Further to my post this morning, 38 Degrees have made another step to making amends for their mistake on the NHS. However, they have had to be dragged at every stage.
They have retweeted a graphic produced for them by Lancashire Lib Dem Paul Valentine, and have been tweeting it to people who have complained at their lack of response.
@MarkReckons Hi Mark, sorry about the mistake. Here is a correct chart, kindly adapted by @iampavpic.twitter.com/jaa9rYaF4r
— 38 Degrees (@38_degrees) March 31, 2015
It’s only taken them five days.
That really isn’t good enough for an organisation which was so pro-Leveson which clearly supported giving equal prominence to corrections. I have to say that I would have complained even if they had done this to another party because it was a very substantive error of fact.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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16 Comments
Well done Mark Thompson – and 38 Degrees.
Many Lib Dems, myself included, have widely supported 38 D campaigns. This has not been your finest hour.
Isn’t this all rather futile and fanciful? It may be true that the fickle finger of fate might allow the Lib/Dems a finger on the crown after May 7 – but it will be another party that has it firmly in its grip.
It will not be the Lib/Dems that decides how much is spent on the NHS in the next parliament!
I look forward to all those who were quick to comment in Caron’s earlier thread criticising 38 Degrees now turning up in this thread to do as Stephen Hesketh has done and congratulate them for admitting their mistake and broadcasting a very suitable correction.
Should I hold my breath?
I make this point because of the fiasco over tuition fees in 2010. Before electioneering mania takes over entirely – wouldn’t it be better for Party representatives to qualify any budget statements with:
If the Party has the [mis?]fortune to be part of a coalition after May 7 – it will do its best to ensure…
@JohnTilley
“I look forward to all those who were quick to comment in Caron’s earlier thread criticising 38 Degrees now turning up in this thread to do as Stephen Hesketh has done and congratulate them for admitting their mistake and broadcasting a very suitable correction.”
Why do you regard it as “very suitable”?
The report states that they “have been tweeting it to people who have complained at their lack of response” (I’ve no idea what that means, but it sounds to be a very limited correction) and “That really isn’t good enough for an organisation which was so pro-Leveson which clearly supported giving equal prominence to corrections.”
I take that all to mean that this is better than nothing but some way short of being totally appropriate bearing in mind the original error.
So why is it “very suitable”?
The NHS should be broken up and sold off to foreign multinationals. A socialist solution to healthcare is unsuitable in the modern era.
Hurrah, hurrah!
Just when you thought Stimpson had gone quiet he is back with more completely off the wall satire. April 1st it is!
Simon Shaw
A fair point, perhaps.
Can I congratulate you on your latest Birkdale Focus featuring David Steel?
http://birkdalefocus.blogspot.co.uk/
Excellent stuff from Southport!
As indicated by my earlier posts – I am inclined to believe that a ‘lesson learnt’ approach to spending plans would appeal to the voters more than – ‘I am sorry’.
However, since clearly this view is not shared by the other contributors to the thread – I will not press the issue.
Actually it seems likely this particular pledge will go the way of the tax cut for the lowest paid- it will be enthusiastically agreed to by whoever is in power. The NHS is very popular. All credit to us (and 38 degrees) for demanding it).
Stimpson 1st Apr ’15 – 9:10am …….The NHS should be broken up and sold off to foreign multinationals. A socialist solution to healthcare is unsuitable in the modern era….
For you ‘every’ day is April 1st….
John Roffey1st Apr ’15 – 11:18am
“As indicated by my earlier posts – I am inclined to believe that a ‘lesson learnt’ approach to spending plans would appeal to the voters more than – ‘I am sorry’.
However, since clearly this view is not shared by the other contributors to the thread – I will not press the issue.”
On the contrary John, I agree with you.
Simon, 38 Degrees has retweeted the revised graphic showing our £8m commitment. This would go to everyone who the original tweet went to. Of course whether people believe it enough to undo the damage of the first tweet is another matter.
when are they going to make the correction public to all and not just those who complained? they know how to get in touch with everyone, after all !
May have ‘re-tweeted’ the updated graphic, but have pulled the graphic off the FB site entirely!
I’m amazed that 38 Degrees have managed to be so busy, because they said that the Lobbying Act would ban them from campaigning. Strangely, it appears to have had little effect on their campaigning. Who could have imagined that they might have been misleading on that?