Political bloggers launch ad initiative

Britain's leading political bloggers have put party allegiances aside and teamed up to sell advertising space on their sites.

The country's top political blogs Guido Fawkes, ConservativeHome.com and Iain Dale have partnered with four other political websites to launch online advertising sales service MessageSpace.

The company aims to get advertisers wanting to appeal directly to the political classes and opinion formers in Whitehall and Westminster.

Alex Hilton, the editor of Labourhome.org and Recess Monkey, who runs ad sales company EOS Online Media, is behind the venture.

He told the Guardian: "Between us there is definitely a market. Political blogs are very popular and influential."

He added: "We will look at the public affairs and campaigning industry - on topics such as child poverty, tax liberation and climate change. It is a way for them to get to politicians, a way to add value to political campaigns and support the lobbying process."

Opinion sites from across the political divide have become partners in the service with Labourhome, Political Betting, Recess Monkey and LibDem Blogs joining the big three to offer exposure to more than a million readers every month.

Last week  - according to Hitwise - Guido Fawkes, ConservativeHome.com and Iain Dale accounted for more than a third of UK visits to individual blog sites.

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