The Mumsnet election
Following our Gordon Brown webchat (and the ensuing Biscuitgate palaver), political commentators began furiously dissecting the role Mumsnet will play in the forthcoming general election.
Rachel Sylvester in The Times wrote: "Just as Worcester Woman was the symbolic swing voter in 1997, and "soccer moms" were Bill Clinton's target during the 1996 US presidential campaign, so next year's poll will be the Mumsnet election." She quoted Deborah Mattinson, Mr Brown's pollster, who said: "Mumsnet is totemic of the modern mothers who will be the key political battleground at the next election."
Webchats with David Cameron and Nick Clegg upped the ante even further, so we kept a little tally of the press coverage about mumsnet, its members and the 2010 general election.
1 September 2010
- Mumsnet's political power expanded from the virtual world to play a very real role in the actual world Irish Times
21 June 2010
- Political rhetoric and hyperbole just don’t cut it on Mumsnet Harold Mitchell - AdNews
20 May 2010
- Digital election campaign swayed 40% of vote Netimperative
6 May 2010
- 10 Media moments of the 2010 campaign: The Mumsnet Election Brand Republic
- The pledges to make Britain more family-friendly came amid widespread predictions that there would be a Mumsnet election The Telegraph
5 May 2010
- UK Election gets raunchy ABC News Australia
4 May 2010
- PM jokes about 'Bigotgate' on Mumsnet The Telegraph
- Battered Gordon Brown finds his voice The Guardian
3 May 2010
- Labour's appeal to working women buttressed by PM's appearance on Mumsnet The Guardian
- Brown's Second 'Bigot-gate' apology Sky News
2 May 2010
- Inside the Mumsnet election The Lady
1 May 2010
- Impressed Mumsnet users give Clegg 17 point lead The Times
- Mumsnet's The Word Management Today
30 April 2010
- Mumsnet has started wondering who is feeling sorry for Gordon The Telegraph
- Mumsnet poll has 43% of users planning to vote Lib Dem sky News
29 April 2010
- Mumsnet election reinforces gender stereotypes The Guardian
- Politicians cosying up to Mumsnet - cynical box-ticking? The Independent
- Mum's the word when it comes to who'll win The Herald
- Mums the word Wales Online
28 April 2010
- Family friendly policies interest nation's mums Liverpool Echo
27 April 2010
- Political pitfalls of chasing the Mumsnet vote The Irish Times
- Asda mum and the women's vote BBC West Midlands
26 April 2010
- Mums anger at Lib Dem porn plan The Sun
- We need a lot more women MPs The Daily Mail
25 April 2010
- Winning women's votes The Westminster Hour - BBC
- Women who intend to make their vote count The Observer
- Will Mumsnet make such a difference on 6 May? The New Statesman
17 April 2010
- Which candidate scored points with mothers? Times/Mumsnet focus group
15 April 2010
- Nick Clegg eats fried bees (as revealed to Mumsnet) The Times
- Election lunch party World at One - BBC
14 April 2010
- Don't believe the e-hype. This isn't an internet election Evening Standard
- British campaigners are going after the mum vote Washington Post
- Cornish election candidates target women's vote BBC Cornwall
13 April 2010
- The Westminster webchats hosted by Mumsnet cut though the spin of the political classes Tribune magazine
- The Mumsnet election: It's a poisonous divide The First Post
12 April 2010
- Mumsnet election or Lambrini Ladies? The Guardian
- Mumsnet panel gives Miriam Gonzalez the thumbs-up Channel 4 News
11 April 2010
10 April 2010
- British election becomes a family affair Associated Press
- Charm offensive to woo women voters Times of India
- Mumsnet panel on party leaders' wives The Times
9 April 2010
8 April 2010
- Courting the UK women's vote online The New York Times
- The Mumsnet voters are in the crosshairs The Economist
7 April 2010
6 April 2010
- The Mumsnet election in the UK ABC Australia - Life Matters
