Leader holds Facebook Q & A
Politicians are trying too hard to ‘replicate the Obama effect’ in their social media use, says Welsh Conservative Leader, Andrew RT Davies, ahead of a Facebook Q&A session tomorrow.
Mr Davies is tomorrow holding a Facebook Q&A; the first of a series of online events, in which members of the public will have the opportunity to pose questions to the party leader ahead of the Welsh General Election in May.
The first event is taking place at 7pm on Tuesday 1st December on Andrew’s Facebook page –www.facebook.com/AndrewRTDavies
The following week, on Tuesday 8th December, Mr Davies will become the first Welsh politician to undertake an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) event on Reddit.
Mr Davies has long been an avid and enthusiastic user of social media.
He said:
“President Obama set the mould with his campaign in 2008 and I think British politicians have spent the last six or seven years trying to replicate that effect, which isn’t realistic.
“Technology has changed the way people communicate and there’s no question that it has the potential to improve the way politicians engage with their constituents.
“However, here in the UK we don’t have a presidential system and as a result social media use in politics has been less personality driven, and arguably less revolutionary.
“What it can do though is make a meaningful difference to the way we engage with our constituents and I now receive large amounts of casework from Facebook, which is a huge change from when I first became an Assembly Member.
“Ultimately, we all have a responsibility to address declining voter turnout and technology could provide some of the answers to that disconnect, if well used. Above all, these events will be an exciting opportunity to engage with voters ahead of the most important Assembly election in memory.”
