Author Archives: Mark Pack

Mark was the Liberal Democrat Head of Innovations until June 2009 and is now at Blue Rubicon. He also lectures at City University and is co-author of 101 Ways To Win An Election. He blogs at www.markpack.org.uk and is on Twitter as @markpack. He likes chocolate. Lots of it.
Mark Pack

YouTube publishes party leader video responses

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th April 2010 - 3:10 pm

Until earlier this week it would have seemed a good idea to use the day before the final party leaders’ debate to launch the leaders’ answers to YouTube’s Digital Debate questions. Gordon Brown, a live mike and the word “bigot” rather buried the whole story which is a shame as the questions and answers explore a range of issues beyond the well-trodden ground of most of the mainstream media coverage.

You can watch the answers over at http://www.youtube.com/ukelection – and in particular look out for Nick Clegg’s very strong answer on the Digital Economy Bill question.

Posted in General Election and Online politics | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Mark Pack

Most unusual complaint of the election so far…

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th April 2010 - 12:50 pm

… goes to West Sussex Conservative County Councillor Pete Bradbury who has emailed round to other councillors (Lib Dem and Conservative) complaining that there are too many posters being put up in his patch.

Far be it from me to suggest that the cause of the complaint can be explained by adding the words “Liberal Democrat” in front of “posters”…

Posted in General Election | Tagged and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Another Conservative candidate in abusive comment controversy

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th April 2010 - 10:20 am

Political Scrapbook has the story:

The election is providing no shortage of time-lapse gaffes, where online activity of some vintage has come back to haunt candidates and activists alike. It’s no surprise that Stuart Penketh, the Conservative candidate for Ellesmere Port and Neston, tried to delete his Grey Funnel Line blog.

When not describing third-world debt relief as “letting tyrants off the hook”, it seemed Penketh used his blog to sling around racist insults. Likening the town of Radcliffe in Greater Manchester to war-torn Vietnam, Penketh uses the word “gook”, a derogatory term for South-East Asians:

You can read the full post here.

Posted in News | Tagged , and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

David Cameron’s priorities: one press man is worth two Prime Ministers

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th April 2010 - 9:20 am

Earlier this week Lib Dem Voice launched a simple single message site about David Cameron’s priorities; do take a look and share it on.

Posted in News | Tagged and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Media ups its game with improved donation reporting

By Mark Pack | Thu 29th April 2010 - 3:20 pm

The latest round of election donations published by the Electoral Commission have seen a much more accurate set of media reports than previous figures.

As I’d previously pointed out the figures published by the Electoral Commission are far from comprehensive as they exclude small donations and also all donations, of any size, given directly to candidates. However the media reports have previously treated the figures for declarable donations given to parties as if they were actual donation totals.

This time round though, helped by the Commission making its news release (even) clearer, the media has mostly got it right. Who …

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Posted in Election law | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

An unfortunate juxtaposition of posters

By Mark Pack | Thu 29th April 2010 - 1:20 pm

Spotted in Sussex:

Conservative poster - Sussex

Posted in News | 7 Comments
Mark Pack

Well fancy that! Two other poll results The Sun paid for but didn’t report

By Mark Pack | Thu 29th April 2010 - 12:47 pm

There’s this:

All the main parties have promised to cut the government’s deficit after the election. Which party do you think is being the most honest about what spending cuts they would make to deliver this?

Liberal Democrats 29%
Conservatives 26%
Labour 21%

… and then there’s this:

Gordon Brown was challenged on Wednesday morning by Gillian Duffy, a 65-year-old voter in Rochdale. Mrs Duffy complained about taxation for pensioners, immigration from eastern Europe and students’ tuition fees. At the end of the televised encounter, Mr Brown told her ‘it was very nice to meet you’. But when he got into his car, Mr

…

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Posted in Polls | Tagged , , and | 14 Comments
Mark Pack

Majority of public say voting system is unfair

By Mark Pack | Thu 29th April 2010 - 9:20 am

So reports PoliticsHome:

A majority of the public believe that the current voting system is unfair, and that it is now time to start thinking seriously about alternatives, according to new PoliticsHome research.

57% of voters said that the current system of voting in the current system is either ‘very unfair’ or ‘generally unfair’, compared to 39% who think it is fair…

In a further indication that voters are dissatisfied with the current electoral system, voters believe that it is more important for an electoral system to reflect the proportion of votes cast nationwide than to produce a clear winner.

