Published: July 23rd 2010 - at 9:15 am

Update: Goat now on Facebook conf. call


by Sunny Hundal    

An unnamed goat has stormed ahead in Facebook fans stakes by comprehensively bleating the government’s Spending Challenge website yesterday.

Prime Minister David Cameron recently launched a collaboration with Facebook, to much fanfare, to encourage FB users to suggest ideas to cut government spending on a special page.

Despite the media blitz, and a special video stunt discussion with Mark Zuckerberg on YouTube, the Spending Challenge page on Facebook has a paltry 81 followers.

In contrast, the goat, who might be named Billy (but the lefties who adopted it couldn’t decide on a name and soon started accusing each other of betrayal), managed to attract over 500 fans in just one day.

You can become a fan here.

The goat was unavailable for comment, but spokesperson Clifford Singer from the Other Taxpayers Alliance said: “Billy [the name's not decided yet dammit! - ed] passionately believes the government should focus on growing the economy not cutting spending.”

Update: Goat on conference call with Mark Zuckerberg!


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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. Tim J

Facebook truly is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s like a self-selecting black list.

2. J

You’ve got to be kidding… (‘arf ‘arf.)

3. Whybird

Wet blanket time: It would be nice if the success of this was reflective of opposition to the Spending Challenge, but I suspect it’s more a statement of apathy. Given a choice of two political parties to vote for, the British public seems overwhelmingly inclined to vote for laughing at somebody important.

4. Left Outside

“(but the lefties who adopted it couldn’t decide on a name and soon started accusing each other of betrayal)”

Pah, typical po faced lefties.

Naming animals is of course symptomatic of man’s (or woman’s !!11!) oppression of nature and his (or her) need to name the goat is simply a mechanism to sate his (or her) guilt by anthropomorphising it. Splitters.

5. Richard Blogger

“normally we would spend billions of pounds and we are getting it free from you”

Huh? Is Cameron a total idiot?

May I remind him that he has insisted that details of all government spending over £25k has to be published online, and all local authority spending over £500, and that every hospital will have to publish online the figures of 150 “quality standards”. Do these websites cost “billions”?

If so, then I have an easy way to cut the deficit – stop creating these silly websites

6. Mr S. Pill

@4

Why a goat, though? It’s a symbol of the oppressive nature of the bourgois atttitudes and rampant individualism that Marx warned of. Surely any dialectical materialist theory of history would lead one to choose a sheep, damnit.

;)


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  2. AdamRamsay

    RT @libcon Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  3. Nicole Healing

    However, this doesn't get my goat. RT @libcon Goat beats government ‘spending’ site in popularity http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  4. gemma tumelty

    RT @libcon: Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  5. Rezina

    RT @libcon: Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi » wonder if CCHQ will pin a blue rosette on the goat?

  6. Liz K

    RT @libcon: Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  7. Christi Daugherty

    RT @libcon: Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  8. Jayne Grindell

    RT @libcon: Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  9. sunny hundal

    Goat vastly more popular than government's Spending Challenge site on facebook head-to-head http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  10. David Cockrell

    RT @sunny_hundal: Goat vastly more popular than government's Spending Challenge site on facebook head-to-head http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  11. David Ritter

    RT @libcon: Goat beats government 'spending' site in popularity http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  12. Other TaxPayers Alli

    RT @sunny_hundal: Goat vastly more popular than government's Spending Challenge site on facebook head-to-head http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  13. Alison Charlton

    RT @sunny_hundal: Goat vastly more popular than government's Spending Challenge site on facebook head-to-head http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  14. Soho Politico

    Favourite story of the week: Can this goat get more followers than HM Treasury Spending Challenge? Yes. Yes, he can. http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  15. Tim Ireland

    RT @sunny_hundal: Goat vastly more popular than government's Spending Challenge site on facebook head-to-head http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  16. kevinrye

    RT @sunny_hundal: Goat vastly more popular than government's Spending Challenge site on facebook head-to-head http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  17. Goat embarrasses Government | Political Scrapbook

    [...] Pun of the month goes to Sunny Hundal: “An unnamed goat has stormed ahead in Facebook fans stakes by comprehensively bleating [...]

  18. Claire Rose

    Haha!! RT @sunny_hundal: Goat vastly more popular than government's Spending Challenge site on facebook head-to-head http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  19. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg holds e-government webchat with left-wing goat | Political Scrapbook

    [...] seen on Scrapbook and elsewhere, Left wing bloggers have ridiculed the coalition’s “Cuts…”, ahem sorry, [...]

  20. sunny hundal

    OMG! Goat is now on a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook! They discuss unemployment: http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  21. Soho Politico

    RT @sunny_hundal: OMG! Goat is now on a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook! They discuss unemployment: http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  22. Chris Paul

    RT @sunny_hundal: OMG! Goat is now on a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook! They discuss unemployment: http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  23. David Meyer

    RT @sunny_hundal: OMG! Goat is now on a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook! They discuss unemployment: http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  24. MyDavidCameron

    RT @sunny_hundal: OMG! Goat is now on a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook! They discuss unemployment: http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  25. Liberal Conspiracy

    Our wildly popular goat goes on conference call with Facebook founder to discuss the economy! http://bit.ly/bsOyoi

  26. Nicholas

    Goat more popular than govt 'spending' site | Liberal Conspiracy http://bit.ly/c1pfYa: Goat more popular than govt… http://bit.ly/bxggvb

  27. DriveTimeHappyHour

    Goat more popular than govt 'spending' site | Liberal Conspiracy http://bit.ly/a4m1K2

  28. YouGov: Goat more popular than Lib Dems | Political Scrapbook

    [...] the goat story that shows no signs of slowing down! Yesterday, Scrapbook reported that after showing up the Treasury’s “Spending [...]

  29. sunny hundal

    Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  30. Rea Eve

    RT @sunny_hundal: Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  31. Samuel Tarry

    RT@sunny_hundal: Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  32. Humphrey Cushion

    RT @sunny_hundal: Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  33. Paul Sandars

    RT @humphreycushion: RT @sunny_hundal: Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  34. Javeriah

    RT @sunny_hundal: Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  35. Jonty Olliff-Cooper

    RT @sunny_hundal: Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  36. Amir Rashid

    Update: Goat now on Facebook conference call with Mark Zuckerberg | Liberal Conspiracy http://goo.gl/j9Qo far less contrived then Cameron

  37. Andy Sutherland

    RT @sunny_hundal: Still can't get over the video of the goat having a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook http://bit.ly/9kHFfH

  38. MCLAREN CARIBBEAN INVESTMENTS | Cyprus flash website design

    [...] Goat more popular than govt 'spending' site | Liberal Conspiracy [...]

  39. NU VISION | Cyprus flash website design

    [...] Goat more popular than govt 'spending' site | Liberal Conspiracy [...]





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