Labour tactics under fire in Crewe

John Harris writing in this morning's Guardian takes a look at the by election in Crewe and Nantwich and concludes that Labour's tactics are "exposing a truly nasty party."

In what is being seen as a two horse race,the daughter of the former MP Gyweneth Dunwoddy,Tamsin takes on Edward Timpson air to a chain of famous shoe shops.

The Labour party are branding him a toff and are following him around with people dressed up in upper class regalia.

He describes the latest leaflet being pushed thru people's doors

titled "Tory candidate application form", replete with questions and ticked boxes. Number one is, "Do you live in a big mansion house?" Question two is - and, really, the sense of humour on display is quite something - "Do you think that regeneration is adding a new wing to your mansion?" The third reads: "Have you and your Tory mates on the council been soft on yobs and failed to make our streets safer?" But the best is saved for question four, at which point pantomimic class hatred is suspended and we get something altogether more sinister. "Do you," it asks, "oppose making foreign nationals carry an ID card?"

and adds

the essential Labour strategy is clear enough: not to concentrate on anything progressive or inspiring but to run instead on a mixture of the Dunwoody bloodline, utterly witless class warfare, and the politics of fear.

Over at Open House meanwhile Michael Savage reminds Labour of the past occassions when these tactics were used

In 1924, Labour ran a no-holds-barred class campaign - "You are either with us or against us" read one of their pamphlets. As it turned out, most of the public were against them. They slumped to a heavy defeat. Five years later, they were appealing to a broader constituency under the banner "a fairer deal for all". Sound familiar? They won the election with a breakthrough result, becoming the largest party in parliament for the first time.