In Support of the New Blog
Scorn and derision have arisen from the attempt from CCHQ to establish a new blog. A blatant piece of propaganda, acting as little more than the sanitised mouthpiece of the Party is the opnion of Guido Fawkes, who has taken to exhorting his readers to calling it “Pravda 2.0″.
There is an element of truth to these accusations. The new Conservative Party blog is unlikely to be a source of candour, or the hotbed of debate and exchange of ideas that ConservativeHome is at present. Nor is it likely to undermine that blog’s readership or influence. That being said, this does not render it useless.
An official mouthpiece for a political party is no bad thing, provided that it is honest about it being such. Something that allows voters to discover what the party line is on an issue without having to go through the intermediary of the press is no bad thing. If one is an optimist, it could even be argued that such forms of direct engagement undermine the PR and spin games that have weakened the health of our political culture.
Providing editorial balance to ConservativeHome is necessary. This is not because of any particular disagreement with their editorial line, but because it s necessary to differentiate between the opinions of an independent publication and the official position of the Conservative Party. During the debate on 42-day detention Gordon Brown attempted to pass off a dissenting ConservativeHome editorial as an official party press release. Having an official party publication, however anodyne, at least prevents such confusion from arising in future. It may also do ConservativeHome a service by demonstrating that it is not a CCHQ mouthpiece to the casual reader.
At a time when people are complaining that politicians are out of touch and failing to communicate properly with the electorate, surely a party getting an official blog should be celebrated? It was not that long ago that Guido was complaining that the Tories were not web 2.0 enough.
