The European Elections take place in a few weeks. There are strict guidelines on how parties can use the taxpayers money to fund propaganda for their parties. A clever politician knows where the line is drawn and how to obtain maximum advantage without breaching the rules. It's called sailing close to the wind.
A good example is Mike Freer's mailshot, reportedly at a cost of £45,000 telling local residents to get involved in the consultation regarding major trauma and stroke facilities at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
There is also a press release on the council's website. I'm no fan of Mike, but he's actually right about this issue. The Royal London is too far away. My mother had a stroke in 2001 and if we'd had to visit her every day in Aldgate, it would have been a nightmare. Health planners clearly don't understand the value of family support for people struggling to deal with a major change of life.
Maybe Mike has been crafty and used the wheels of power to get some good publicity for himself. For once I don't really object because it is doing something useful. It's just a shame that whilst he saw fit to encourage us to take part in a Healthcare for London Consultation, he didn't spend another £45,000 encouraging us all to object to the cuts to the warden service for Sheltered housing. Could it be because that consultation didn't portray Mike in such a good light with the local electorate?
He's a cheeky so-and-so. How do you know that it's £45,000? That's a lot of money!
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ReplyDeleteHealthcare is frankly too important an issue for politicians to point score off each other, so the letter from Mike Freer was welcome. However, it was also an abject lesson in how not to do something.
The first lesson you are taught in Marketing School is KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid (or, more politely, keep it short and simple). The letter that was sent out was two pages long and far too detailed. It should have been written in the style of a tabloid newspaper story - big headline, some diagrams and simple to understand copy with clear instructions as to what we all need to do.
The envelope should have carried a simple warning message about strokes so that we would be more inclined to read it. Instead it said “An important message from the leader of Barnet Council”. How many people will have thrown the letter away without even opening it, thinking it was party political propaganda?
Barnet spends a fortune on its communications team. Perhaps instead of giving cushy jobs to his chums, Mr Freer could instead appoint people who actually know what they are doing.
I asked a councillor how much it cost.
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