SNP campaign woes as party is banned from phoning voters
THE SNP’s General Election campaign is in disarray after it was effectively banned from phoning thousands of voters around the country.
The party has admitted it can no longer use a database of contact details it had purchased from a private company.
The decision, which has left many candidates and activists furious, followed a ruling by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The SNP said data laws meant that callers would have had to read out lengthy ‘privacy notices’ at the start of each conversation, making them inefficient. As a result, the calls have now been stopped entirely.
All parties face a desperate rush to harden their support before the UK goes to the polls on December 12. This involves social media campaigns, knockng on doors and phoning voters. On the day of the Election, there will be a major push by each party to make sure the electorate braves the winter chill to get to polling booths.
The SNP slapping a ban on calling thousands of voters has plunged its campaign into jeopardy – but the party insisted it was not causing too much difficulty, as its activists were ‘finding a high level of support on the doorstep’.
That was disputed by senior SNP sources, however, who said it had caused a major problem.
One insider said: ‘People are very unhappy about it.
‘We’re told it’s due to GDPR [General Data Protection Regulations], but other parties are still using theirs.
‘They’ve also said they don’t think it’s cost-effective to do telephone canvassing.’
The source added: ‘This is a December Election. People don’t want to go out canvassing in the dark. That’s a real problem. Lots of people can’t go out because they’re not mobile.
‘They still want to help the campaign but can’t because they can’t access that [phone bank] right now.
‘People are unhappy. It does not make sense and it disadvantages candidates and activists.
‘I hope it does not have much of an impact on the Election result. I don’t think it would have had much of an impact if it was May or April, but with it being a December Election it’s difficult to know.’
Some SNP politicians are defending slender majorities of only a few hundred votes – and some much less than that. For example, Stephen Gethins held the North East Fife seat by just two votes in 2017.
But the volume of phone numbers that cannot now be used amount to ‘thousands for each constituency’, according to the party source.
An SNP spokesman said: ‘The SNP complies with all laws.
‘Holding phone numbers purchased from standard online databases has never been in breach of data laws. The decision taken by the SNP relates to ICO requirements on what privacy notices must legally be given to voters during the calls, which makes them inefficient for the SNP – particularly when our activists are finding a high level of support on the doorstep.
‘It is important that all political parties follow ICO requirements. We are concerned that Lib Dem guidance to members makes no mention of asking voters for their consent to collect data or indeed what they intend to use it for.
‘Labour has already come under fire from data protection experts over its new phone canvassing app, which risks infringing new laws.’
Last night, the Scottish Tories said the problem highlighted just how reliant the SNP has become on data.
Maurice Golden, the Conservatives’ chief whip, said: ‘Perhaps this will spur the SNP to roll their sleeves and get out to speak to people.
‘That’s what the Scottish Conservatives have been doing all this time thanks to a team of dedicated campaigners across the country.
‘The Nationalists should get out of their dressing gowns and start knocking on some doors.’
An ICO spokesman said: ‘As a non-departmental public body, the ICO has to consider its responsibilities during the preelection period.
‘Our regulatory work continues as usual but we will not be commenting publicly on every issue raised during the General Election.
‘We will, however, be closely monitoring how personal data is being used during political campaigning and making sure that all parties and campaigns are aware of their responsibilities under data protection and direct marketing laws.’
‘People are unhappy, it doesn’t make sense’
‘They should start knocking some doors’