When Cherie Blair opened the front door of her Islington home to the world's media the morning after Labour's election landslide victory in 1997, she, in her nightgown, presented an image of how much of the UK felt; happily dishevelled. Nearly a decade later, the PR machine which has been much credited with Labour's enduring success, is proving to be the Achilles' heel which has 'New Labour' now spinning out of control.
In 1997 Labour promised a new age of values-driven government, which would be recognised by its transparency, accountability, openness and integrity. Heady slogans like, "Tough on crime - tough on the causes of crime," even had blue-rinse Conservatives murmuring support for 'young Mr Blair'.
Labour had certainly done its homework on what voters want, and while it entered government with little more than a pledge card, it had captured the popular vote. It adopted a new lexicon with more inclusive language; it consulted, involved, supported and celebrated. It also instituted the previously unthinkable; spin doctors at the political policy table.
This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse. The political reality of any government is that it needs to keep its ideological constituents happy, and continue to win the confidence of those communities who hold economic power. The placement of communications managers inside policy think tanks has been crucial to keeping Blair's government in power and famously, 'on message'.
From the outset, Blair's inner circle included the ubiquitous Alastair Campbell as media strategist and Peter Mandelson as policy strategist. Campbell's skill at reading the polls and Mandelson's ability to craft "a form of words to suit the audience", as the late Secretary for Northern Ireland, Mo Molam once remarked with some exasperation, together created an unbreakable hold on the public imagination.
However some years down the track it now appears that the UK public, including core Labour supporters, are less than convinced by what they hear from their political leaders. After almost a decade of listening to political phrases crafted by Blair's inner circle, the public has become adept at filtering these out and has instead, become wise to some of the more vacuous techniques of the Labour party's issues management. Hospital waiting lists are shorter partly because access to them is restricted; statistics on law and order reflect the re-definition of some previously violent crimes into other categories and political policy is apparently set by a diminishing number of political insiders, alienating even Blair's staunchest cabinet and caucus supporters.
Political commentators will recognise that there are lessons in this for New Zealand's Labour-led government also. While New Zealand voters undoubtedly respond to fear and flattery, like the 'unaffordable tax cuts' and the 'student loans bonanza' which snatched the last election, they do so knowingly.
Public relations is about holding key messages up for scrutiny, while 'spin doctoring' is about making the bad news sound good. Ultimately, if there is no good news, then no amount of spin will help. |
