Don't Make it Personal, Make it About Policies
14th April 2023
This week, the Labour Party shocked and appalled many by launching and then defending extremely intemperate political attack ads against Rishi Sunak and his wife.
The first ad suggested that Sunak does not think child sexual abusers and other criminals should go to prison. The ads were considered inflammatory enough for Twitter content administrators to flag them with ‘reader context’ disclaimers, which is rare for a mainstream party political advert, although we would argue that it should be employed more often.
Keir Starmer defended the ads, going even further by suggesting that more of the same are on their way. Labour spokespeople have justified this campaigning strategy by saying that the Tories are notorious for such attached ad campaigns, but in our view, two wrongs never make a right.
As people seeking non-partisan, rational debate about issues and policy solutions, we are disheartened by what pre-general election campaigning will look like. If it’s extremely nasty election campaigns from across the political spectrum, we believe even more voters will be put off voting. To adapt Oscar Wilde’s famous saying, “All of us are in gutter politics, but some of us are looking up at the voters.”
For us at True & Fair, we believe the focus should be on emphasising policies and solutions, talking about our vision for Britain, building bridges and promoting truth, integrity and fairness. We aim to be measured, informative and explanatory. We may not always strike the right tone, but invaluable feedback from our members, supporters and stakeholders helps us as we progress.
We will continue to push policy and not ideology-based solutions, such as our ‘Closing Loopholes’ report, and stick to factual and statistical evidence, and policy failures that illustrate how 13 years of Tory government had negatively impacted our country, communities and citizens.
Recent Polling
Recent polling has shown a narrowing in the gap between Conservatives and Labour, suggesting that the election will be tighter than expected, with the likelihood of a hung parliament increasing. In this scenario, smaller parties become more amplified and instrumental in the business of Parliament and government, with more collaborative and deliberative politics possible.
This represents a heightened opportunity for our True & Fair agenda of modernising our machinery of government and democracy, electoral reform and cleaning up corruption, than at times of solid majority government.
UK Economy Worries Continue
The IMF earlier this week predicted that the UK’s GDP will shrink by 0.3% in 2023 – the lowest in the G7, and, astonishingly, lower than Russia.
The UK Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), forecast followed later in the week, offering a similar analysis, suggesting that the UK economy would contract by 0.2% in 2023.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), reported that Brexit as well last year’s political turmoil can be cited as major reasons for the UK's poor economic performance, as reflected in the IMF's negative forecasts.
It is clear that Brexit remains an elephant in the room, and that an honest, clear-eyed approach is an imperative if we are to begin finding solutions. True & Fair have set these out in our paper, 'Addressing Brexit Problems', a copy of which can be downloaded here.
Survey – House of Lords Reforms
A key and urgent area for constitutional reform is the House of Lords. Our top-line proposals are here. As we progress our pre-election manifesto, we are eager to hear your views. Please take a moment to complete our short survey and share across your social media, to help us gather as many respondents as possible.
True & Fair Team Out & About
This week the TFP Team took to Trafalgar Square to talk with striking doctors about their issues, concerns and demands. The results are authentic, revealing and illustrate clearly the very real concerns facing our NHS. The videos can be found on our YouTube channel here. Again we would very much appreciate you sharing them widely.
Blogs
Our recently launched blog section on our website has been very well received and is significantly increasing our web audience. The aim is to publish at least one blog per week, so if you are a member please do think about sending us a contribution that adheres to the criteria which can be found here, along with the blog.
If you are a subscriber, please do consider becoming a member to contribute blogs and enjoy other opportunities to actively help and support our movement for change.
True & Fair in the Media
Over the last few weeks Gina Miller has taken the fight to front-line senior politicians challenging their narrative, irresponsibility and spin. As a Party we are not afraid to challenge and correct false narratives in a contractive, calm manner.
On Talk TV with Jeremy Kyle, 13.04.23.
On Talk TV with Nadine Dorries, 07.04.23.
On GB News with Jacob Rees-Mogg, 06.04.23.
As we continue to build and prepare for the general election No10 indicates will be in Autumn 2024, we need as many people as possible to join our movement, and amplify our vision, policies and candidates. Please help in whatever way you can.
The True & Fair Team