IAB blog

Nick Stringer

We should all welcome Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s return to YouTube this week.  He was criticised by Cabinet colleagues (aka our ‘Communities’ Minister, Hazel Blears) and widely ridiculed by the media for his ‘MP expenses’ video late last month.  But Brown knows only too well that we now live in a world of 24/7 digital media and he needs to use these tools to get his message across directly to the British people (he’s doing something right - apparently the 10 Downing Street twitter site is the UK’s most favourite).  Of course, Parliament is the hub of our democracy and policy statements should be made first in the ‘chamber’ (but few people watch or listen to proceedings).  Door-to-door campaigning is very personal but it is also time-consuming and effective on a one-to-one basis.  So, as the political fighting (and in-fighting) intensifies in the run up to the European and local elections next month, another ‘war’ is beginning to emerge: the politics of digital media.

The truth of the matter is that the Labour Party (the party of government) hasn’t quite grasped the concept of social media: it is in ‘catch up’ mode.  This is because it has been the party of power for over a decade and is restricted by the limitations of the civil service which has yet to truely embrace the enabling power of the internet.  It is trying though with the appointment of a Digital Tsar – although bizarrely this was widely criticised.  It also has difficulty coping with a media where the ‘message’ cannot always be controlled.  However, there are many examples of Labour MPs and other elected representatives who are embracing the media as a way to engage and interact directly with their constituents.  Many now have blogs, twitter feeds, Facebook pages etc.  However, the Conservative Party has stolen a march in this area, using social media more effectively as a campaigning tool.  David Cameron has used webcameron from day one of his leadership.  The number of Conservative-leaning blogs (such as Iain Dale or ConservativeHome far outweigh those of the political Left, although there is LabourList but even this is experiencing troubles).  The Conservative blogs are also not afraid to criticise the party’s leadership (although remain broadly loyal).  The Conservatives also had the ingenious idea of buying key ‘budget’ search words directing people to the Party's website during live coverage of the Chancellor’s statement .  This is a new step in political battle to get your attention.

The politics of digital media is set to become one of the largest battlegrounds in the next UK General Election (odds on May 2010?) as campaigning evolves from television and newspapers to social networking sites and other ‘direct’ and participative approaches.  We’ve all heard about Barack Obama’s use of social media during last year’s US Presidential Elections.  He’s set the standard.  Let’s now see how British political parties overcome the restrictions on party election broadcasting to get their message over to you and me directly on your PC, iPod or mobile.

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