- The role of 'mums sites' in political campaigning PR Week podcast
- Mischiefmakers, misfits and mums The Independent
- If it's the Mumsnet election, why isn't any of them a girl, mum?" Wife in the North
5 April 2010
- Justine talks about Mumsnet's political muscle HARDtalk, BBC World News
- Mothers don't know better than anyone else Libby Purves, Times
- Mumsnet's Westminster chats cut through the political spin The Guardian
4 April 2010
- David Cameron goes back for round two after his Mumsnet gaffe Sunday Telegraph
- M is for Mumsnet: A-Z of the general election The Guardian
3 April 2010
28 March 2010
2 April 2010
28 March 2010
- Undecided women a key election target The Guardian
26 March 2010
- Sam Cam is the Tory's secret weapon in the Mumsnet election The Irish Times
24 March 2010
- Save us from the witless Mumsnet mafia The Telegraph
23 March 2010
- The nappy election The Evening Standard
23 March 2010
- Does politics need baby news? The Guardian
22 March 2010
21 March 2010
- Does Mumsnet know best? The Independent
18 March 2010
- All that sucking up to Mumsnet is a bit pathetic The Guardian
17 March 2010
- Women voters could turn the so-called Mumsnet election The Guardian
- Desperation to win the election has politicians spending more time on mumsnet than with their families The Times
16 March 2010
- Should Mumsnet be deciding the Election? The Daily Telegraph
15 March 2010
- Gordon Brown needs to focus on what women really want The Daily Telegraph
14 March 2010
- The mother of all elections The Independent
13 March 2010
11 March 2010
- Net experts on political power BBC Daily Politics show
11 March 2010
- Tories launch ad campaign on Mumsnet New Media Age
9 March 2010
- Analysis - babies and biscuits BBC Radio 4
9 March 2010
8 March 2010
- Why do women vote differently to men BBC Online
5 March 2010
- Mothers' election takes the biscuit for Gordon Brown Telegraph - Mandrake
3 March 2010
- Tweeting truth to power - the internet election Channel 4 News
- Power of Mumsnet grows as Gordon Brown hails it as a 'great British institution' Telegraph
18 February 2010
- The Mumsnet Election BBC London News
9 February 2010
- Labour is wise to target the Mumsnet vote New Statesman
26 January 2010
22 January 2010
- Should the tax system encourage marriage? Guardian Daily
20 Jan 2010
- Mumsnet challenges government on health visitors Sky News
- We need more health visitors, minister told Independent
12 Jan 2010
- "The age-old clash between liberalism and conservatism has been reinterpreted for the Mumsnet age" Times
27 Dec 2009
- Mothers are the new power elite The Sunday Times
25 Nov 2009
- Election 2010: meet the new kingmakers The First Post
22 Nov 2009
- Justine Roberts: Mistress of the Mumsnet pack Sunday Times
- What women want...and it may not be Dave Independent
- Remember Dave, mum's the word Mirror
21 Nov 2009
- My Week: Justine Roberts Independent
20 Nov 2009
- Politicians can find insights into the female psyche on Mumsnet - if only they dare Times
- Cameron keeps Mumsnet waiting Independent
- Cameron: Tory government would promote Mumsnet Guardian
- The mother of all ambushes Daily Mail
- Are women the key to electoral success BBC Two Daily Politics
19 Nov 2009
- How much power does Mumsnet have? Telegraph
- David Cameron blames Mumsnet webchat delays on laptop BBC News
- Why are politicians targeting mothers? Radio 4 Woman's Hour
18 Nov 2009
- Meet cyberwoman, the battleground for the next election Independent
- Mumsnet: the political battleground? Channel 4 News
- David Cameron gets mauling from mothers Telegraph
- The Truss affair - and lessons for the Tories London Evening Standard
- Queen's Speech gets the Mumsnet treatment Guardian
17 Nov 2009
15 Nov 2009
- Why the Mum'n'Dad vote will decide the next election Sunday Times
