of the citizen's initial choice of preferred solution. Shabby politicking by the Tory boy.
I'm an old fashioned sort, if somebody had taken the time to contact me about a problem I would go around and visit them. I wouldn't bother with a twit. Why send a twitter when you can send a twitt?