Election '05: Lib Dems turn to iPods to reach voters

The Liberal Democrats have started to use podcasting - making pre-recorded material available over the internet for download to an iPod - as a way of spreading their electoral message.

The Lib Dems this week published their first podcast on the party's campaign blog. Party leader Charles Kennedy can be heard condemning Tony Blair's stance on Iraq.

Rob Fenwick, internet campaigns manger for the Lib Dems, told silicon.com that their launch into the realm of party political podcasting was a success.

"How much it will affect the way people vote, we don't know, but it's certainly having an impact on the internet," he said. Although the party has no download figures yet, he added that feedback has been positive.

Fenwick said the idea was first discussed following a meeting with a member of staff behind former US presidential candidate John Kerry's blog. "It was something we were talking about before the election when we were having a high-level think about what we wanted to do," he explained.

The podcast isn't going to be the party's last foray into the iPod world either, with the Lib Dems' next party political broadcast to debut in podcast form before it hits the airwaves.

"We've got one or two tricks up our sleeves," Fenwick added.