51% of

…

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Posted in Polls | Tagged | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Broad range of progressives back the Liberal Democrats

By Mark Pack | Thu 29th April 2010 - 8:50 am

The letters page in today’s Guardian includes this:

This is an extraordinary political moment. An election seemingly destined to produce a narrow Conservative victory has been seized by the voters and turned into a democratic contest – a contest not just between parties, but over the shape of our democracy itself.

The MPs that assemble in Westminster next month could usher in one of the great reforming parliaments in British history, one to rank in the history books alongside 1831-32, 1865-67 or 1911-1914. The next parliament could see cherished progressive liberal aspirations realised: a proportional electoral system; wider and better-defended civil liberties; a

…

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Posted in News | 23 Comments
Mark Pack

New film attacks Tory marriage tax plans

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 8:20 pm

Last week The Voice ran a piece from Eleanor Black of the Don’t Judge My Family Campaign opposing Conservative plans to introduce a tax break for marriage.

The campaign has now released a new film:

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Ofcom rejects SNP/Plaid objection to TV debate

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 7:20 pm

A message from Ofcom brought this news today:

Ofcom today announced it has not upheld complaints received from the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru about The First Election Debate broadcast on ITV1 at 8.30pm on Thursday 15 April 2010.  The political parties complained that the programme was not impartial and was also misleading.

The complaints were adjudicated by the Ofcom Election Committee which may consider complaints during an election period where it is considered that a substantive issue is raised and where the complaint, if upheld, might require redress before polling day.

The Committee considered all the submissions and evidence before it, in …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

Vince Cable’s speech to the Institute of Directors

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 6:25 pm

This is what Vince said earlier today:

This building commemorates Britain at the peak of its economic power and glory. We are still an important country with much to be proud of. But that power and the glory have faded. And we are currently in a serious economic mess.

The current economic model is broken. It relied on consumer spending, financed by heavy borrowing and low savings; investment in property rather than production; rapidly expanding public spending based on temporary windfalls from oil, then financial speculation; and growth over-dependent on the fickle fortunes of the banking industry. Any party which does not …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

“Labour is shunning gay Iraqis, asylum seekers”

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 2:20 pm

That’s the headline on a comment piece run by Pink News:

As he launched Labour’s international LGBT manifesto last Wednesday, foreign secretary David Miliband made one howler, echoed by another in the manifesto’s text.

He said: “Under Labour the UK will continue to be a beacon of hope for LGBT people.”

This delusion sounded a lot like Home Office minister Phil Woolas’ article last year, when he wrote that he was proud of the attendees of the London Pride march who’d found sanctuary in the UK – never mind that his office would have refused them and fought tooth-and-nail to remove them.

The pair

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

How the reach of party campaigning is measuring up

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 12:20 pm

A YouGov poll earlier this week asked people which, if any, of the parties had contacted them in the previous week (numbers in brackets from similar survey in mid-April):

Conservatives: 39% (31%)
Labour: 34% (25%)
Lib Dem: 29% (19%)

(Overall contact rates are also up on February, though the Brunel survey then wasn’t conducted in quite the same way.)

Amongst those contacted by each party, leafleting dominates with email is ahead of the phone:

Conservatives: 93% leafleted, 13% door stepped, 10% emailed, 3% phoned
Labour: 94% leafleted, 12% door stepped, 5% emailed, 5% phoned
Lib Dem: 94% leafleted, 13% door stepped, 8% emailed, 3% phoned

Posted in General Election and Online politics | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

Exclusive poll: newspaper hostility makes voters more likely to back Lib Dems

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 11:24 am

A poll carried out exclusively for Lib Dem Voice shows that opposition from the Daily Mail, The Sun and Daily Telegraph to the Liberal Democrats actually makes people more likely to vote for the party.

Asked the impact on their voting intention of those papers opposing Nick Clegg becoming Prime Minister, 15% said it made them more likely to vote Liberal Democrat and only 4% said it made them less likely, making for a net +11% saying they are more likely to vote Liberal Democrat.

