The Conservative party is to launch a series of online videos, dubbed the "war room briefings", to steal a march over Labour in the internet campaigning battle ahead of the next general election, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.
Eric Pickles, the Tory chairman, is to front the online videos, which will "give an unprecedented level of access to the inside strategy of a British political party" and are intended to galvanise grassroots support, according to the party.
The first of the online films, which will be shot inside Conservative campaign headquarters at Millbank in London, will cover the local and European elections that take place on 4 June.
Pickles will look at the Conservatives' performance in the last set of elections and the party's prospects for this year. He will also examine the results of recent polls and urge viewers to visit the Conservatives' website to join a new initiative, Campaign Together, which includes an interactive online map showing supporters where they can get involved and help with campaigning.
"It is vitally important to give our supporters the inside track on our campaign strategy," said Pickles. "These are the people who knock on the doors, hand out the leaflets and give up their time to help us get elected and the war room briefings will show how their efforts fit into our overall plan to bring change to Britain."
The initiative is the latest move in the Conservatives' online strategy, which aims to take a leaf out of Barack Obama's success in winning support via the internet in his presidential campaign last year.
Pickles's war room briefings series will be available at Conservatives.tv and follow initiatives such as Webcameron, the personal video diary of the party leader, David Cameron.
"The Conservatives have led the way when it comes to online campaigning, and this new initiative will ensure we remain ahead of our competitors," said Pickles.
Last week, the Conservative party launched an audacious online ambush of Alistair Darling's budget, buying up Google keywords and directing internet users to its "live rebuttal" of the chancellor's speech.
In September the party unveiled a major grassroots web push ahead of the next election, launching its first official blog, the Blue Blog, and giving Conservatives.com its biggest overhaul in seven years.
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