Using No2AV’s cant on public spending to campaign against cuts

We thought it was time to turn the tables on the Tories by using the No2AV posters they funded to campaign against the Coalition’s cuts.

Tim Horton is the research director of the Fabian Society

After yesterday’s failed Rally Against Debt – attracting around 500 attendees, despite the benefit of a Times opinion column and coverage across the newspapers – we thought it was time to turn the tables on the Tories by using the No2AV posters they funded to campaign against the Coalition’s cuts.


These posters, you may recall, courted controversy during the referendum campaign with a claim that the Alternative Vote system would cost £250 million alongside a picture of a baby, arguing the money would be better spent on maternity units. Another poster carried the picture of a soldier, arguing for more spending on bulletproof vests.

It was ironic to see a campaign funded by Conservative backers and run by the chief executive of the right-wing TaxPayers’ Alliance – who organised yesterday’s rally – championing public spending. It must have been a refreshing change for them to be able to harness people’s love of public services, rather than trying to do them down all the time. But, in the process, the No campaign have given us a great way to campaign against the cuts.

Thanks to Clifford Singer of The Other Taxpayer’s Alliance, the creative force behind the MyDavidCameron.com phenomenon, we have transformed these iconic images into arguments against the coalition’s programme. And, now the referendum is over, we’ll keep using these posters to remind the Tories of popular support for our services.

Soldier-poster
In the meantime, I’ll be writing to the TaxPayers’ Alliance to ask if they’ll join with the Fabian Society to call for higher spending on maternity units and soldiers’ equipment, rather than their current focus on even deeper cuts to corporation tax.

107 Responses to “Using No2AV’s cant on public spending to campaign against cuts”

  1. Paula Walker

    These are a brilliant idea. RT @leftfootfwd: Using No2AV's cant on public spending to campaign against cuts http://bit.ly/kElOBL

  2. William French

    RT @MustBeRead: At @LeftFootFwd, @TimJHorton turns a #No2AV poster into a Labour anti-cuts poster http://j.mp/mTzU0l

  3. Ed's Talking Balls

    Lower rates of corporation tax to help businesses grow, you say?

    You’ve convinced me: I’m voting Yes2Osborne’sCuts.

  4. Tim Horton

    I am detecting some disgruntled right-wing comments from people who don’t seem to want to accept there is a trade off between cutting corporation tax and maintaining military spending.

    Well there is. Deal with it.

    When David Cameron argues that “we don’t have the money”, what he means is he’d rather spend the money on tax cuts for big business, even if the RAF are making qualified pilots redundant. What a shame the Tories’ ideological desire to shrink the state outweighs their commitment to the armed forces.

    More interesting would be to hear which one of these is a higher priority for Conservative supporters. The Tory-led Government have prioritised tax cuts, but I’d be really interested to hear if this corresponds to the priorities of Tory members / voters. My guess is that far less than half of Tory members are Thatcherite, and that most are socially Conservative & would probably prioritise military spending over tax cuts.

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