With less than a month to go to the local elections, Shropshire Conservatives have withdrawn the printed edition of their election manifesto (it’s still here online). This follows my discovery that an image that purported to be of Conservative supporters was lifted without permission from an Australian charity website. The image shows the staff of a mental health charity from Tasmania and Queensland. It is a typical workplace photograph and was taken on 28 June 2013.
The BBC is reporting that the Conservatives have now formally apologised to the charity and have promised to no longer distribute the leaflet.
I cannot believe any political party would use a photo from a charity without permission. Even as local politicians, we must obey election law to the letter. It defies belief that the Conservatives decided to use an image of charity workers on the other side of the world, rather than a photo of their own supporters.
This is a real low in Shropshire’s local politics.
We all have different perspectives on what needs to be done in Shropshire. But we should never walk away from being honest. By using a picture of hard working mental health workers on the other side of the planet, Shropshire Conservatives have brought local politics into serious disrepute. Our county deserves better than this.
Good that it has been cancelled but as far as I am concerned they will stoop to any deviousness if they think they can get away with it. That is why the party has to be on its guard to countermand it for ‘falsenesses’ if left unchallenged become truths in the eye of the beholder.
Hear, hear Nigel.
It is also why the Cons have been upgraded from the “nasty” party to the “disgusting” party … in my opinion anyway.
Shame about the Tories election howler. I suppose it was an honest mistake mixing their own pictures up with those of mental health charities, especially with Theresa Mayem being a keen mental health cutter, sorry I mean supporter. In the past 12 or 13 years I’ve spent with mental health charities you can’t bloody move for Tories all over the place ‘helping!’ Why, they were so helpful with the Crisis Centre I worked at in Ludlow they decided not to try & stop it being closed due to lack of NHS funding. What with Ludlow Tory MP Philip Dunne being in charge of health finances. I suppose he thought it best that people in crisis would be better off without professional help. The Tories thought so highly of those with mental health disabilities that they proposed it would do them good to cut £30 a week from their disability payments & encourage them to work. All bar about 4 Tory MP’s voted the measure through. Perhaps the scrounging disabled should try getting a job as an MP where the average expense claim on top of an £80K salary is about £150K. Good old Tories…The party that supports mental health!
Ate they attempting to out-fib Perpetually Porky-Tellin’ Paul’s
Pinnochio Party!?
I humbly….. ponder!
Well spotted Andy. Tory abuse of the media seems to be widespread!