Of the rest, 19% would vote Liberal Democrat regardless, 35% would not vote Liberal Democrat anyway and …

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Posted in Polls | Tagged , , , , , and | 15 Comments
Mark Pack

Getting people out to vote – with a little technological assistance

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 10:20 am

I wrote the following piece for the May edition of Total Politics:

The efforts made by Returning Officers and local council to encourage people to vote in the weeks running up to polling day are remarkably crude when viewed from a marketing or political campaigning point of view.

Send one, usually A5 sized black and white, text-heavy leaflet to everyone a few weeks before polling day, stick a few posters up in libraries and that is pretty much it.

There are some good reasons for this. Shortage of funds in one. Another is that raising turnout is rarely a politically neutral act …

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Posted in Online politics | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Philip Lardner suspended by the Conservatives (again)

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th April 2010 - 8:50 am

In 2008 the Conservative Party suspended one of their candidates, Philip Lardner for praising Rhodesian leader Ian Smith.

Now he’s been suspended by the Conservatives again, this time for homophobic comments, although given where we are in the electoral timetable his name will remain on the ballot in North Ayrshire and Arran and there will be no alternative Conservative candidate put up.

To be suspended once might be a misfortune…

Posted in News | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

Nick Clegg’s speech to the Royal College of Nursing

By Mark Pack | Tue 27th April 2010 - 8:50 pm

Earlier in the week it was Gordon Brown addressing the nurses but today it was Nick Clegg’s turn. As journalist Paul Waugh put it:

Ooh, Matron. Clegg going down a storm with at nurses’ RCN conference. Better ovation, more laughs at his gags than Brown.

Here’s the speech which got this reaction:

Thank you so much for inviting me to speak to you today. It is a real honour to be here.

You don’t need me to tell you that the job you do is one of the most important jobs there is.

You are the lifesavers as well as the shoulders to cry …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

Welcome to the new bloggers…

By Mark Pack | Tue 27th April 2010 - 5:50 pm

Three blogs have recently joined Ryan’s Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

Good luck to all the new bloggers, and why not take a moment to pop over to their blogs, take a read and post a comment?

Whether you are a new or experience blogger yourself, you may also find our compilation of “how to blog” posts useful:

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Posted in Online politics | Tagged | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

UK email newsletters rated

By Mark Pack | Tue 27th April 2010 - 1:45 pm

Jakob Nielsen, the usability experts’ usability expert, has an interesting post reviewing the election emails from the main parties. It’s a good piece – and you can read his own words here. Rather than repeat here all the good points he makes, here are some (small) caveats to it:

  • He writes, “It’s not enough to have a full privacy policy elsewhere on the site. Users need to be told the policy on the spot when you ask for sensitive info”, saying that having a link to a full privacy policy from the spot where you ask for sensitive information isn’t

…

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Mark Pack

Bournemouth Conservative councillor switches to LibDems

By Mark Pack | Tue 27th April 2010 - 12:15 pm

The Bournemouth Daily Echo reports:

A BOURNEMOUTH councillor has defected from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats, claiming the “controlling” Tory group would not let him speak his mind.

Cllr Michael Griffiths, who represents Littledown and Iford, claims crucial council decisions are made by a “ruling clique” and that Conservative councillors are “whipped” into agreeing.

He cited the issues of Townsend School, the town centre master vision and the plans to outsource council services as examples where councillors were not allowed to question decisions.

He is also critical of David Cameron and his performance as Conservative leader.

You can read the full story here.

Posted in News | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

This is why the posters, avatars, status updates and more matter

By Mark Pack | Tue 27th April 2010 - 9:20 am

From The Guardian’s report on its latest ICM poll (which puts the Lib Dems in second once again*):

There is also evidence that the bandwagon effect is helping the pick up votes: 31% of all voters, including 26% of Labour supporters, say knowing that other people are switching to the Lib Dems encourages them to do the same.

That’s one of the reasons why posters in windows, avatars on Twitter, group membership on Facebook and so on all matter: they help persuade more people to vote Liberal Democrat.

* Although the spread from first place to third is within the margin …

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Mark Pack

Labour suspends candidate who was expelled from the LibDems

By Mark Pack | Mon 26th April 2010 - 10:50 pm

The Cambridge News reports:

LABOUR’S candidate for South East Cambridgeshire John Cowan has been suspended by his party – after a fresh series of allegations about his conduct.

