New Labour, New Media, Old Arguments
Thursday, March 01, 2007
The Tories are 'too offensive for TV'. That's what Labour are saying by launching a savage attack on the Tories exclusively on YouTube (follow this link to see the video).
The ad reminds voters of the 'failures' of the Tory years and features such popular politicians as John Redwood, Margaret Thatcher and Edwina Curry**.
Of course, attacking another party's record in government is nothing new, even if we are now looking back a generation. But putting it up online is a fresh American-style development for Welsh politics.
Will the Tories now respond? After all, there's plenty of Rhodri Morgan gaffes to choose from, although THIS video has already been doing the rounds.
So much for positive politics.
**See comments for clarification.
Labels: attack ad, politics, Rhodri Morgan, Tories, Welsh Assembly Election 2007, Welsh Labour, YouTube
posted by Blamerbell @ 10:53 am,
9 Comments:
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At 1:53 pm,
said...
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What an awful party political broadcast.It is so badly edited that it even includes a scene with a Lib Dem banner. It also assumes that everyone supported the miners strike which was a complete disaster for the valleys.Most voters wouldn't even know who the Tories are except perhaps for Thatcher. Even you with a degree from Oxford seems to believe that the female politician is Edwina Curry. It is in fact Gillian Shepherd.The other male besides the vulcan is Michael Forsyth who used to be Sec of State for Scotland. All in all a pretty pointless exercise which says more about the lack of brain power in the Welsh Labour party at the moment than anything else.
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At 2:30 pm,
Blamerbell said...
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"Even you with a degree from Oxford seems to believe that the female politician is Edwina Curry. It is in fact Gillian Shepherd."
My bad. That'll teach me for blogging on the sly when I'm supposed to be doing something else.
By the way, I didn't go to Oxford. -
At 2:47 pm,
said...
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Have to agree with Anon - a truly awful PPB that seems overtly nationalist in tone... Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and the payoff line "tell them to sing it elsewhere" is code for "piss off back to England, you Tory toffs" isn't it?
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At 3:54 pm,
said...
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According to the Western Mail website it is on Youtube because the Labour Party believes that it is 'too offensive'. Perhaps someone could tell us which Labour apparachick thought up this nonsense. The next Labour broadcast should focus on the Lib Dems and home in on the disgraceful policies of the last Liberal government such as sending troops into the Rhondda and the shooting of two strikers outside Llanelli station. Welsh voters should be warned what could happen if you vote for Mike German and his crew. Let's hope the Tories don't retaliate with a broadcast about Sunny Jim and the winter of discontent.
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At 9:09 pm,
Professor Dylan Jones-Evans said...
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What on earth is happening to Welsh politics? Haven't the Labour Assembly Government faith in their own policies as to argue for their acceptance by the electorate without harping back to the 1990s
What next - a grainy video of Churchill returning Britain to the Gold Standard in 1925?
The biggest disappointment to me is the comment attached to the video by the 'next leader' of the Labour Party, Andrew Davies, who is quoted as saying;
"The Tory Party has always been alien to the people of Wales and David Cameron has proved as much by bringing the Vulcan John Redwood back into frontline politics.
"The Tories have a terrible record of wreaking misery on the people of Wales, with an entire generation of our people left without hope of a decent future.
"They haven't changed and are still singing the same tired old tune - cuts, unemployment and despair.
"The only way of stopping the Tories running our schools, hospitals and jobs is by voting Welsh Labour on May 3."
Well, guess what Andrew - you show me where our policies will lead to such results and I would be happy to resign as a candidate for Aberconwy tomorrow.
Perhaps he and his party should look more closely at the way his party have run the Welsh economy and the Welsh NHS since 2003.
Certainly the small businesses of Aberconwy would like to know why their business rates have increased by 50% this year and the people of Aberconwy would like to know why, given the billions spent on the health service in Wales, services at Llandudno Hospital are being downgraded.
Oh yes, it must be down to the Tories who have secretly mismanaged the economy and NHS in Wales during the last eight years! -
At 11:18 pm,
Glyn Davies said...
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I desperately hope that no other party replicates this sort of behavior. It really is deeply offensive and will do nothing but persuade young people to have nothing to do with politics. The Labour Party should be ashamed of itself.
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At 11:21 pm,
said...
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It is disappointing that a political party would take to this sort of campaigning. I echo what Glyn says- lets hope that the other parties don't replicate it.
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At 7:43 am,
said...
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The video reflects the distorted view of Welsh politcs which has developed in the labour Party. Its membership is old and in decline. Its aim is to bring out the over 60s on May 3rd. The only problem is that Youtube is aimed at the under 30s! Here we are only 2 months from an election and no one is saying how they will use the new powers of the assembly to introduce new legislation. It looks as if we are heading for another low poll and political chaos after May.
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At 4:00 am,
said...
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The "Dave the Chameleon" video is better, but considering the money they spent on it ("they" being the UK Labour Party, not Rhodri's mob), the prize has to go to the Tories for using it themselves to trump Labour with this version.
But as regards Wales, the lack of any mature debate on policy on the part of Welsh Labour is killing Welsh politics.
