'Highly Embarrassing': Conservatives' Bid To Stay Relevant On Social Media Falls So Very Flat

The Conservatives have been ripped apart online for trying to combine their latest attack on Labour with a current affairs twist.

The party’s official X account attempted to tap into yesterday’s news that Oasis were reuniting after 15 years and going on tour once again, and make it political...

Their post read: “Last time Oasis were together, Labour raided pensioners and left them worse off. Is history about to repeat itself? Definitely maybe.”

It’s a reference to how New Labour used their first Budget in 1997 to raid pension tax relief, and “Definitely Maybe” is the name of Oasis’s debut album in 1994.

It comes at a time when the new government has warned the October Budget will be “painful”, hinting that more tax hikes are on the horizon.

The post overlooks how the Tories introduced the highest tax burden for 70 years in 2022/23.

The Conservatives also oversaw the cost of living crisis when inflation soared to 11.1%, and – according to Labour – left a £22bn black hole in the UK’s public finances.

So social media users were less than impressed by the Tories’ attempt to stay relevant.

The post was quickly described as “so cringe” and “one of the worst attempts to use a current affairs hook” by X critics.

This is not the first time the Conservatives have been criticised on social media recently.

The party’s outgoing leader Rishi Sunak was slammed for disappearing for more than three weeks throughout August, despite being leader of the opposition.

He posted on August 4 about the far-right riots which broke out across the country, saying: “This is violent, criminal behaviour that has no place in our society.”

Although the riots continued to rumble on for almost another week, Sunak’s next post did not appear until Tuesday, August 27.

Taking aim at his successor after the new PM’s Downing Street address, he said: “Keir Starmer’s speech today was the clearest indication of what Labour has been planning to do all along – raise your taxes.”

Plenty of people replied, questioning his long absence and asking, “Are you planning on being an opposition or just making the odd tweet?” 

The Conservatives are choosing between six people to replace him as Tory chief: Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, Priti Patel, James Cleverly, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat.