When I tweeted the above ad from Leave.EU UKIP’s MP, Douglas Carswell, was one of the first to respond. His annoyance was correct. This is a serious campaign with so much at stake and the argument should be based on facts not made up statements like in the ad even if it was meant to be a joke.
Comments
First!
The leave side needs to wake up to fact they need a majority of votes cast to win. You do not win a majority by making yourself look like an absurd parody.
Of course if that video footage is uploaded to social media or sold to the regular media rather than going direct to the authorities that is bad.
Carswell hits the nail on the head - If you want to be taken seriously, then start behaving seriously. Stuff like this should be left to the idiots in the bloggersphere, not on official websites of either team.
I'd also like to think I'd tried to stop some knife-wielding maniac in the tube but no. (Not unless children or someone vulnerable were directly at risk.) God all gave us feet. Running is what they're there for.
Incidentally, is there any sort of IN campaign and if so who is heading it?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35008128
Doctors who prescribe fewer antibiotics get lower patient satisfaction ratings and therefore less money.
Tbh, I am surprised patient satisfaction ratings are a factor in remuneration levels as we already know from the US they correlate negatively with clinical outcomes. Is it true?
Remain is value at 1/2. It would probably value at 1/3, too.
Do any other punters take a view?
That's quite a powerful angle to take.
I wonder if anyone has focus grouped the messaging, or if this is just brainstorming by will straw at this point?
It seems to be the consensus that undecided Tories will be the biggest factor, when people like Dan Hannan get more airtime I'm confident how they'll vote.
Did you get my vanilla message re; our OW&S bet settlement on fri?
I suspect that most people will neither get the joke or anything else out of this ad other than the inference that its creators are a bit strange. The Leave campaign need to make contact with people who aren't true believers - ie most of the electorate.
......are UKIP involved?
Meanwhile, in the latest SNP Scandal Non-Story
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/772672/former-oil-worker-turned-politician-accused-of-tax-avoidance/
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/snp-back-mp-who-admitted-6966451
So 'zero tolerance' doesn't apply to SNP MPs.....
* Whether this claim is true or not is redundant. People are risk-averse so need a reason to jump
It's inside-side joke stuff that I didn't get - I'm assuming the guy in the Santa hat is some hated Eurocrat?
I suspect the majority of the public are barely aware the EU even exists and don't think about it from one year's end to the next. The side that appreciates that best and reflects it in their communications has the better chance of winning.
I agree with Mr. Smithson's piece, but would add something. If the jest, such as it is, were witty, it might be a different kettle of fish. But because it's humourless then people will either think it's rubbish (because it's less amusing than a Christmas cracker joke), or think it's rubbish (because they believe Leave EU are actually being serious, and are, therefore, morons).
Carswell's right.
Overnight we have had the FN win the largest share of the vote in France with 30.8%. A FN win at the next Presidential elections (admittedly a bit off) would make our debates irrelevant. There would not be an EU in its current form for us to decide whether we wanted to be a part of or not.
I've sent you another message anyway.
Cheers
Also, we're not being overrun with migrants or terrorists. I thought the faux anger from Kippers re the delay on a new deal was so one-eyed. Not like the French/Belgians have something else on their minds right now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35022517
"Giving major national and civil events, including coronation ceremonies, more "pluralist character""
....
The monarch is supreme governor (or governess) of the Church of England. Not Catholicism, not Islam, not Judaism and not the Pastafarian followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. This isn't a complicated point.
"The number of Church of England bishops who sit as peers in the House of Lords should be cut to make way for leaders of other faiths, a new report argues."
There are a few things wrong with this. First off, the Anglican Church is established. That's why it has its current position. Secondly, if they wish to reflect society, how can you have religious leaders but not those representing agnosis/atheism? If you do want such representatives, how can they be fairly selected? I'm an atheist, but not a member of the National Secular Society or any humanist movement. There is no comparable leader for me, or for most other atheists, who don't join such groups.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I know all lobby groups are a bit OTT in their demands - but this one struck me as very stupid.
Chavez Socialism ' Among campaign issues - chronic food shortages
Some might argue with that point of view.. The churches that have the kind of services that I would abhor, high church or happy clappy or any variant of that idea do much better(so I am told) in attendance terms than traditional book of Common Prayer churches that I like so much. (I do believe(at least I have been told) that there is a swing back to traditional services .
Each to his or her own though, but the Church of England does not speak for the UK as a whole.. even though it tries to make out that it does, nor in fact for the Anglican church worldwide as there is so much discord..
Personally we should abolish all clergy from the House of Lords. We're one of only two countries in the world that has unelected clergy sitting in our legislatures. The other is Iran.
Daft sod.
We must hope the Archsocialist at least has his head screwed on right on this issue.
*Defender of the Faith [ie the Anglican Church] is the correct title.
Just axing the bishops, as it were, smacks of Blair trying to axe the Lord Chancellorship.
Mr. F, it does sound a bit like Chris Martin being an 'alltheist' [apparently he believes everything].
Oh the irony.
The title was revoked when he formed the Anglican Church and he got Parliament to award him the title again, some say only the Pope can give out the title and only to Catholics.
Nearly as silly as if in 1975, they'd put out an advert suggesting that the Common Market intended to become some sort of political union.
Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho.
No doubt there wouldn't have been the Reformation either.
That's just SO perfectly luvvie.
This is beginning to remind me of the National Lottery adverts... Don't Let It Be Them.
I guess I'm a postantidisestablishmentarianist.
Anyone want to argue with me, just to make a new word?
Who knows what will happen between now and the vote.
Sell the favourite.
I think I'm with you on that - sort of - but this view is fairly new to me. I think that makes me a quasineoprotocontrapostantidisestablismentarianist. ;-)
Bernard Jenkin, Conservative MP has said that Cameron's negotiations are lame and trivial.
Accounts were written 100 years after the event.
I agree with the points Morris_Dancer made, the reason they are there is because we have an established church. The same reason that the coronation involves a protestant ceremony. Not sure I'd like to see it changed (although would be open to the idea of the leader of every major religion in the UK being an ex officio member of the Lords).
Freedom of religion is enshrined in law anyway no matter what the coronation oath says. Arguing over this archaic point seems a waste of time to me.
Are Ladbrokes still doing their next shad cabinet resignation book? I can't seem to find it. Given the weekend papers, it might be time to have a look at it.
.... “Banks and Farage want to capture official designation of the no campaign, taking the air time and money that goes with it. The donors and senior staff at the Banks campaign are all from Ukip while the director of communications has already said Farage is the right person to lead the no campaign. It’s pretty obvious what they are trying to do, it’s a blatant Ukip front operation that won’t fool the Electoral Commission or attract support from across the political spectrum.”
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/30/nigel-farage-accused-of-launching-ukip-front-operation-to-run-eu-no-campaign
@graeme_from_IT: "Wow, check the size of that tailback on the #KincardineBridge! So glad of ma wee chopper" #ForthRoadBridgeClosure https://t.co/bZBljTPP3y