The Nasty Party’s nasty campaign has begun

Three days ago a group of prominent Tory women warned that the Lynton Crosby led negative campaign the Tories are running risks re-contaminating their party and damaging their electoral prospects.

But since when did the Tories ever care about women and their uppity opinons?

Yesterday (30th July 2014) before 11pm, @CCHQPress – an official Tory Twitter account tweeted 62 times (including retweets). That seems fair enough, with all that’s going on in the world.

Guess how many tweets were about the situation in Gaza? About Russia and the decision on sanctions? On Ebola and the precautions being taken to protect citizens of the UK?

None. Not a single one.

So maybe they have a great deal to celebrate? All those Tory successes and all their many plans for the future?

Maybe not. In fact onlyfFive of these tweets were positive. Of these three were retweets. Which meant that in total, the Tory press office could be arsed composing a massive TWO tweets about their work and plans.

56 of their tweets yesterday were negative – 55 aimed at Labour and 1 at UKIP.

If they keep this work rate up from now to the election, they will have managed to say a massive 560 positive things about their own side. That might sound a lot – particularly about this shower. But it isn’t really. I’ve probably tweeted that many times about Emmerdale. It would certainly be as nothing against the 15,400 negative tweets about Labour.

Now regular readers of this column will know I don’t always have nothing but gushing praise for everything Labour ever has done. So maybe this criticism is justified?

Well that’s up to everyone to judge for themselves. But one thing is indisputable – they didn’t have 55 different things to say about Labour. In fact four of those tweets were a twisting of a quote from an Ed Balls quote during an LBC interview. And a quarter – a massive 15 different tweets were accusing Labour of plans to impose a “death tax”.

Yep, Death Tax. Those words lifted straight from the Tea Party movement in America. Because what’s really needed in these difficult times are the politics of Sarah Palin. Not.

There is room in politics for pointing out the flaws of your opponents. Let’s face it, this post is hardly a beacon of positivity! And I’ve had a problem with Labour going too negative in the past, yet I have slagged off the Tories before and will do so again. And again and again. Because they are deserving of criticism. They stalled the recovery with austerity economics that have failed to pay down the debt. They are punishing the poor and vulnerable with measures like the Bedroom Tax (and no more bloody “Spare Room Subsidy” nonsense from any party who tries it on with “Death Tax” if you please). They have failed to rebalance the economy leaving wages low and employment insecure.

But I will always try to balance that. Try to ensure that the majority of my output is on what Labour’s offer is and why electing a Labour government will make a difference to the lives of people in real, significant ways that matter.

Because ultimately the country has a choice. Between a Labour Party that is offering a strong positive policy offer and a Tory Party unable and unwilling to shake off their nasty image. A Party with so little left to offer they have to resort to that image as their best chance. Not to win, but to beat the other guy.

We’re a better Party than that and ultimately we’re a better country than that. We sent Lynton Crosby that message the last time he masterminded this kind of morally bankrupt Tory campaign in 2005. Let’s make sure we send the same message again.