I really wonder sometimes, when the leftosphere demands we be more like Europe, if this is what they mean
An independent UK agency on Wednesday rejected an attempt to silence a poster campaign designed to stop Manchester’s plan to impose a London-style congestion tax on motorists. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a body charged with enforcing regulations against false advertising, upheld two of the three posters designed by the Association of British Drivers (ABD) and Manchester Against Road Tolls (MART).
“Overall the ABD and MART are pleased with this ASA ruling,” an ABD representative said in a statement. “The only complaint which had substance and relevance to our campaign against road pricing in Manchester was soundly rejected.”
The first complaint was lodged against a poster with the slogan: “Just pay up and keep quiet. We know best.” A tolling advocate claimed that this ad was misleading because there had been “extensive public consultation” about the tolling effort. The anti-tolling coalition pointed out that only 5000 of the 2.5 million motorists who would be affected took part in a survey. ASA concluded the polemical ad was not misleading.
A second complaint lodged against the slogan: “Tagged, Tracked and Taxed” suggested that those who saw the poster would assume they would be continuously monitored in Manchester. The ASA rejected this complaint.
Follow the link to see the ads.
Now, as you may remember, here in Washington, our state supreme court decided that making false claims in political advertising was just hunky-dory. While I don’t support that ruling, I do not like having to ask one government agency to OK your ads protesting the actions of another government agency even less.
And call me a conspiracy theorist, but I suspect that these “members of the public” weren’t average Joe’s.