Labour's Mistake: Tactical, not Strategic

 

Putting it simply, the Labour Party's Twitter post pictured above has not been well received. As we know, it has been condemned by Tory politicians and commentators, Labour politicians and supporters and a number of celebrities of various political hues. 

John MacDonnell, a veteran Labour M.P., quoted in the Daily Express said: "This is not the sort of politics a Labour Party, confident of its own values and preparing to govern, should be engaged in. I say to the people who have taken the decision to publish this ad, please withdraw it. We, the Labour Party, are better than this."

SNP MP John Nicolson said: "This is absolutely nauseating. Politics cheapened and debased. The Labour Party wants to win, of course, but like this?"

Actor and director Samuel West wrote: “Please withdraw this. It’s lower than low and I’m embarrassed to be a member when this is the way you campaign.”

With breathtaking hypocrisy, Tory MP Robert Largan said: "I'm not going to quote tweet it. But that Labour Party post about the Prime Minister is in the gutter. Really shameful stuff."

With rather less reservations than Largan, and no hesitation about launching personal attacks, an anonymous Tory source said: "Labour HQ (??) have highlighted Sir Keir's appalling record at keeping children safe. During Sir Keir's controversial tenure as director of public prosecutions, less than 30 percent of child pornographers saw the inside of a prison cell".

The source went on to say: "criminals want a Labour government." No evidence of this remarkable claim was provided by the anonymous Tory spokesperson. We can only wonder if the source is close to our late and unlamented prime minister, Boris Johnson, who launched a highly personalised attack on Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons in 2022. Johnson claimed that Starmer, when Director of Public Prosecutions in the previous Labour government, "spent most of his time [as DPP] prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile". This was widely condemned as the slur that Starmer said it was, and was decisively refuted by many commentators, including the BBC Reality Check.

Returning to the Labour tweet, and more factually based, Rob Powell, on Sky News, pointed out that:

"Rishi Sunak was elected as an MP in 2015 and only became prime minister six months ago, so pinning this all on him is a stretch."

Conservative commentator Iain Dale echoed all other right-wing commentators by saying Labour's attack on Sunak was 'a new low in British political attack ads'.

For myself, I have to admit that I did not like the personalisation of the Tweet, if only because it places all the blame for the figures on one man. A group photo of the government or a general statement ("It's all the fault of the Tories") would have been more accurate, and less open to criticism. The Labour Party - which I support - have made a tactical error in trying to emulate Tory methods by appealing to populist anger.

However, I have heard some interesting statements from people who support the tweet, One caller to LBC said that he was happy to see the Tories get a taste of their own medicine. As he went on to say, Tory politicians, and their allies in the right-wing tabloids, unfairly target whole groups of people. The list grows by the week. Asylum seekers, refugees, trade unionists, teachers, Remain voters, Remain politicians, human rights lawyers, civil servants - and these are just a few that we can expect to see vilified in the Daily Mail and the other right-wing tabloids. The caller to LBC might have included individuals too: Harry and Meghan, Gary Lineker, Sir Keir Starmer, Stephen Fry, all of whom have faced tabloid hostility. And who can forget the relentless tabloid campaign against Jeremy Corbyn, which lasted during the whole of his tenure as Labour leader? This reached its pinnacle in a Daily Mail article of 2019: "Fifty infamous moments that shame Jeremy Corbyn". There is even a test you can take to see if you are likely to be hated by the Daily Mail. The Labour tweet was a mistake, but Labour have a long way to sink before they are in the gutter with yer actual gutter press.

In conclusion, let's hope that the Labour Party does not resort to this tactic again. There is no need. This present Tory government is digging a pit for itself daily, and we should focus upon that. Personalised attacks miss the whole target and are, as we have seen, counter-productive.

A better Labour Party creation - strategically, tactically and factually correct.