BIRKENHEAD MP Frank Field has broken new ground for Merseyside MPs by becoming the first among them to “Twitter” to his constituents.
The site has become the web craze of the year and is a quick-fire blogging website that allows anyone “following” the Twitters to receive a stream of messages, either on their computer or their mobile phone.
Most people use it for amusing personal diaries, but a few techno-savvy MPs have eagerly grasped its potential for keeping in closer touch with constituents.
Mr Field already boasts one of the best websites at Westminster, using it to post fierce and frequent criticisms of what he believes to be Gordon Brown’s many failings.
Now, after just a few days of Twittering, he boasts 78 followers who are alerted to his latest musings and to notable constituency events in Birkenhead, by logging into their account at www. twitter.com
Mr Field said: “I may not be the first Labour MP to Twitter, but I think I am definitely the oldest!
“I already spend about two hours every day reading and responding to emails and letters from my constituents, but I think this is another useful way to get in contact with people and for them to get in contact with me.”
However, Mr Field’s 78 followers leaves him trailing far behind Westminster’s top tweeters, who include Labour’s Tom Watson (1,543) and Andy Reed (600), plus Liberal Democrat Lynne Featherstone (566).
Unusually for the maverick Mr Field, his embrace of Twitter sees him marching in step with Labour headquarters, which has urged its MPs to use the technology.
The party fears the Conservatives have been quicker to join the boom in social networking on the web and is desperate to catch up, as the countdown to the next election begins.
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