I’ve got a campaign, yay! Well, if this banker-bothering online lark is good enough for John Prescott, I might as well have a punt too. LabourSpace is a neat idea – a kind of Policy Idol contest, with anyone (Labour supporter or no) able to add a campaign and solicit votes for it. They’ve done this before, but this time round it’s much whizzier – a proper network with ways to interact with those who support (or oppose) you, and tools to help you spread the word. The winners get, well nothing really, but that’s hardly the point – senior Labour figures are checking in on it as it progresses, and the chance to demonstrate how popular an idea is in this kind of arena is fun in itself.
I think it has a load of potential for training activists of all stripes, and getting new people excited at the thought of doing something political for a change. Unfortunately the execution is a little sticky – registration is smooth enough, but changing your profile needs moderation, and multiple changes before modding seem to wipe earlier attempts. You can understand why they’re anxious about moderating it, but at the same time it’s a bit stifling. Similarly the widgets are great, but don’t all work for everyone (I have yahoo.co.uk email, so the nifty yahoo.com addy book scooper doesn’t help me). Unfair to gripe though – there are going to be more rounds of it (this one’s nearly over), and the quirks will no doubt get ironed out as it goes.
So, coming late to the scene with only 2 weeks left, I’m going to have a tough time getting my campaign voted up anywhere near the top of the pile. Luckily it’s a bit of a no brainer in the current climate, and an idea that I hope is going to be popular: Minimum tax rates. (more…)