Is Labour having problems getting phone canvassers for Old & Sad?

While surfing this afternoon while trying to find what the main parties are doing in Old & Sad I came across the above on an official Labour site – an appeal to recruit volunteer telephone canvassers in order to get the message out.

What struck me as odd was the illustration, a basket of assorted chocolate bars, and the secondary headline – “… we’re giving campaign callers free chocolate”.

Could it be, I wondered, that the party was finding it hard getting enough people to take part? And would such an offer persuade party members to give up their time and take on what can often seem the thankless task of making unsolicited phone calls to strangers about the by election?

The offer, however, is not all it seems. Scroll down the page and you find this:-

“A “thank you” from Labour Matters
To say “thank you” to the #mobmonday callers, and encourage YOU to get involved, Labour Matters is going to send the best volunteer each Monday a ‘chocolate hamper’.

What better incentive to get calling for Labour than a collection of classic confectionery bars, after all?”

So only one chocolate hamper is being give away each week? That sounds pretty mean.

I’m not convinced. The serious political point here is how this can be portrayed by Labour’s opponents – “there’s so little enthusiasm for the by election that they are having to bribe volunteers with a few chocolate bars”.

Mike Smithson