Notes from the CEO
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Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive but to be a Cameronista was very heaven.
I have to admit to feeling quite excited by our new PM’s beautifully delivered speech as he stood -once again noteless – outside 10 Downing Street. So despite all my darker urges to dislike him because he is a) nauseatingly young and b) a smarmy Etonian git, I feel pleased – and perhaps relieved- to see a clearly bright and eager new man in charge.
From a communications point of view I found the use by both parties of silent and adoring wives curiously old fashioned. But it is an important part of the Conservative family values pitch, and it plays well with Mail and Telegraph readers. Gordon Brown, certainly seemed more attractive as one watched his two small sons skipping beside him out of Downing street, though I don’t think his sons earlier exposure would have made much difference to the election result.
What can marketers take out of all of this political upheaval? Intention to buy research should always be treated with caution and here it overstated the surge in Liberal support. But the polls may have been caught by a collapse in enthusiasm for the Liberals right on the finishing line.
In any event old brand loyalties re-asserted themselves and Labour support turned out -even in Rochdale -to be more resilient than expected.
Going forward, one wonders quite what will happen to the Liberal and Conservative brands now. Will they be equally loved or disliked for their role in this next tricky phase of government?
Tony Blair was brilliant at keeping the New Labour flag flying and it is hard to imagine David Cameron not keeping a close eye on his Conservative brand ratings. So one does wonder if the Liberals will end up being squeezed at the next election as a Milliband-led Labour Party sits waiting in opposition to pounce on government unpopularity.
It looks like quite a brand challenge for the Liberals even if they do succeed in changing the voting system.
Happily, the closeness of the contest dramatically increased the size of the voting market. Sixty five per cent of the electorate – over 29 million people voted- that’s up from a sixty percent turnout in the last two elections.
And I got Zac Goldsmith’s contest wrong. He beat the Liberal in Richmond Park in a 75 per cent turnout- and the wealthy motorists of the area will still be free to pollute Richmond Park at will.
My Labour man in Battersea lost – despite his rather charming claim that he was the 13th lowest expense claimer in the House of Commons- so no doubt I will have to carry on making do with short trains at Clapham Juinction.
But I am not complaining because I voted Lib Dem, because I wanted change and I didn’t trust the Tories. So I am very pleased by the result and optimistic that it will lead to a good period of government for business and society.
And if ever there was evidence that our election system needs modernising, it was surely there in the hundreds of voters being locked out. I was taught at school that the British Constitution was a wonderful thing because it evolved rather than revolted. But every now and then it needs a good kicking to get it evolving. And I do think the Liberals will now help speed up that much needed process.
And as for the real conservatives in Britain, they surely shouldn’t lie quaking in their beds at night at the thought of what this new-fangled coalition might do. The new PM and his new deputy were both trained at ancient schools of British privilege and fair play – Eton and Westminster.
Posted: May 12th, 2010 | Author: hugh.burkitt | Filed under: Leadership Central, Nice to Know, Notes from the CEO, Uncategorized | | Leave a Comment »
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