The latest claims about him, in a Sunday newspaper, say he boasted of his sexual exploits in online forums, and advertised for people to pose naked for his photographic portfolio.

The Sunday Telegraph also reported that Mr Cowan, a former glamour model manager, said he did not want his children to marry a Muslim.

The latest allegations follow revelations that Mr Cowan, 35, sent sexual emails to female figures in politics.

As the News reported last

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Election timetable: this week’s deadlines

By Mark Pack | Mon 26th April 2010 - 9:10 am

The deadlines coming up this week are:

  • Deadline for submitting new requests for proxy votes (except for medical emergencies proxies) : 5pm on Tuesday 27 April
  • Publication of notice of poll for local government elections: Not later than Tuesday 27 April
  • Publication of version of electoral register used for determining entitlement to vote: Wednesday 28 April
  • Deadline for appointing counting agents and polling agents (local elections): Wednesday 28 April
  • BBC TV debate between party leaders: Thursday 29 April (8:30pm)

For a full timetable see General election and local election timetable, 2010.

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Mark Pack

Now the Daily Mail thinks election is about leader’s wife’s underwear

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 9:23 pm

Elections used to about politicians. Then they became about politicians and their spouses. Now the Daily Mail introduces us to politicians, their spouses and their underwear choices with a “story” about where Miriam Gonzalez Durantez buys her underwear.

As Next Left points out, the story doesn’t have a name to it – just the generic “Daily Mail reporter” by-line. I wonder why?

UPDATE: As pointed out by several people on Twitter, the News of the World ran a similar piece first.

UPDATE 2: And as for Jan Moir’s contribution: sigh.

Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

Lib Dem response to Labour’s letter to broadcasters

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 7:34 pm

Nick Robinson has reported:

I’m told that Labour has asked the two other big parties to sign a joint letter to broadcasters criticising them for covering the debates and the polls too much and claiming that the news bulletins had “failed to deliver the usual specialist examination of specific policy areas”. The Lib Dems and the Tories have refused to sign. The BBC has yet to receive the letter.

Here’s the party’s official response to the request from Labour:

We have discussed your proposal, however, we do not think that it is appropriate for political parties to seek to dictate the nature

…

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Posted in News | Tagged | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

The problem for Labour and the Tories in attacking Lib Dem policies…

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 7:26 pm

From today’s YouGov poll in the Sunday Times (one of the questions which I don’t think was reported in the paper, though I’ve not seen a hard copy):

The other parties have been targeting Liberal Democrat policies in recent days. What is your view of this?

It shows the parties are doing their job – the Liberal Democrats need to be scrutinised: 34%
It shows the other parties are rattled: 53%

This one also looks to have been unreported:

Newspapers have questioned Nick Clegg’s personal financial dealings. What is your view on the basis of what you know about this?

He has serious questions to …

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Posted in General Election and Polls | Tagged and | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

Electoral Commission responds to misreporting of donation figures

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 5:20 pm

Welcome news from the Electoral Commission who have agreed to make their reports of donations to parties clearer. As I blogged last week, the figures for donations to the parties during the first stage of the general election have been widely misreported. Media reports presented the figures as if they were the totals of actual donations received, but in fact:

The numbers are misleading for two reasons:

  • They are (only) for donations to parties. As I’ve previously pointed out, donations made direct to candidates during the election campaign period are excluded from these figures.
  • The figures only include donations which are

…

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Mark Pack

Welcome to the new bloggers…

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 3:20 pm

Four blogs have recently joined Ryan’s Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

Good luck to all the new bloggers, and why not take a moment to pop over to their blogs, take a read and post a comment?

Whether you are a new or experience blogger yourself, you may also find our compilation of “how to blog” posts useful:

Continue reading »
Posted in Online politics | Tagged | Leave a comment
Mark Pack

Still time for stranded travellers to apply for a proxy vote

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 2:20 pm

Stuck in the wrong place due to the air travel disruptions? There is still time to apply for a proxy vote as the Electoral Commission explains:

Voting by proxy means appointing someone you trust to vote on your behalf. To apply, go to www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and print off the application form, sign it and send it back to your local electoral registration office by the 5pm 27 April deadline. You can also call our helpline on 0800 3 280 280 if you have any questions. Registration officers should accept faxed application forms or scanned copies by e-mail, as long as the details

…

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