Before the Sundays went to town on Chris Huhne and the Dominique Strauss-Kahn incident erupted on the other side of the Atlantic, the Rally Against Debt https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204678962884261 was tipped to be the political story of the weekend.
Set up by right-leaning pressure groups as a response to the TUC’s march for the alternative at the end of March, nearly 2,000 people had indicated they would attend the right’s equivalent on Facebook. Only about 350 people showed up, though.
It was a testament to how efficient the right’s media operation is, though, that the story appeared on the front page of the BBC, Daily Mail and Guardian websites. And not because of accusations of anarchy http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8409048/TUC-protest-march-anarchists-on-the-rampage-in-London.html.
The left has been quick to crow that the low turnout reflects a lack of support for cutting the deficit. The Taxpayers’ alliance Matthew Sinclair weighed in with his share of hyperbole from the opposite direction, declaring it a “huge success” and an “incredible event”.
There were some amusing placards:
And we got to see the softer side of the infamous Guido Fawkes:
But according to our very own Grant Tucker, who is chair of Conservative Future Wales and who went to the rally, it was mainly about the piss-up in the pub afterwards, rather than shouting yourself hoarse in support of the cuts.
A bit of a non-event, then. Perhaps the serious lesson to take from this is that having a slick media operation is all very well, but you do have to be able to persuade people on to the streets so that the journalists you’ve lined up have something to cover...
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