Cameron: A Man with a Van (with a slogan)

Firstly, I must start off with an apology. I haven't been writing as much as I planned to recently, because I've been away for a few days. Hopefully, I'll be able to write more in the coming weeks and months. Anyway, moving on...

Last week saw large billboard van commissioned by the Home Office warning illegal immigrants to "Go home or face arrest". These vans were trialled in six London boroughs (Ealing, Brent, Hounslow, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham), not notorious for illegal immigrants. So, what is the motivation behind this campaign?

The slogan could be interpreted in a way that isolates legal immigrants who have a right to live and work here, and could lead to an increase in racially aggravated attacks on ethnic minorities. Whilst this hasn't been proven, or any suggestion of it being made in the national press, it is still worth considering. Likewise, the billboards did make it clear they were targeting illegal immigrants, rather than those legally living in the UK. But, the way that the media has grabbed hold of the story, focussing on the "Go home or face arrest" aspect rather than the illegal immigrant part.

Another motivation of this campaign could be a massive publicity stunt. After the Conservatives' huge failure at the local elections in May 2013, losing 335 councillors (that's 23% of the number held before the elections), mostly to UKIP - perceived to be stronger on immigration - David Cameron wanted his Party to be seen to take a strong stance against UKIP, and against immigration. Reading an article in The Guardian, only a couple of people had seen these moving billboards around the six London boroughs. So, maybe the announcement was only for big publicity, to be seen as been tough on immigration.

This is what I don't like about David Cameron. He always seems to jump on the bandwagon whenever it comes to the major policy areas that matters to the people. He does this whenever it comes to Prime Minister's Questions and he is questioned about the flat-lining economy, he instead turns his blame on Labour saying "Labour got us in to this mess" (I'm assuming that he's just practicing his election campaign motto for 2015!). He jumped on the bandwagon with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics last year, Andy Murray's Wimbledon success and the birth of the Royal Baby, Prince George this year, and will continue to do so whilst distracting the public's attention from the poor economic state that neither he, nor George Osborne, has helped in his last three years. But, I'm sure come 2015, David Cameron won't care. He'll still say "Don't vote Labour, we'll go back to the mess of 2010!" rather than actually offering a viable alternative! In fairness, Labour aren't much better, as they haven't even suggested an alternative either, but come 2015, Labour should show their cards and their policies.

So, hopefully, the public will see through these vans and these slogans, as either a "call to arms" against illegal immigrants, or as a publicity stunt to show that they aren't going to roll over against UKIP's sudden rise to popularity. Either way, Cameron's jumping again!!