Conservatives and Labour turn off access to campaigning systems outside key seats

First we had Michael Crick reporting:

I’ve heard from a couple of Labour activists tonight in different non-target seats that their local parties have had their access to Labour’s centralised canvassing system – called Contact Creator – blocked. That makes it very difficult, these activists say, to canvass voters in their own seats.

Both activists think this is an effort by Labour high command to force activists to move to campaign in Labour target seats which which their own local parties are twinned.

and:

Some has DMed me: Re Contact Creator … It’s been turned off if non battleground ground seats are doing ‘too much’, ie more than 500 contacts a week. If you are doing less, it’s still switched on.

Now Iain Dale adds:

I have heard of three candidates in Tory held seats with majorities of between four and six thousand, who have been ordered to shut down their campaigns and redeploy themselves to help cabinet ministers with majorities in excess of 20,000. And if they refuse, their computer logins to the party systems are cancelled and they’re told they won’t remain on the candidates list after the election.

Although we do things a bit differently in the Lib Dems, it’s a reminder not to lose focus in the crucial last few days.

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