First rule of campaigning: Don’t get the voter’s name wrong

Syed Kamall’s bid to be the Tory candidate in the race to be the next Mayor of London has not got off to a great start. In the face of strong competition from Zac Goldsmith, the London MEP emailed hundreds of Tory activists to win their support. Alas, the chummy campaign missive was addressed to the wrong people.

‘Dear everyone,’ came a swift follow up:

‘Well, you might have noticed that earlier today my team sent out an email from me with the wrong names on. If I called you “John” and your name is “Jane” or vice versa then all I can say is sorry for trying to change your identity without letting you know! So, on behalf of the whole team, sorry.’

‘It was a cock up, they happen,’ the tetchy candidate tells Mr S, or Mrs D according to Kamall’s database.