Guest Malcolm Tucker Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Labour's election strategy: bring on no-nonsense hard man Gordon Brown Labour strategists are considering a billboard campaign portraying Brown as 'a sort of Dirty Harry figure', in the words of one senior aide. In an audacious new election strategy, Labour is set to embrace Gordon Brown's reputation for anger and physical aggression, presenting the prime minister as a hard man, unafraid of confrontation, who is willing to take on David Cameron in "a bare-knuckle fistfight for the future of Britain", the Guardian has learned. Following months of allegations about Brown's explosive outbursts and bullying, Downing Street will seize the initiative this week with a national billboard campaign portraying him as "a sort of Dirty Harry figure", in the words of a senior aide. One poster shows a glowering Brown alongside the caption "Step outside, posh boy," while another asks "Do you want some of this?" Brown aides had worried that his reputation for volatility might torpedo Labour's hopes of re-election, but recent internal polls suggest that, on the contrary, stories of Brown's testosterone-fuelled eruptions have been almost entirely responsible for a recent recovery in the party's popularity. As a result, the aide said, Labour was "going all in", staking the election on the hope that voters will be drawn to an alpha-male personality who "is prepared to pummel, punch or even headbutt the British economy into a new era of jobs and prosperity". Strategists are even understood to be considering engineering a high-profile incident of violence on the campaign trail, and are in urgent consultations on the matter with John Prescott, whose public image improved in 2001 after he punched an egg-throwing protester. Possible confrontations under discussion include pushing Andrew Marr out of the way while passing him on a staircase, or thumping the back of Jeremy Paxman's chair so hard that he flinches in shock. One tactic being discussed involves provoking a physical confrontation at one of the three ground-breaking TV debates between the candidates. In this scenario, Brown, instead of responding to a point made by Cameron, would walk over from his microphone with an exaggerated silent display of self-control, bring his face to within an inch of the Tory leader's, and in a subdued voice, ask "what did you just say?", before delivering a single well-aimed blow to his opponent's face, followed by a headlock if required. The bloodied and bruised Cameron could then be whisked to a nearby hospital, where a previously briefed team of doctors and nurses would demonstrate the efficiency and compassion of the NHS under a Labour government. Saatchi & Saatchi, the agency behind the poster campaign, are also considering reworked posters from classic movies, casting Brown as The Gordfather, the Terminator, and "Mr Brown" from Reservoir Dogs, or perhaps linking him to Omar Little, the merciless killer in the TV series The Wire, in order to burnish the prime minister's "gangsta" credentials. Another set of designs appropriates the current Conservative anti-Brown poster campaign, employing adapted slogans such as: "I took billions from pensions. Wanna make something of it?" The Brown team has been buoyed by focus group results suggesting that an outbreak of physical fighting during the campaign, preferably involving bloodshed and broken limbs, could re-engage an electorate increasingly apathetic about politics. They also hope they can exploit the so-called "Putin effect", and are said to be exploring opportunities for Brown to be photographed killing a wild animal, though advisers have recommended that weather, and other considerations, mean Brown should not remove his shirt. Labour further hopes to "harness the power of internet folksourcing", the aide explained, encouraging supporters to design their own posters, which could then be showcased online. The "design your own poster" initiative has caught the imagination of Downing Street strategists, the aide said, because it is cheap, fosters engagement among voters and, above all, nothing could possibly go wrong with it. For their part, Conservative strategists are said to be troubled by internal research suggesting that several members of the shadow cabinet – including Cameron and George Osborne – would in fact not "come here and say that" if challenged by Brown, instead turning pale and running away, or arranging for an older brother to wait outside the Houses of Parliament to attack him when he is least expecting it. See the full Labour campaign at guardian.co.uk http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/01/labour-gordon-brown-hard-man# *april fools btw 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojo Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 lool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermalt Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 there serious aswell lol thats hard tbh still dont get my vote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrigan Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Loooooooool is this just a joke column guardian do? Or is this serious? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubby Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 'llow it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliam Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrigan Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 there serious aswell lol thats hard tbh still dont get my vote Yh bruv cos brown f*cked up this country son and the Sun say cameron is the best geezer 4 the job, so we will all vote for him initial bruv we dnt care that the conservatives inherently care even less about the working classes / if you are voting libdem I apologise for my rant but I despise the dumb daves who just follow the suns opinion and vote conservative despite them offering nothing for their class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Malcolm Tucker Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 guardian hardest paper out from day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrigan Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Was meant to say innit not intial but I cnt edit cos of this stupid f*cking prick group I have wrongly been put In Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grafter Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 l is this just a joke column guardian do? Or is this serious? hAS to be a jke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 beg you lot stop wasting votes on joke paries like lib dems and all that. its not about who we want, its about who we DONT want and we need to back the party with the best chance of stopping the tories, 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEAK NO EVIL Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEAK NO EVIL Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 some sly sh*t going on in here boy, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Malcolm Tucker Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 lol at the omar reference aswell.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swiftie Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Hook, line, sinker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Skeng Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 its an april fools ting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliechalk Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 beg you lot stop wasting votes on joke paries like lib dems and all that. its not about who we want, its about who we DONT want and we need to back the party with the best chance of stopping the tories, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Malcolm Tucker Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 its an april fools ting. well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub_Zero Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 No this is true you idiots, it's in The Guardian for god's sake. I don't really know how Labour will profit from it all though, surely this will be negative to his campaign? I mean I don't know the specific figures but surely the whole bullying thing wasn't beneficial for Sir Gordon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Malcolm Tucker Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 No this is true you idiots, it's in The Guardian for god's sake. I don't really know how Labour will profit from it all though, surely this will be negative to his campaign? I mean I don't know the specific figures but surely the whole bullying thing wasn't beneficial for Sir Gordon. i dont know what to make of this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mame Biram Diouf Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 the bullying thing was beneficial for brown proven the country wants a strong leading figure cant memba were i heard it but it was true that he got more support after / http://mydavidcameron.com/ / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Skeng Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 its an april fools ting. well done sarcasm appreciated. but no1 else mentioned it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dom dom bullets Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 i dont vote but hes got my vote... but i dont vote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstition Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 http://mydavidcameron.com/ 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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