Lostboy
April 26th, 2005, 03:39 PM
Regardless of political persuasion, who do you think so far has run the best campaign - not neccessarily because you support how they have gone about it but because they have been the most effective in getting their message across and getting their support out? This poll is only concentrating on the three UK-Wide Parties and SNP + PC, as smaller parties with no chance of gaining seats have a far easier time and suffer less scrutiny.
Here is my assessment.
Labour
A fairly solid campaign, they have managed to keep Iraq of the agenda, and have failed to have any true cock-ups of their own making. Some of the things now out of their control like Brian Sedgemore need never have happened if the party had not decided to adopt an authoritarian outlook on everything. Its noticable just how absent Blair is from campaign literature, yet how prominent Brown has been in the campaign despite the fact that he was originally supposed to be kept out of the running of the election by spiteful Blairites. One way they seem to have probably surpassed their expectations is in retaining the Muslim Vote rather than preventing it leaking to the Lib Dems, however I think in the final few days of the campaign they will be unable to prevent the war from becoming an issue. Their biggest asset has been the temporary truce between Brown and Blair, people do not vote for divided parties, and both men were smart enough to realise its in both their interests to temporarily put their feud behind them - though it could well ignite again after the election.
Competent enough, but they owe the margin of their upcoming victory to the incompetence of the Conservatives pitch for votes, not to the handling of their own campaign.
Tories
Amongst the worst campaigns ever fought, true they have certain disadvantages like an uncharasmatic leader, no real direction, and a divided shadow cabinet lacking in talent - even if they are quiet about it. Michael Howard's team have run an incredibly poor campaign, whilst it might not be racist to debate immigration, it certainly is to be obsessed about it as the Tories have appeared. The party whose principles once included both moderation and pragmatism, now seems to be an increasingly extremist voice, they may well gather a handful of votes back from UKIP/BNP/Veritas, but these will pale in comparison to the number of votes from both Libertarian Tories who will back the Lib Dems due to the obsession with immigration and the support in principle of ID Cards, and wavering voters without party affiliation. They have run a campaign like amateurs. Disraeli, Salisbury and Churchill must be spinning in their graves. In some respects the Tories could have learned from the Republicans (for all the fact that they are death penalty supporting, religous and nationalistic freaks who would sell their own children into slavery if it would be popular amongst the American electorate, they are not stupid and know how to run a campaign) who for all their xenophobia, they manage to conceal it in a way that the Tories could never do.
It has been like watching a car crash, and it doesn't get any better.
Lib Dems
A steady and competent if unspectacular performance so far, but this is probably in keeping with the current Lib Dem idea of small but solid gains, rather than risk jeopardising it all in an attempt to make a transient leap in seats, on an issue like Iraq only to lose it at the next election, I am pretty sure that the gains that they make in 2005, will be harder to reverse in 2009/10 by the other parties. Increasingly their voice is listened to almost as much as the Tories, but with far more sympathy. I have underestimated Charles Kennedy, though I don't particularly like him, he has shown himself to be a true tatician, and incredibly good with timing. Just as the Iraq War entered the campaign, Sedgemore defected, I don't think this was something that took Kennedy by surprise but a well timed coup for the party. Additionally the party has been intelligent enough to avoid a cult of personality, and members of its shadow cabinet are probably as well known as the Tories (a party with three times its number of seats) some like Menzies Campbell with an almost statesman like manner able to command respect from outside the Liberal Democrats clique, in contrast there are Tories in a similar standing, none of whom are in the Shadow Government though. Kennedy must be complimented for his choice of cabinet members. That said whilst the Liberal Democrats have carved out a unique position, they are still trying to take the votes of both Tories and Labour Voters, if they become bigger this challenge will become much harder, as you cannot be all things to all people, they will also face more media scrutiny of them which neither Labour nor the Tories seem to encounter. They could learn a lot from the Old Liberal Party still in existence, who have taken themselves out of the false idea of right and left.
A party with an increasingly competent and proffessional look about them, no longer a traditional third party of protest, but an independent party with a following of its own.
Scottish National Party
Pretty dismal so far, they have looked like they are indifferent to the whole Westminster Campaign, which is perhaps not surprising considering given the freshness of devolution (only the second election campaign to be fought under it). They still need a solid performance - at bare minimum - if they are to convince people they have the momentum, to be the largest party in the Scottish Parliament in 2007, this may be a protest vote against Holyrood Administration, and Salmond has failed to capitalise on illfeeling towards McConnel. I was expecting them to be far more interesting given the nature of Alex Salmond, and his charisma and good humour, its been a pretty predictable campaign, with a fairly low target of six seats, even if they achieve this, it makes a poor barometer of support going into 2007.
