back to article Tory 'Cash Gordon' campaign suffers Web2.0rhea bum rush

The Tories, in their enthusiasm for all things Web2.0rhea, launched an ill-conceived Facebook Connect campaign over the weekend that they hoped would encourage people to gripe about Labour's ties to the Unite union. As is the norm in these, er, web-enlightened days, the Conservative Party hoped to turn "#cashgordon" into a " …

COMMENTS

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  1. blackworx
    FAIL

    Ah, teh lulz

    That is all

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Unite’s funding stranglehold ...

    over the Labour Party

    As opposed to Lord Ashcroft's stranglehold over the Tory Party.

    Which to choose: a party funded by millions of people living in the UK, or one funded by a few millionaires, some of whom choose not to live here at all?

    Tricky that one ....

    1. The Other Steve
      Flame

      Ho ho, very funny.

      "a party funded by millions of people living in the UK"

      Two million (# of Unite members) is not a big number set against total populace, and let's take into account that those two million are either dribbling trot mentalists or are retards who are easily led by such. This makes it easy to question whether their 'opinions' count for more than a fart in a bucket. (A clue : No)

      You also seem to have failed to understand that there are more than two choices.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        More than two

        realistic choices? Now who's joking ? :)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Down

        Not 2 million

        Unite provide the facility for members to opt-out of the "political fund", as I have done. This option is made clear at the time of registration.

        Therefore, not all Unite members are Labour donors.

    2. Alex Walsh

      Hardly tricky

      Which one was funded by the trade union looking to put one of our largest employers out of business again?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Which one...

        Which one is funded by a few individuals who HAVE SUCCEEDED in putting SEVERAL of the UK's largest employers out of business to gamble on stock again?

        Now I'm sure the subcontractors in India, China /et /al/ are very happy about that, but...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Hardly Tricky

        I think you'll find that BA management were doing a fine job of loosing millions of pounds well before the current strike action. Hence their desperation to tie up with Iberia.

        Back to the main point: the Tories couldn't have chosen a better topic than party funding to cock up their foray into Web2.0ness - hypocrisy neatly wrapped up in incompetence.

        And for balance: expect Labour to produce a Bebo page on university finance: "for the kids".

  3. The Other Steve
    FAIL

    Going to be a nasty wake up call for all of them soon

    For the last couple of years parties of all stripes have become obsessed with blogs, facebook and twitter. I suspect it's because they get instant feedback, which is obviously gratifying their desperate need for attention.

    Unfortunately, when it comes time to put our X in the box to decided which group of liars and thieves have the best posters, the fact that 90% of the electorate couldn't give a blue fuck about tweets, blogs, and facebook is going to bite them all in the arse because the only people they've been up close with are their grassroots activists who will see them to do no wrong and worship at their altar, and those of their opposition who honestly believe that they eat babies. And aren't they going to get a nasty surprise then.

    And I shall laugh. Even harder than when the apparently very thin skinned 'Twitter Tsar' blocked me on twitter, even harder than we she was questioned about it in an interview. Even harder than at the comments on government shill site labourlist. Probably even harder then when Tom Harris chucked his toys out of his twitter pram after being called a fucktard.

    Their whole on line presence of the political parties has been a complete disaster, it is an echo chamber filled with morons and trolls. And it is hilarious. until you realise whose money they're spending on it. After that, not so much. They haven't understood this yet.

    1. idasben

      Competely True

      They have all completely failed to realise that the only people who search for/follow/join these groups are already supporters.

      Furthermore, I use twitter/facebook everyday for social networking/just getting marketed at by everyone and I wouldn't give a hoot what was said on them by a political party. They're all run by people who are paid to say stuff and all that, its just PR and spin, but clearly thats the way the government thinks politics works now.

  4. censored
    FAIL

    If I were Unite, I'd ask for my money back...

    what with Labour MPs and the PM himself queuing up to call their strike "despicable" and "damaging", they don't appear to have bought much influence at all

  5. jimbarter
    FAIL

    epicfail

    it was grand while it lasted. as some of the screengrabs testify http://twitpic.com/1a8o2l

  6. MarkRBowyer

    Go via Google.

