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Dave Cameron does a Thom Yorke
The new Tory party is, indeed, a broad church, magpie-ing away policies from all over the place.
In today's The Times, for example, Dave Cameron steals one of Thom Yorke's ideas:
Radiohead are one of my favourite bands. But it's more than their music that I've found inspiring. In October last year, Radiohead released their latest album, In Rainbows, online - but that wasn't the only innovation. They invited their fans to download the album for whatever price they wanted to pay. Many people thought they were mad. But Thom Yorke, the band's lead singer, has since revealed that the digital income from In Rainbows has surpassed that of all their previous albums put together.
Do you see where this is going yet?
Well, he may not appreciate me for saying this, but I'm afraid that Radiohead's innovation has become a model for something else: for the Conservative Party's new effort, launched today, to reform the funding of political parties and engage more people - particularly young people - in politics.
Yes, Dave is introducing a new membership scheme - sorry, "Friends" scheme (they are, after all, going for the MySpace kids) - with a pricing model ripped off from In Rainbows:
We want to reinvigorate politics by giving people new ways of supporting our party. And, vitally, I see this as a way of broadening our funding base. That's where Radiohead come in. Like them, we're not specifying how much people need to donate to become a Friend of the Conservatives: you can donate as much or little as you like.
'Freinds', then, will be able to get what they need from being associated with the Tories without full membership.
You pay what you can, you get what you need.
Or, to put it another way: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
Hang on - that wasn't Thom Yorke, was it?
2 comments:
Do you think that being a "friend" of David Cameron comes with as many terms and conditions as becoming a "friend" of Lily Allen does? I'll quote you from an email that I was send, pretty much begging me to go to nip up to Pinewood to see a recording.
Terms & conditions of becoming a friend of Lily Allen's:
If you register your details you will become a 'friend' of the show and will be able to vote on which bands you'd like to see on the show, and answer our questions of the week.
If you are keen, you can also submit a link to your social networking profile, to allow the programme guys to access your profile and possibly using your profile information and photo within the show if selected. You can opt-in to also be considered for the studio audience.
If you submit a facebook URL, we will send you a 'friend request' from Reshmi-Team Lily's profile so that we can view your profile page.
Don't worry, you do not have to submit a link to your social networking profile or opt in to become part of the audience to become a 'friend' of the show. If you do want to participate in these ways, however, it will be on the following terms.
Terms:
By submitting a link to your personal social network profile page and/or opting into to be part of the audience you agree to the following:
You are 18 years or over;
You are submitting a link to your own personal profile information;
You consent to your name, email address and link to your social network profile being disclosed to and processed by Princess Productions (who produce Lily Allen and Friends) for the purposes of viewing your social networking profile information and potentially selecting elements of your profile and possibly your photo for inclusion in the Lily Allen show;
By opting in to potentially be selected to be in the audience, you consent to your name and email address being disclosed to and processed by our agents Applause Store for the purpose of being contacted to be in the studio audience; and
Your personal data will only be used in conjunction with the Lily Allen and Friends show and will not be forwarded to any other third parties.
Please be aware that the studio audience area is standing only and you will be on your feet for the duration of the show's recording.
"Please be aware that the studio audience area is standing only and you will be on your feet for the duration of the show's recording."
Shouldn't that warning have been a bit more honest and continued "...while we subject you to a succession of live performances from 'YouTube Legends' who prove, over and over, that an idea which is mildly diverting for ten seconds on a grainy 5-inch window doesn't always translate to a full-length studio production, complete with stilted introductory interview"?
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