Oops…Labour party officials struggle to get on first-name terms with supporters, while former deputy leader Harriet Harman fails to name top EU officials
Labour MP Sadiq Khan may have won London voters over this month with his relateable back-story, but the rest of the party is struggling to get on first-name terms with its members.
Labour members were riled on Sunday after the party sent out an email asking voters to support its campaign to keep Britain in the EU.
Read more: This tool tells you how polite your emails are
Officials wanted to take a personal approach, asking supporters to share their reasons for voting In.
Sadly, the human touch was lost after a technical glitch. Instead of tailoring each email to the recipient, everybody on the mailing list was sent a message which began "Dear Firstname".
Just got an email from the Labour Party that began "Dear Firstname…" Hey Labour, it's "Mr. Lastname" to you. pic.twitter.com/VHTh9uLRC9
— John O'Farrell (@mrjohnofarrell) May 22, 2016
To make matters worse, a second email was sent out moments later hoping to correct the mistake, but this also began with "Dear Firstname".
Read more: Sick of email? Google's AI can write them for you
While some supporters have taken to Twitter to complain that they do not feel a "valued member" of the party, others felt the mistake hit close to home.
Disappointed not to receive a Dear Firstname email from the Labour Party. They must have given up on me.#FailMerge
— Ian Dron 🌸 (@iangdron) May 22, 2016
Huh! I've been in @UKLabour since 1960s but they send me an email saying 'Dear Firstname'. Do get a grip please!
— Bob Hudson (@Bob__Hudson) May 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/dailydoseofjess/status/734375052658020358
Labour officials have had a difficult time with names this weekend. Appearing on the Sunday Politics show, former deputy leader Harriet Harman came unstuck in a discussion on the lack of high profile women in the EU.
Shown the faces of the EU's seven top officials, Harman responded: "Who are they?"
Initially sceptical, Harman accused presenter Andrew Neil of picking the politicians at random.
"No, no, they’re the top seven jobs." Neil replied. "They’re presidents of the Commission, the Council, the parliament, the European Court."