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February 24, 2005

MPs: the public needs to know they can engage

OK, I see the problem. I also think that we can fix it.

If more MPs had websites that were more interactive (and by that, I mean open, two-way and communicative) then we might just stand a chance of breaking the "I keep my constituents at a distance because they tend to yell at me" and "I give my MP a right bollocking when I can because I so rarely get the chance to talk to them and/or I only ever bother to do so when I'm angry" cycle.

Following the election, this door will re-open. In the meantime, I would offer this free piece of advice...

If you are an MP or a candidate, now is the worst possible time to begin a weblog. Because it's too late. It's too damn close to the election, and the assumption will be that this is the only time/reason you're going to be bothered with such things. I'm not saying this assumption is correct, I'm just pointing out that it is there and that it will be near to overwhelming in most cases.

UPDATE - Bob Piper has now been blogging for an entire year.

Posted by Manic on February 24, 2005 6:48 PM in the category The Political Weblog Movement

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I agree. It's a practical cynicism that people have acquired, and I think that if politicians approach the whole thing with the attitude of 'this will help get me votes' they're less likely to see the real value of it.

Posted by: Stuart at February 24, 2005 10:23 PM

I don't shout at my MP. I politely said "No thanks, I don't" when he tried to hand me a leaflet (just before an election)
"What! You don't vote?" he spluttered..
"No" I said shaking my head and quickening my pace across the marketplace, not wanting to get into a public slanging match where more folk know me than know him..
"Well you deserve everything you get!" he screamed after me... a minute later, queuing to cash my giro i thought "100 quid a week for doing fuck all? Can he say the same for himself?"
Two minutes later I strolled back to find him gone and neither of his minions offered so much as a smile..
http://www.mikewood.org.uk/team.htm#
Would you buy a vote from these people?

Posted by: Seamus O'Blimey at February 25, 2005 3:20 PM

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	« Do you have what it takes? \| Main \| The Sun: curious coincidences and warped priorities » February 24, 2005 MPs: the public needs to know they can engage OK, I see the problem. I also think that we can fix it. If more MPs had websites that were more interactive (and by that, I mean open, two-way and communicative) then we might just stand a chance of breaking the "I keep my constituents at a distance because they tend to yell at me" and "I give my MP a right bollocking when I can because I so rarely get the chance to talk to them and/or I only ever bother to do so when I'm angry" cycle. Following the election, this door will re-open. In the meantime, I would offer this free piece of advice... If you are an MP or a candidate, now is the worst possible time to begin a weblog. Because it's too late. It's too damn close to the election, and the assumption will be that this is the only time/reason you're going to be bothered with such things. I'm not saying this assumption is correct, I'm just pointing out that it is there and that it will be near to overwhelming in most cases. UPDATE - Bob Piper has now been blogging for an entire year. Posted by Manic on February 24, 2005 6:48 PM in the category The Political Weblog Movement Pings (Trackback) For trackbacks, this is the URL: http://www.bloggerheads.com/cgi-bin/mt-tbbh_20x07.pl/265 Comments I agree. It's a practical cynicism that people have acquired, and I think that if politicians approach the whole thing with the attitude of 'this will help get me votes' they're less likely to see the real value of it. Posted by: Stuart at February 24, 2005 10:23 PM - I don't shout at my MP. I politely said "No thanks, I don't" when he tried to hand me a leaflet (just before an election) "What! You don't vote?" he spluttered.. "No" I said shaking my head and quickening my pace across the marketplace, not wanting to get into a public slanging match where more folk know me than know him.. "Well you deserve everything you get!" he screamed after me... a minute later, queuing to cash my giro i thought "100 quid a week for doing fuck all? Can he say the same for himself?" Two minutes later I strolled back to find him gone and neither of his minions offered so much as a smile.. http://www.mikewood.org.uk/team.htm# Would you buy a vote from these people? Posted by: Seamus O'Blimey at February 25, 2005 3:20 PM - Post a comment Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out) (If you're new to Bloggerheads, you may need to be approved by the moderator before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) URL: Remember me? YesNo Comments:

MPs: the public needs to know they *can* engage

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MPs: the public needs to know they can engage