Lib Dem Party Election Broadcast April 2016
Yesterday evening (Monday), Labour aired its party election broadcast for the local elections next Thursday. I know this because it said so at the beginning of the broadcast: I certainly could not have guessed this from its content.
This broadcast was entirely devoted to knocking the Tory Government, without any mention of the work of local councils. This single message of the broadcast was summed up by Jeremy Corbyn at the start: “This Thursday’s elections are a chance to send a message to David Cameron and his Government. It’s become increasingly clear – they simply cannot be trusted. They certainly cannot be trusted to make sure that the richest their fair share of tax…”
In contrast, the Lib Dem election broadcast on 20th April was entirely devoted to the work of local councillors, serving their communities. Tim Farron summarised this excellently: “You have the opportunity to use your vote to support somebody who will make a difference for your community, work hard, keep in touch and get things done all year round. Who won’t just disappear the day after they’ve got your vote, and not show up for another four years, but will be committed to your community. Because that is what the Liberal Democrats are all about.”
The lesson is clear: if you value your local services, vote Lib Dem on Thursday. If you want to send a message to David Cameron you could vote for either the Lib Dems or Labour. But Tim Farron did not need to say that, because he had a positive message to give on the work of Lib Dem councillors.
The Tory election broadcast for the local elections will be this evening (Tuesday). Will it mention local councils at all?
* Simon Pike is Data Officer of Newbury and West Berkshire local party and a member of South Central Region executive.
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18 Comments
Why always negative articles from Simon ? People need positive messages and not negative campaigning. They want to know reasons to vote Lib Dem and not why they should not vote Labour ? Its time the Lib Dem Leadership got a grip and stopped hiding behind bushes ?
@PHIL THOMAS : Your comment doesn’t make sense – the positive point is exactly what Simon is pointing out the Lib Dems did in their election broadcast, as compared to the Labour one which just hit the Tories the whole time.
“Vote Labour in the local elections if you do not care about your community”
Oh come on, you can’t possibly say that in the same post that you disapprove of knocking other parties. Can’t we be a bit more positive ?
I think in elections one person’s positivity is another’s propaganda, while one person’s negativity is another’s truth.
In Kew Southport Labour are mainly just going for their core vote which I don’t think will be enough to win the ward. The title of their Southport leaflet literally says in big letters: “Tories wrecking everything that is good and fair”. Local issues are clearly second priority and it is very different to the local Lib Dem campaign. I’ll be voting Lib Dem and should be able to get some family to as well. The campaign against the council tax rise, however realistic, is appreciated.
It’s why I find Corbynista politics so boring. Labour know they need to reach out beyond their core vote but are refusing to do so and are just praying that Tory hatred will propel them to victory.
Jeremy Corbyn MP was outspoken in opposing Ed Miliband’s decision that the Labour leader should appoint the Shadow Cabinet and said so on the BBC TV Daily Politics at the time.
Has he changed his mind?
Should Labour MPs elect the Shadow Cabinet whenever Labour goes into opposition?
Friday morning when the Lib Dem battering is fully in view the cheap shots at Labour are going to look a trifle silly. London Scotland Wales the big city areas the Lib Dems are fighting tooth and nail for 4th 5th place- asking Labour voters to once again trust them and borrow their vote then things like this are said….you just keep getting it wrong in getting Labour voters back to help you out – Silly sausages.
Who watches them apart from a few political geeks? We always go for a cup of tea in the other room, amid cries of why do these come on? Given the cost of making them are they cost effective for any party?
Silvio,
The astrologer for the Mail has passed away. Since you can see into the future perhaps you should apply for the vacancy?
@Eddie Sammon “The campaign against the council tax rise, however realistic, is appreciated.”
But elsewhere on a national level, haven’t Lib Dems been campaigning against freezing Council Taxes because it benefits the better off?
It strikes me that the difference between the broadcasts described in this article has more to do with circumstances than political principles. In these local elections Lib Dems would much rather avoid guilt by association with the national party while its reputation is in tatters. In the London mayoral elections it even seems to be billed as “Caroline Pidgeon’s London Liberal Democrats”, presumably to avoid confusion with the national Liberal Democrats of Nick Clegg.
Certainly in the past, before it appreciated just how unpopular the national party and its leader had become, Lib Dems were happy to emphasise national issues in their local election broadcasts, e.g. from 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13008014.
The very fact you are so low in the polls when Labour are in a mess says it all. People do care about their communities and that is why places like Liverpool and Manchester have got rid of the Lib Dems. I’m trying to be kind, but there is just no reason to vote for you guys.
What I have noticed from comments on LDV about the forthcoming Elections are that nobody will predict a healthy showing for the Lib Dems. Malc has it spot on that the party is so desperately damaged that voters even those distressed at Labours problems wont come over. I remember the relish shown by many Lib Dems that Corbyns leadership would see Labour members and voters scampering to the Lib Dems. What happened with that????
@SILVIO
“the Lib Dems are fighting tooth and nail for 4th 5th place”
You keep saying this, but in doing so only display your ignorance.
Who exactly is it that you think has consistently come a good third in local elections in recent years?
For example in the 2015 local elections in England the Lib Dems won over three times as many seats as the 4th placed party – see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/results/councils
In the 2014 local elections in England the Lib Dems “only” won two and and half times as many seats as the 4th placed party – see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/vote2014/england-council-election-results
And there is a realistic hope that we will have better results in 2016 that we did in 2014 or 2015. In my own area of Southport we have high hopes that, for the first time ever, we will achieve 1st place in all 7 wards.
Vote Labour in any election, in the state theyre in now, if you do not care about giving your support to the worst opposition party we have had in so long, many of us cannot remember!
Those who judge votes as wasted based on outcomes yet to happen should instead look at the parties on offer and anyone really looking , sees a party so undeserving of support that I believe all the age old stuff about third and fourth and fifth palce are the real waste !
Vote for the best leaders , Tim Farron , Kirsty Williams, Willie Rennie , and David Ford , yes even in the much ignored , nationally , Norther Ireland election, we have the best leader !And leading locally , vote Caroline Pigeon for London !
‘ “Caroline Pidgeon’s London Liberal Democrats”, presumably to avoid confusion with the national Liberal Democrats of Nick Clegg.’
Several things about this:
London media tend to portray the GLA elections as the mayoral contest; local media also cover the local constituency fights (which so far have all been won by Labour or Tory).
Some voters are quite unaware of the List, which has always produced LibDem assembly members.
So we have adopted the practice of using Caroline as both mayoral candidate and top of List, benefitting from both her suitability to be Mayor and her experience at City Hall.
Nick Clegg is not leader of the LibDems, but a back-bench MP.
Nick Clegg is out campaigning for the London LibDems Wednesday morning.
… and C comes before L on the ballot paper.
Oh dear, there goes our last chance of winning any seats
But seriously, it is a good thing that we are moving away from the Westminster-is-everything attitude of the party’s ancien régime. The main thing I wish is that the current leadership would draw a line under that and explicitly state that it was a mistake.