An election for Twitts

A month back now, Kent MP Derek Wyatt announced that he’d be launching an app on the iPhone. ‘MyMP’ would make the Labour politician him more accountable and get young people more involved in politics. Wyatt is standing down this year, having been criticised for claiming expenses for scotch eggs and pork pies in 2008. But he might just have the right idea with this.

On his BBC Radio 5 Live show (from 1:24:30) yesterday afternoon, Richard Bacon and one blogger from each side discussed how significant a part ‘new media’ would play in the upcoming election. The Labour Party is known to have contacted Barack Obama’s team for campaigning tips, particularly looking at how social media word of mouth contributed to his success. But, as Tory blogger Iain Dale told Bacon yesterday, we’re maybe five years behind America when it comes to political campaigning through the internet.

Bacon himself may have made the most interesting point, saying that it’s naïve to think putting politics on YouTube is automatically going to make it any less boring. The pitfalls and dangers of online campaigning right now may outweigh the opportunities, as shown by Gordon Brown’s bizarre first forays onto YouTube. “Smile, Gordon, smile!” It’s not a dissimilar conundrum to that over whether the PM should have been baring his soul with Piers Morgan recently. Do we want a rounded human being, in touch with our online activities, or a stubborn, slightly detached PM, with intellect and integrity his strongest assets, fighting our corner?

Online ‘guerrilla’ campaigning could play a leading role in the general election, though, because of the leading parties’ finances. Labour has only got the funds for a budget campaign, while this week’s Lord Ashcroft non-dom tax revelation could make things legally tricky if he is seen to back an election-winning Tory campaign.

And so to the increasingly popular Photoshop-spoofing sites that may just be the future – actually, the present – for British political satire. The iconic Spitting Image ran from 1984 to 1996, chiefly sending up Margaret Thatcher and the royals. ITV introduced Headcases in the same spirit in 2008, although with 3D animation rather than puppets, but after eight episodes we haven’t seen it since. Now, mydavidcameron.com claims 250,000 unique visitors in six weeks, and includes, my favourite, a mock poster of George Osborne reading Economics for Dummies, the caption reading: “I’ve never studied economics before, but Dave said I need to sort out the economy”. The retaliation – or perhaps that’s not the right word – comes in the form of a man with a black eye, who says: “I’ve never voted Labour before, but I have worked for Gordon Brown…” MyLabourPosters claims 110,000 hits in its first week.

These sites can take a place in young peoples’ news agendas – which is coming increasingly from online sources.