Grant Shapps Leaves 1 Key Element Out Of Video Promoting His Constituency Efforts
Grant Shapps released a campaign video on TikTok this week which is a bit of a head-scratcher.
The defence secretary, who has been an Conservative MP since 2005, is campaigning to keep his seat ahead of the general election on 4 July.
However, in his first promotional video, he failed to mention even one thing he has done for his constituency.
The 20-second clip began with a voice behind the camera asking the minister: “What have you done for Welwyn Hatfield?”
“What have I done for Welwyn Hatfield?” Shapps replied (presumably rhetorically) while staring into the camera.
As upbeat music plays in the background, the clip then cuts to various shots of the Tory MP in different places, talking to different people – although at one point he is just gesturing at a wall.
The video was captioned: “A record of real results for Welwyn Hatfield.”
Watch the video here on TikTok.
Did he... forget to tell us? pic.twitter.com/ZZFcAm0lyn
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) May 31, 2024
However, the comments on the social media platform were less than impressed.
The top remark jokingly reads: “Come on guys how can you argue with that record?!?”
Others said his achievements were clearly “nothing he can put in words 🤦♂️”, while one person asked: “And the answer was???”
Shapps secured a 10,955 majority in the 2019 general election, with 52.6% of the vote.
However, the Electoral Calculus predicted that the seat could swing to Labour at the next election.
According to The Independent, Tory election strategists have warned their MPs that those with a majority under 15,000 could be at risk of being kicked out of parliament.
Shapps is not alone in holding an at-risk seat among Rishi Sunak’s cabinet members.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt holds a majority of slightly under 9,000 votes in his constituency of South West Surrey, although he is now campaigning to represent a new seat due to a boundary review.
The Tory chief whip Simon Hart and veterans minister Johnny Mercer also hold seats where their majority is under 15,000.
There are 78 Tory MPs stepping down at this general election, a record number not seen since World War II.
For comparison, 72 MPs stepped down ahead of Labour’s landslide victory in the 1997 election.
