So, here’s the story: the Tories launch a rather lurid website about the problem of personal debt in which they label the financially incontinent “tossers.”
A few Lib Dems (Nich, and Jonathan Wallace) wonder whether really that’s the sort of language a political party ought to be using to refer to voters. Even Vince Cable condemns it with some rather choice words. And there are plenty of Tories who aren’t that keen either – as Paul Walter points out.
That nice Iain Dale weighs in with “My party right or wrong,” and a reference to a voter group Mosaic don’t have a number for: the “iPod Generation”, who are, apparently, “Insecure, Pressured, Over-taxed and Debt-ridden.”
Has Mr Dale left out a key category? Are the Tories targetting the younger voter because they’re too young to remember just how bad a Tory government can be? Were all those people in negative equity who suddenly found themselves with unaffordable mortgage repayments “tossers”? Enquiring minds need to know.
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12 Comments
You are such a bunch of hypocrites. See this quote:
“This is the second year for the ‘Don’t Be A Tosser’ Campaign.
Where does it come from? The Lib Dem MP, Greg Mulholland, website, it’s a press release.
http://www.gregmulholland.org/wordpress/?p=49
Tossers!
Kevin, had you read the Mulholland site story properly you’d realise he was reporting a campaign organized by the Leeds Metropolitan Students Union’s community action group, “CALM”. These were projects set up with Home Office money in Students Unions around the country (we have one at Brookes called “STAX – Students for Active Communities”) to get student populations involved in and concerned for their impact on others in their neighbourhoods.
Anyway – maybe Vince is just a bit pissed off that nobody noticed his own anti-debt campaign launched about six weeks ago now. Well Vince, some of us did, and are thinking of using it for a motion at Harrogate!
…and it’s a pretty widespread name for an anti-littering campaign – used at least in the US, Australia and the UK so far as I can see. At least it’s accurate, and a pun. If you toss away litter you are a tosser. If you’re not well off and fall into the trap of enticing financial products you’re not, you’re more often than not a victim, of “card sharps”.
Obviously, it is not the sort of language that one would expect a political leader (aspirant political leader, sorry!) to use about large segments of the population.
I thought Cameron was supposed to be “savvy”, “street-wise” etc about public relations. Obviously not.
Perhaps this is why he proved to be a failure at Carlton. And now again as leader of the Tories.
Indeed, Kevin this is the full quote from Greg’s site:
“Student group Community Action Leeds Met (CALM) are fully supportive of the plans, and are stepping up their ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ anti-littering campaign. Spokesman Charlie Cusden said “This is the second year for the ‘Don’t Be A Tosser’ Campaign. We’d like to involve all students in recycling – especially of flyers. We’ll work with everyone possible to find a solution to the problem which returns every year with the disposal of flyers.”
The quote isn’t even from Greg Mulholland himself.
If Mulholland and the Limp Dems find that language so offensive then why is it on his website and being publicised in his press release?
Simple fact is they do not and they are getting desperate.
The difference is very simple Kevin – the story on Mulholland’s website said people shouldn’t be tossers; by contrast, the Tories launched a website calling nearly everyone in the country a tosser.
PS But thanks for your hilarious pun on the party’s name; I’ve not seen such quality humour for years. With originality and wit like that, I’m stunned that you’ve not made it to Parliament.
I think what Kevin Davis is trying to say is that all Tories down his way are tossers….
I think there’s a difference between a student union labelling people who litter “tossers” (litterers are, after all, breaking the law) and the Tories’ stunning labelling of anyone in debt as a tosser.
Thing is, it’s not in any way offensive when it’s describing someone who tosses (litter on the ground). It’s the noun from the verb describing what they do.
In what way is this remotely comperable to the Tories’ campaign, or is it so obscure that we’ve all missed some subtle pun. Naah. Can’t be. Their spin machine is not that sophisticated.
The “Don’t be a tosser” campaign has run in countries all over the English speaking world as a campaign against littering.
The point is that the original posting complained about the language.
“A few Lib Dems (Nich, and Jonathan Wallace) wonder whether really that’s the sort of language a political party ought to be using to refer to voters.”
As it happens I think the website is pretty silly, but my complaint is the way the Lib Dems react. But then I guess that the site is not really aimed at me or Vince Cable, just those who do get into terrible levels of debt.
As I said on Iain Dale’s site, I reckon I’m the target demographic and I found the language thoroughly bemusing.