Super-geek Northavon MP Steve Webb has come up with a hilarious little jape to entertain the press for August.
The man charged with writing the next Lib Dem election manifesto – a document that combines the realism of an In the Night Garden script with the political acuity of a Trotskyite anti-war speech – has fired off a press release – “for a little light relief” – regarding the popularity of the three main political parties on the ultra-boring and ridiculously over-exposed Facebook.
The bore claims to have calculated that 40% of LibDem MPs are on Facebook compared to just 12% of Tories and 13% of Labour supporters. He also claims to have over 1,000 “friends” himself on Facebook.
My isn’t he popular? Er, no actually. At least not according to one of his constituents, Nathan, who says:
Steve Webb is a facebook whore – he was identifying every young person in the area of his constituency and adding them as a friend, rather than the other way around. I promptly denied his request when I received one.
What kind of saddo invents pretend friends on the internet for fucks sake? Then advertises the fact to the national press?
Can’t wait to see that manifesto of yours Steve, especially now that you’ve been well and truly outed as a fantasist.
“well and truly outed as a fantasist” is a bit strong don’t you think?
What are MPs meant to do to engage with their electorate then?
Would you rather he didn’t try and just went and got jobs in the city to supplement his salary?
I am pleased that steve webb has the time to count the number of labour and tory politicians on facebook. It must be so boring being a lib dem MP
And there’s me thinking that the worst mistake a politician could commit was to be out of touch with his constituents.
It seems though, that being in touch is actually far, far worse.
Steve is not the first( nor will he be the last, politician) to try and engage with the public. Labour MP Roger Berry has been sending out birthday cards to new voters in his Kingswood constituency for years.
Come the morn of his 18th birthday, young Jimmy will rush downstairs and await his greeting from friendly Uncle Rog.
“Congratulations!” it reads. “Congratulations for avoiding knife crime, gun crime, drugs, extreme sports and of course, gun crime, and making it to 18!”
“Now turn off your brain and vote for me, because I’m the first politician to bother to engage with you in any way at all.”
So Steve Webb is having a dart at something new, is he? Someone tar and feather that man.
The term “friend” is used here in the loosest sense possible, but Steve is my friend on facebook. In an age where going to your MPs “surgery” is an art perfected by those aged over 65, why shouldn’t the internet offer young voters a way to engage with their MP.
Whenever I’ve raised an issue, he has always replied, and taken my views into consideration.
Fair play, I say.