(no subject)

[ewx]

Lib dems to take up telephone spamming?!?

Comments

[burkesworks.livejournal.com]

Very, very hacked off with the party's current strategy; heads would be rolling at Cowley Street if it were up to me, beginning with Chris Rennard who is showing all the tactical awareness of Custer at the Little Big Horn.

[hilarityallen.livejournal.com]

Yes; they're a) not getting much press coverage compared to when Charles Kennedy was leader and b) when they are it's hard to work out what they stand for. And if they're not getting the press coverage, then people are going to ignore them and categorise them as a party that's not worth voting for because they don't do anything.

[scat0324.livejournal.com]

Bloody Nick Clegg certainly lost my vote last night with his automatic phone call, made to a TPS listed number, seconds after I'd got Child #2 to sleep and really didn't want the phone ringing to wake him up again. I've complained to the TPS, but I'm guessing it's "market research" so that's all OK then. Twats.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

It's only market research if there's no attempt to persuade you, only ask you questions, I believe. Did he attempt to persuade you? Not sure that over-rides TPS on political calls anyway. A real person is one thing, but a recorded message, nuts. Hypocrites.

[atreic.livejournal.com]

Depressing, isn't it? Ah well, the metro this morning seemed to be saying that when it was pointed out this was evil and illegal the idea got dropped. But it's such bad PR, and it'll piss off all the people who usually vote for the lib dems. If nothing else 'they do it in America so it must be good' is not an appealing argument. I'd be ranting about it in my blog, but I want it forgotten as quickly as possible.

[gerald_duck]

Last I looked, it was against OFTEL regulations (maybe OFCOM has different ideas) to phone someone up and play a recorded message at them unless they'd explicitly and specifically opted in.

I remember this in the context of Tango having the bright idea of instead phoning public call boxes and playing an advertisement at them — OFTEL reluctantly admitted this was allowed, but asked that Tango cease and desist in order to save them the hassle of banning it. (-8

I can see this gimmick backfiring extremely badly. "They claimed the scheme, inspired by hi-tech polling used by the Democrats in the US, had been favourably received by half of those targeted in pilots featuring the voice of the former party leader Lord Ashdown.", indeed? I wonder how "favourably"; I note they don't state how incandescent with outrage the other half were.

Certainly, I'm very cross with the LibDems right now for a variety of reasons, many a little more substantive than that. Can we have an SNP candidate in Cambridge, please?

[pjc50.livejournal.com]

Interesting that they didn't choose someone more recent than Paddy to represent them; the last charismatic LibDem leader?

While the party is disorganised and has its fair share of unprincipled opportunists, there are lots of LibDems who I personally admire. David Howarth is one of them.

What would you do with an SNP candidate?

[burkesworks.livejournal.com]

the last charismatic LibDem leader?

You forgot Charlie. We wouldn't be tanking at the polls with him still there; people seemed to like him for the right reasons. Also, the direction he was taking the party was much more to my liking than what Clegg and his mysterious besuited friends have in mind (or, come to think of it, where we'd be with the appalling Huhne at the helm). All I can say is good on Adrian Sanders for displaying his pugilistic skills.

[gerald_duck]

I liked Charles Kennedy a lot, but I couldn't imagine him as a future Prime Minister. Nor anyone since. Paddy Ashdown I could very nearly picture in the rôle at a pinch.

I think Shirley Williams is their only truly high-calibre statesman. )-8

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Hang on, it was the SNP who started all this with their "Hi, I'm Sean Connery" phone calls (about which the Scottish Lib Dems submitted a successful complaint...)

[gerald_duck]

Granted, but at least they're a slightly left-leaning party with sensible policies.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Speaking from a professional perspective, I really don't like their policy where Councils no longer control their own revenue. So much for devolution. To Edinburgh but no further, it turns out. They may also have confused "spending money we haven't got" with being left-wing, but let's wait and see how that works out, for now.

[aldabra]

Are you in Cambridge yet?

[gerald_duck]

No. But there's no general election yet, either.

Currently, I live in John Major's old constituency; the Conservatives will inevitably win there, so much so that I didn't bother with a postal or proxy vote when I was out of the country on election day in 2001.

[(Anonymous)]

Am I the only one who thinks it is a good idea? All I get are Lib Dem leaflets through my door which are all about how they've done in some local election and how "[some other party] cannot win here". Which certainly is positive and I appreciate the effort, but I am sure that to hear what the latest Lib Dem policies are would be something new for many people. And why not centrally co-ordinated using the telephone rather than leaving it to local members who may not be best at ensuring they're consistent with other Lib Dems elsewhere in the UK? I just hope there is a menu with options ("If you would like to hear about our economic policies, please press 1. If you would ..."). And maybe a ring-back option that costs 90p a minute - could be useful for fundraising?

[ewx.livejournal.com]

People who want to hear it can just pick up the phone and ask. There's no excuse for forcing highly intrusive spam on everyone else.