    The only tweet I've seen about this was a link to search Google for "Google Brown" and then click on the Tory's paid-for advert to get to this site. And then close the tab. Didn't read it, just cost them some money.

    Ta,

    Mark

  7. CADmonkey
    Headmaster

    "but there’s also room to think outside of the box."

    Does anyone else see something a bit cocked about this statement?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Ashcroft

    Ashcroft's donations to the Tories account for less than 1% of their funding.

    What proportion of Labour's funding come from Unite's direct contributions or the £18m that Labour have transferred to various Unions through slight of hand with public funding that was not intended for Union use?

  9. John Lilburne

    Nazi sympathizers

    Why are so many tories using something called uber-twitter?

    1. The Other Steve

      IHBT ...

      ... I know, but 'uber twitter' is the leading twitter client for their favoured moby, the Blackberry.

  10. Adam Williamson 1
    WTF?

    AC 16:45

    "Ashcroft's donations to the Tories account for less than 1% of their funding."

    His personal donations, yes. His company's donations make up rather a larger chunk.

    I've been out of the UK for a while, so can someone please explain to me exactly why the Tories think there's a ton of mileage in acted shocked and surprised that the *Labour* party is supported by trade unions? This is the Labour party, yes? The party of labour? The party that was expressly founded by, out of, and to represent the interests of the unions?

    I mean, y'know, you can think it's a bad thing, but to act as if it's a shocking, dirty secret seems a tad implausible.

  11. Foxhill

    Ripoff

    That site was also either a blatant ripoff or an off-the-shelf campaign site, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/mar/22/conservatives-cashgordon

  12. blackworx
    Badgers

    Non-partisan comment

    There's some odd voting on this comments page. Considering all the fairly innocuous and factually correct pro-Labour comments being downvoted, one might reasonably suspect there is a Tory shill floating around here somewhere. Can't for the life of me think why...

    1. Winkypop Silver badge
      Joke

      Don't feed the Tory shills...

      ....anything but the finest beluga caviar...

  13. rashlan

    tripartite regulation

    It's amazing the support Labour can still garner, considering that Gordon Browns incompetence in setting up the tripartite financial system caused the UK's current financial woes. Maybe he should of left the overseeing of the banks to the bank of england!

  14. Tom Parkinson
    FAIL

    i say hand me the laptop darling i feel the need to 'tweet'

    eton toffs/tories: if they cant organise a decent advertising campaign and marketing strategy 'on' OR 'off' line which they have absolutely failed at in every single quarter - theres NO HOPE they can actually run the country properly IMHO... they had the cash; they had the brains; they had a mediocre incumbent administration... they have FAILED to take advantage in a spectacular way - they SHOULD be a country mile ahead... ask yourselves why they continue to f**k up the simplest of operations... very very poor FAIL! DOUBLE FAIL.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Labour billionaire donors

    erm what about the Labour billionaire donors like :- non-dom donor Lord Paul, Lakshmi Mittal. Sir Ronald Cohen, Sir Christopher Ondaatje etc.

  16. Steve X
    FAIL

    Surprised?

    Shock! Labour funded by trade unions. That'll be news to people, I don't think.

    Horror! Modern career-politicians haven't a clue how to talk to people, and screw up attempts to use technology. Nope, no surprises there either.

    And then these wannabe presidentards wonder why turnout is so low...

  17. Dave Ross
    Thumb Up

    I am more than happy..

    to sit back and watch the parties of liars rip each other to pieces.

    (grabs popcorn)

    Wooohoo, go for it guys, in the end we all loose anyway!

  18. Jamie Kitson

    Pic

    http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4453821027_92d4fb8a93_b.jpg

  19. Sam Therapy
    FAIL

    Dear sweet pink baby Jesus...

    "Thinking outside the box"? Where's my gat?

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