'Rent-a-crowds' ensure nothing is left to chance on campaign trail

When Tony Blair and Gordon Brown launched an election campaign poster this week in front of an enthusiastic crowd, some members of their audience may have felt they had heard it all before. The politicians' words may have been familiar, and so were some of the faces of the background crowd.

When Tony Blair and Gordon Brown launched an election campaign poster this week in front of an enthusiastic crowd, some members of their audience may have felt they had heard it all before. The politicians' words may have been familiar, and so were some of the faces of the background crowd.

The Virgo family - Rachel and Benjamin, and their young children, Gilbert, five, Theo, three, and Albany one - were stationed behind the Chancellor at Thursday's poster launch.

But Mrs Virgo and Albany were also in the background crowd at the unveiling a month ago of another campaign poster by Messrs Blair and Brown, prompting accusations that Mr Blair was using a rent-a-crowd to falsely give the impression he was meeting ordinary people.

Mr Virgo said they were invited to be Labour Party "endorsers" after Oona King MP helped them get a bigger council flat in her constituency in Bethnal Green and Bow, in London's East End. They were taken by taxi at 8am to Old Billingsgate fish market for the media event, and blended into the carefully-staged managed crowd who clapped and cheered when the Prime Minister showed up with Gordon Brown.

"They gave us a nice breakfast," Mr Virgo said. "It was fun for the children who came along to see what was going on. We are not Labour supporters. I have voted for all three parties in three elections in which I have voted. I was happy to take the kids to meet the Prime Minister and I intend to vote Labour because Blair will make a better leader than Michael Howard."

He said his wife was also likely to vote Labour. "We were living in a one-bedroom flat and our council were not very efficient. I wrote to Oona King and she wrote to the council. She got the wheels moving."

Mr Virgo, a student at University College studying classics, and his wife, a teacher, were next asked to appear on an election DVD supporting Ms King, who is facing a tough challenge in a largely Muslim seat from George Galloway, the Respect anti-war candidate. Labour is using similar DVDs with local people endorsing their candidates to target homes in all marginal seats. After the Oona King video with the Virgo family was sent to voters in Bethnal Green and Bow, they were called again by Labour and asked whether they would appear at the launch of a poster the day after the Budget.

Mr Virgo had to take his eldest son to school, but Rachel and their daughter Albany attended. Mrs Virgo, whose distinctive headscarf gave her away as a regular "endorser", said she had been to two poster unveilings. She said: "It's fun. I like aspects of what the Labour Party are doing at the moment."

Mr Virgo got dispensation from school for his eldest son to attend last Wednesday's poster unveiling. He fears the publicity it has caused may mean it is the last time they will be called. "The Daily Mail said we were part of a Soviet-like group," he said. "I took exception to that."

The "endorsers" are part of a strategy by Alastair Campbell, brought back to lead the backroom team to ensure the Prime Minister is seen meeting people without being ambushed by protesters. It has produced probably the most carefully stage-managed election campaign Britain has witnessed. The aim of Labour strategists is to make Mr Blair's appearances look public events but in fact, they are in front of people hand-picked for racial balance, age and sex to provide the perfect backdrop for the campaign.

The "rent-a-crowd" are part of the careful choreography being used by Labour to package Mr Blair. He was furious at being tackled by Nick Robinson, the ITN political editor, at the first poster event, and at this week's event Labour supporters crowded in front of the Virgos and other "endorsers" to stop the few journalists invited from causing any more trouble.

The Tory leader is holding daily press conferences in London, unlike Mr Blair, but he side-steps most questions on general issues. He is using a helicopter to hop about as the London press pack try to catch up. The Tories are doing their best to shield him from unwelcome media questions.

Most journalists were barred from accompanying him on Thursday as he toured St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London. He posed for pictures with matrons, ignoring questions from reporters. They were forbidden from speaking to journalists and only laughed with embarrassment when they were asked to raise their hands if they planned to vote Tory. All kept their hands down.

Later, a similar operation was mounted as the Tory leader visited Winchester. Journalists were not allowed to ask questions and the only interview he had was with a regional television station. But he was happy to be photographed with pensioners Ted and Molly Ingham.

Mr Blair and Mr Howard are targeting campaigns at the local media. Labour and Conservative election teams are using hi-tech canvassing, including cold-calling machines, which have led to complaints.

Labour's Mosaic computer software can divide voters into 11 broad social groups and 61 categories, aiming to win over the crucial 800,000 voters in the marginal seats who could swing the result. The Tories use Voter Vault, which matches commercial information with possible voting intentions.

The Liberal Democrats have been using computers to work out voter intentions for years. Their leader Charles Kennedy appears less packaged but giving access is not always the answer. They were charging the media £8,500 to follow Mr Kennedy on his election tour of Britain. There were so few takers they cut the price by £1,000.