While many politicians have been taking advantage of the great weather over the past couple of weeks, the laborious Labour lot have been leaving their carbon footprint all over the country, belching around in their Axe the Tax bus.

The bus fired up at the beginning of the recess hoping for red letter publicity, only trouble was they took to the road on the same day as we were all told to look out for the Chilean created tsunami.

The Labour campaign against a rise in GST has been about as frightening as the tsunami which could not even persuade a surfer to look sideways.

But if you listen to the manipulators of the masses their bus has been a runaway success. They have even taken to twitter, persuading the tweets to have a squiz at the snaps which they say goes to prove how popular their tour has been against the tax their party introduced in the first place. But unfortunately the pictures were not worth a thousand words!

Fantastic turnout in Nelson is the caption beneath a photo showing gunslinger Dave Cunliffe crouching beside colleague Maryan Street, flanked by five elderly people.

Westport working men's club turned on a good crowd, the caption tells us, defying what we see in the photo. Twenty three elderly people, mainly women, listening attentively to the gunslinger. They were a good crowd though, given that they appeared to be paying attention to what was being said.

The next colourful snap in Mangere, well mainly red placards, appears with the caption saying that no one wants a GST increase here. Well the ten people in the photo, mainly MPs and Labour activists, certainly do not.

And the final snap is a pearler with the caption telling us that there is lots of support as the Axe the Tax Bus leaves from Avondale. Five people holding two Axe the Tax placards, hiding their faces, but looking suspiciously like the MPs in the earlier picture. There is one bloke at the end of the line willing to reveal himself though.

He is blowing up a red balloon, no doubt full of hot air!

Barry Soper

Political Editor

Newstalk ZB