British Tories are adopting Trump's tactics

A confidential briefing sent to Conservative members of Wokingham Borough Council sets out plans to disrupt the authority's meetings.

As reported by Wokingham Today, which has obtained a copy of the briefing, it 

lays out a number of tactics including interfering [with] speeches, accusations of bias and taking credit for the policies of other parties.

When contacted by the paper, the Tories doubled down on their accusation that the Liberal Democrat mayor of the borough is biased.

It's tempting to see this as a sign that Boris Johnson's personal moral shortcomings are infecting his party. 

But this is not the only such internal Tory document to come to light. And the one that emerged from Wellingborough Conservatives 18 months ago was inspired by Donald Trump, not his British wannabe.

Here is Rachel Wearmouth's report on it for the Huffington Post:

In a document circulated to activists, Wellingborough Conservatives urge campaigners to "say the first thing that comes into your head" as "you can live that down later". ...

In a section calling for grassroots campaigners of Boris Johnson’s party to "learn" from Trump, the document says the president successfully managed to "weaponise fake news".

"Trump has learnt that a 'lie can go round the whole world before the truth can get its boots on'," it says.

“If you make enough dubious claims, fast enough, honest speakers are overwhelmed. If someone tweets ten dubious claims per day and it takes you a week to disprove each one, then you are doomed.

“Trump uses this tactic to dominate the news and to crowd out legitimate politicians.”

No doubt more documents like this will emerge..

Thanks to Antony Hook for tweeting the report from Wokingham Today.