By
Jason Groves
|
The Conservatives were under fire last night over a ‘condescending’ pitch for the working class vote – after launching an Internet advert which highlighted Budget cuts to beer and bingo duty.
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps took to Twitter last night to launch an advert devised by Tory HQ to highlight Budget measures supposedly aimed at ‘hardworking people’.
The advert – which was immediately dubbed a ‘PR disaster’ – read: ‘Bingo! Cutting the bingo tax and beer duty to help hardworking people do more of the things they enjoy.’
‘PR disaster’: Grant Shapps tweeted this Tory party advert about beer and bingo cuts in today’s Budget
Tweet: The post was immediately slammed as ‘ill conceived’ by Labour’s Ed Miliband
Mr Shapps urged Conservative supporters to ‘spread the word’.
But the advert was immediately criticised for its patronising tone by both political opponents and Twitter users and risked underminging George Osborne’s carefully crafted pitch to win over the skilled manual workers who backed Margaret Thatcher in their droves.
Last night Stewart Wood, a senior aide to Labour leader Ed Miliband, described the advert as ‘ill-conceived’ and ‘condescending’.
He said: ‘Of all the ill-conceived aspects of this Tory ad, it’s the condescending use of the word “they” that grates the most.’
Backlash: This is one of many spoofs of the controversial advert posted online
Spoof: Another, posted by Duncan Hothersall, reads: ‘Get p*****, proles – you might as well’
Stephen Tall, editor of the grassroots
Liberal Democrat website LibDem Voice, described the ad as an
‘embarrassment’, and said it ‘goes back to the 1950s’.
Some Twitter users suggested the advert must be a spoof.
Others
said it reminded them of Pulp’s hit record ‘Common People’ which mocked
the futile attempts of a rich student to understand the struggle faced
by working class people.
Spoof versions of the advert were circulating on the Internet within minutes of its release by Mr Shapps.
Reply: Another user posted this image, which read: ‘I’ve revised your bingo graphic for honesty. This is what you *meant* right?
Response: Another spoof posted on Twitter following the MP’s ‘ill conceived’ advert
Witty: The Larry the Cat Twitter page posted this rather amusing tweet about the advert
One said: ‘Cut the bingo tax and beer duty. That’s what you wretched proles get up to, isn’t it?
‘So put on your clogs and grab your whippets and have at it’.
But
some Tories were dismayed at the advert. One said: ‘Why are we talking
about beer and bingo, not cuts in income tax? We just look like we’re
talking down to people.’
The
overwhelmingly negative reaction to the advert is a major embarrassment
for Mr Shapps, a grammar school boy who prides himself on his
understanding of ordinary voters.
Delivering the Budget: Chancellor George Osborne in the Commons today
Mr Shapps has made it a major priority for the Tories to increase their effectiveness on social media, such as Twitter.
He is now likely to face questions about who designed the advert and why he agreed to sign it off.
It is also embarrassing for David Cameron, who is sensitive to charges that he is part of an out-of-touch metropolitan elite.
‘Out of touch’: Tory Chairman Grant Shapps, left, and Andrew Mitchell who was fired for allegedly calling two police officers Plebs. The officers have been sacked, and one of them jailed, over the incident
A major poll conducted by former Tory Treasurer Lord Ashcroft last month found that the most common description of the Prime Minister by voters was ‘out of touch’.
Mr Cameron has also faced discomfort over his reliance on fellow Old Etonians within his inner circle.
Education Secretary Michael Gove sparked anger in Number 10 last week by describing the number of Old Etonians at the heart of Government as ‘preposterous’.
In 2012, Andrew Mitchell, then chief whip, was
involved in a heated row with another police officer, Toby Rowland,
after he was refused permission to cycle through the main gate of
Downing Street.
Mr Mitchell, accused of calling the officer a ‘pleb’, was forced to resign his post after a month of intense media interest.
Two police officers were sacked over the so-called ‘Plebgate’. One, Keith Wallis, was jailed for a year at the Old Bailey for misconduct in a public office.
Comments (92)
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Paul,
anywhere,
moments ago
This has got to be a joke…if not, these people are on a different planet. Normally, I vote for one of the 3 main parties but next election its UKIP all the way, just to stick it to these buffoons.
Gallowglass,
London, United Kingdom,
moments ago
It is obvious that ‘they’ refers to vulnerable types who might be led astray into more dangerous forms of gambling or intoxication, and should be guided towards the mild and relatively harmless habits of beer and bingo.
militant bystander,
narnia, United Kingdom,
7 minutes ago
George is so lax, by supping his beer when driving his Twingo!
RoseFromTokyo,
Jeopardy, United Kingdom,
8 minutes ago
I’m only surprised this wasn’t announced by Harry Enfields’ George Whitebread character.
Bill Lees,
Birmingham, United Kingdom,
9 minutes ago
Shows how worried they are, they are desperately chasing the UKIP vote.
Jollyboy,
Bristol,
12 minutes ago
Ok have you ever been to a bingo hall? It not full of the people who shop at Waitrose, it’s as working class as it get’s
nomen est omen,
London,
13 minutes ago
The only people I’ve ever encountered who played bingo and drank beer in any quantity were hardworking benefits claimants, not the waged.
jessica.torez,
devon,
19 minutes ago
They appear to be taking the Mickey
jessica.torez,
devon,
20 minutes ago
Yeah
Beck,
Leicester UK,
28 minutes ago
I’m working class, I can’t afford to buy alcohol and go bingo! Even if I could, I wouldn’t waste it on such crap. I don’t have time for this BS even if it was free, I’m too knackered after a hard days work and bringing up 3 kids!
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Tories under fire for advert highlighting Budget beer and bingo tax cuts
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