Plaid Cymru
From what I've seen, they have run a fairly intelligent campaign, but they have an easier time getting their core vote out from given the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly. They are still however reeling from the blow of 2003, where their vote collapsed and in 2004 where they were overtaken by the Tories, anything which isn't a decline should be a good result for the party.
Here is my assessment.
Labour
A fairly solid campaign, they have managed to keep Iraq of the agenda, and have failed to have any true cock-ups of their own making. Some of the things now out of their control like Brian Sedgemore need never have happened if the party had not decided to adopt an authoritarian outlook on everything. Its noticable just how absent Blair is from campaign literature, yet how prominent Brown has been in the campaign despite the fact that he was originally supposed to be kept out of the running of the election by spiteful Blairites. One way they seem to have probably surpassed their expectations is in retaining the Muslim Vote rather than preventing it leaking to the Lib Dems, however I think in the final few days of the campaign they will be unable to prevent the war from becoming an issue. Their biggest asset has been the temporary truce between Brown and Blair, people do not vote for divided parties, and both men were smart enough to realise its in both their interests to temporarily put their feud behind them - though it could well ignite again after the election.
Competent enough, but they owe the margin of their upcoming victory to the incompetence of the Conservatives pitch for votes, not to the handling of their own campaign.
Tories
Amongst the worst campaigns ever fought, true they have certain disadvantages like an uncharasmatic leader, no real direction, and a divided shadow cabinet lacking in talent - even if they are quiet about it. Michael Howard's team have run an incredibly poor campaign, whilst it might not be racist to debate immigration, it certainly is to be obsessed about it as the Tories have appeared. The party whose principles once included both moderation and pragmatism, now seems to be an increasingly extremist voice, they may well gather a handful of votes back from UKIP/BNP/Veritas, but these will pale in comparison to the number of votes from both Libertarian Tories who will back the Lib Dems due to the obsession with immigration and the support in principle of ID Cards, and wavering voters without party affiliation. They have run a campaign like amateurs. Disraeli, Salisbury and Churchill must be spinning in their graves. In some respects the Tories could have learned from the Republicans (for all the fact that they are death penalty supporting, religous and nationalistic freaks who would sell their own children into slavery if it would be popular amongst the American electorate, they are not stupid and know how to run a campaign) who for all their xenophobia, they manage to conceal it in a way that the Tories could never do.
It has been like watching a car crash, and it doesn't get any better.
Lib Dems
A steady and competent if unspectacular performance so far, but this is probably in keeping with the current Lib Dem idea of small but solid gains, rather than risk jeopardising it all in an attempt to make a transient leap in seats, on an issue like Iraq only to lose it at the next election, I am pretty sure that the gains that they make in 2005, will be harder to reverse in 2009/10 by the other parties. Increasingly their voice is listened to almost as much as the Tories, but with far more sympathy. I have underestimated Charles Kennedy, though I don't particularly like him, he has shown himself to be a true tatician, and incredibly good with timing. Just as the Iraq War entered the campaign, Sedgemore defected, I don't think this was something that took Kennedy by surprise but a well timed coup for the party. Additionally the party has been intelligent enough to avoid a cult of personality, and members of its shadow cabinet are probably as well known as the Tories (a party with three times its number of seats) some like Menzies Campbell with an almost statesman like manner able to command respect from outside the Liberal Democrats clique, in contrast there are Tories in a similar standing, none of whom are in the Shadow Government though. Kennedy must be complimented for his choice of cabinet members. That said whilst the Liberal Democrats have carved out a unique position, they are still trying to take the votes of both Tories and Labour Voters, if they become bigger this challenge will become much harder, as you cannot be all things to all people, they will also face more media scrutiny of them which neither Labour nor the Tories seem to encounter. They could learn a lot from the Old Liberal Party still in existence, who have taken themselves out of the false idea of right and left.
A party with an increasingly competent and proffessional look about them, no longer a traditional third party of protest, but an independent party with a following of its own.
Scottish National Party
Pretty dismal so far, they have looked like they are indifferent to the whole Westminster Campaign, which is perhaps not surprising considering given the freshness of devolution (only the second election campaign to be fought under it). They still need a solid performance - at bare minimum - if they are to convince people they have the momentum, to be the largest party in the Scottish Parliament in 2007, this may be a protest vote against Holyrood Administration, and Salmond has failed to capitalise on illfeeling towards McConnel. I was expecting them to be far more interesting given the nature of Alex Salmond, and his charisma and good humour, its been a pretty predictable campaign, with a fairly low target of six seats, even if they achieve this, it makes a poor barometer of support going into 2007.
Plaid Cymru
From what I've seen, they have run a fairly intelligent campaign, but they have an easier time getting their core vote out from given the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly. They are still however reeling from the blow of 2003, where their vote collapsed and in 2004 where they were overtaken by the Tories, anything which isn't a decline should be a good result for the party.