Ahead of the next televised leaders debate on the 16th April, with the political campaigning and inevitable spin hotting up, Betfair has created ‘Unspin it’, an app designed to unpick the political language of misdirection and misinformation.
The general election will affect everyone, but many people are disenfranchised with the main parties as they struggle to differentiate between them and relate to them. The jargon and spin that politicians put on the most important issues being widely regarded as a key issue.
Betfair’s ‘Unspin it’ app light-heartedly solves the problem by using a three stage process allowing consumers to choose the topics they want to hear about from specific politicians. A fruit machine style device appears with 3 options; the first box allows you to pick the topic you want to hear about, the second box contains the real answer from the chosen party leaders and the third box provides the withering translation.
Conservatives: David Cameron on Welfare: “In two years, Iain Duncan Smith has driven forward welfare reform on a scale and with a determination not seen since World War Two.
Unspinit: Iain Duncan Smith has reduced caring and compassion to its lowest level since World War Two.
Lib Dems: Nick Clegg on Recovery plans: “We believe that by building a strong, modern, open economy we can become the powerhouse of Europe.”
Unspinit: I don’t really have a plan, just some words.
Green Party: Natalie Bennett on Europe: “We believe in democracy. We want an EU that works for communities… not centralised in Brussels… making decisions at the right levels.”
Unspinit: Greens are good for you. Even Brussels. So eat up!
UKIP: Nigel Farage on Immigration: “Immigration is causing change in our communities that has left many people in our towns and cities frankly finding it difficult to recognise the place being the same as it was 10 to 15 years ago.”
Unspin it: I want to live in the 1950s.
Labour: Ed Miliband on Tax: “We will govern without fear and without favour. A Labour government led by me will ensure that the same rules apply to everyone regarding tax, no matter how rich or how powerful they are.”
Unspinit: Rich or poor, we’ll tax everyone more.
Naomi Totten, Spokesperson for Betfair, commented “Rhetoric and spin are a well-known curse of the political sphere. We want people to engage in making the important decision come the 7th May. ‘UNSPIN IT’ cuts through the jumble of words that come from each of the parties, adding a pinch of humour to proceedings with the aim of getting more people interested in politics at this crucial time.”
To use the app: www.unspinit.com
To see Betfair’s political odds: https://www.betfair.com/sport/politics
About Betfair:
Betfair is one of the world’s largest international online sports betting providers and pioneered the betting exchange in 2000. Driven by cutting-edge technology, Betfair’s exchange enables customers to bet at odds sought by themselves or offered by other customers and Betfair now also operates a complementary fixed odds Sportsbook. In addition to sports betting, Betfair offers a portfolio of innovative products including casino, exchange games and poker. Betfair currently employs over 1000 people worldwide and holds betting licences in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Gibraltar, the US, Italy, Denmark, Spain and Malta.
