Alas union thugs didn’t like the message and set about attacking the poster and ripping it to shreds.

A Channel 4 News camera caught the aftermath:

The Conservatives have today launched a new online campaign using Facebook Connect.

The campaign, called Cash Gordon, is designed to raise awareness of the control Charlie Whelan’s Unite has on Gordon Brown’s Labour Party beyond the Westminster village.

The most innovative aspect of the initiative is its integration of “competitive campaigning.” Users will accrue “action points” for reading briefings on the issue, getting their friends involved, and for directly tweeting Charlie Whelan.

Commenting on the launch, Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles said:

“By making it easy for people to spread the word out to their non-political friends, this groundbreaking campaign is designed to bring a new wave of pressure on to Gordon Brown’s complete reliance on cash from Charlie Whelan and Unite.

“Facebook often gets forgotten about in Westminster. But with twelve million of us using it every day to connect to our friends and interests, we still see it as a key online battleground for peer-to-peer campaigning.

Once again the Conservatives push online show just how behind Labour is when it comes to leveraging online communities as part of wider campaigns.

Pickles added: “I’m proud that the Conservatives have consistently been leading the way in its use of the internet. In the last few weeks independent research has shown us way ahead in our use of email, and we’ve become the first party to launch apps on both the iPhone and the Blackberry.”

Hat Tip: Henry Macrory

In a speech later on today David Cameron will invoke the spirit of Margaret Thatcher’s government to continue his attack on striking unions, and increase the pressure on Gordon Brown.

Following the collapse of last ditch talks between Unite and BA, along with the announcement that the RMT will hold the first national railway strike in 16 years, the Conservative leader will accuse Brown of being “feeble” and too willing to give into vested interests.

Speaking in London he will say:

“Margaret Thatcher’s government was defined by taking the side of the people against the powerful, the vested interest – those whose survival depended on keeping things as they were. Take her union reforms.

“This threatens the future of one of Britain’s greatest companies along with thousands of jobs. But will the Prime Minister come out in support of those people who would cross the picket line? No – because the Unite union is bankrolling the Labour party.”

Cameron has already signaled his willingness to take on increasingly militant trade unions, scrapping the automatic union funding of the Labour party.

Those responsible for reviewing party policy in relation to trade unions are looking at making it harder for unions to call strikes.

Many inside the Conservative Research Department are watching closely Boris Johnson’s City Hall and his idea of introducing a minimum threshold for strikes. Under such a scheme unions would have to secure a majority of those eligible to vote, instead of a majority of those who do vote.

Commenting on the news that talks aimed at averting a strike at BA have collapsed, Shadow Transport Secretary, Theresa Villiers said:

“Labour’s union paymasters at Unite are determined to inflict travel misery on thousands of families. It is disgraceful that they are going ahead with this unnecessary strike.

“Gordon Brown should do all he can to urge Unite – who are funding his general election campaign – to call off the strike. Or he should stop taking their money.

“Britain now faces Labour’s Spring of discontent with militant unions threatening to bring our railways to a standstill as well. Strike action could leave the country facing a serious transport meltdown.”

This may not sound like much, but the BBC tries very hard to keep secret what goes on during the recording of Question Time. But with twittering press officers such as Paul Stephenson, the parties health press officer, sitting in the wings this will become increasingly difficult.

A new opinion poll for The Sun newspaper has found that an overwhelming majority of people think that the BA strike is ‘unjustified’ and should be called off.

According to online pollsters YouGov, who conducted the survey, 59% of people do not support the actions of the Unite union who are behind the strike action.

Unsurprisingly support for the strike is higher amongst Labour voters, with 28% of these stating the decision to strike is justified. This compares to only 15% of Conservative voters.

A new row involving the governments advertising arm, the Central Office of Information, is brewing after it emerged pre-election spending hit a record high.

Unpublished figures reveal that central Government advertising in January 2010 was the highest ever January on record, burning through a massive £30 million of taxpayers’ cash in that month alone.

Ministers have refused to publish details of the advertising and marketing campaigns that are being run at taxpayers’ expense in the run up to the General Election – pledging only to release the data in annual accounts in August 2010.

Defending it decision not to disclose the cost of current campaigns the head of COI, Mark Lund, said it would incur “disproportionate cost” to release the details.

“This information is not held centrally within COI and could only be made available at disproportionate cost. Campaigns for the current year may not, at present, have the final title and release of such information may be misleading. Budgets for campaigns are not held by COI but by the commissioning department. Accurate information for the current financial year will only be published once the annual accounts have been fully audited.”

However according to figures obtained by the Conservatives through Nielsen, one of the world’s leading media research organisations, Government advertising hit £30 million in January 2010, the highest January on record.

Similarly, October, November and December 2009 saw the biggest ever spend for their respective months on record. This is despite Gordon Brown pledging ‘the end of spin’.

In the year from February 2009 to January 2010, government advertising was £223 million. In both the last two general elections, advertising has shot up in the run up to the campaign election.

Parliamentary Questions have revealed that there is no guidance on state advertising in the run up to elections, only directly in the general election period itself.

In December’s Pre-Budget Report the Government pledged to cut spending on communications by 25 per cent. However, Parliamentary Questions have now revealed that this is actually a target to be delivered by 2012-13 compared to a 2009-10 baseline.

By ramming up advertising spending before the election, it makes it easier for the Government to meet the target after the election. Indeed, in his first two years, Gordon Brown has increased advertising spending by 50 per cent compared to Tony Blair’s last year.

Advertising in 2009 included £12 million on the controversial “Act on CO2″ campaign, referred to the Advertising Standards Authority for exaggerated claims and for upsetting images of drowning puppies and dying rabbits; £2.4 million on the “policing pledge” at a time when many police forces are having to cut police officers; and tens of millions were spent on “generic” campaigns like the ‘Building Britain’s Future’ brand, which the Labour Party has adopted as its own campaign. The cheapest campaign was just £38 on the Single Parents’ Helpline.

Responding to the news Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, said:

“The trade union barons can’t stuff enough money into Labour’s pockets, so Labour Ministers are ripping off taxpayers’ instead. This has all the hallmarks of a banana republic, trying to buy the election by abusing public funds. The fact that you can’t escape Government advertising when you switch on the radio tells you how Gordon Brown’s pledge to end the culture of spin is an utter sham. Conservatives will cut back this state spin bill, proving how we can save money whilst protecting frontline services like the NHS.”