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| Secrets of the conference soundbite | Secrets of the conference soundbite |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| By Brian Wheeler Political reporter, BBC News, Conservative Party conference | By Brian Wheeler Political reporter, BBC News, Conservative Party conference |
| This is it! | This is it! |
| Will these be the three words David Cameron chooses to close his party's final conference before a general election? | Will these be the three words David Cameron chooses to close his party's final conference before a general election? |
| David Cameron's team puts the finishing touches to his speech | David Cameron's team puts the finishing touches to his speech |
| It seems doubtful. | It seems doubtful. |
| The Tory leader's use of the phrase in a private speech to party grandees last month sparked a flurry of speculation that he was road-testing an election slogan, his own version of Barack Obama's "Yes we can". | |
| But the ghost of Labour's 1992 Sheffield rally, when Neil Kinnock celebrated a victory his party had not yet won, stalks every move the Tory Party makes at the moment, and he may opt for a more muted message. | But the ghost of Labour's 1992 Sheffield rally, when Neil Kinnock celebrated a victory his party had not yet won, stalks every move the Tory Party makes at the moment, and he may opt for a more muted message. |
| The Tories still talk earnestly of "sealing the deal" with the electorate. They do not want to act as if the election is in the bag. | The Tories still talk earnestly of "sealing the deal" with the electorate. They do not want to act as if the election is in the bag. |
| Which is not to say that, like Labour and the Lib Dems before them, the Conservatives are not in need of a decent conference soundbite. | Which is not to say that, like Labour and the Lib Dems before them, the Conservatives are not in need of a decent conference soundbite. |
| Something that sums up in a few syllables the very essence of their message. The single thought they want to plant in the head of the party faithful and, more importantly, the floating voter casually flicking through the TV channels. | Something that sums up in a few syllables the very essence of their message. The single thought they want to plant in the head of the party faithful and, more importantly, the floating voter casually flicking through the TV channels. |
| Young pretender | Young pretender |
| It does not have to be the big pay-off line to a speech. It could be something buried in the text - or repeated at regular intervals throughout it. | It does not have to be the big pay-off line to a speech. It could be something buried in the text - or repeated at regular intervals throughout it. |
| Shadow chancellor George Osborne had obviously decided "we are all in this together" was the soundbite he wanted people to take away from his big speech on Tuesday. | Shadow chancellor George Osborne had obviously decided "we are all in this together" was the soundbite he wanted people to take away from his big speech on Tuesday. |
| We know this because he said it seven times during the course of his address as he sought to sugar the pill of his stark message on spending cuts. | We know this because he said it seven times during the course of his address as he sought to sugar the pill of his stark message on spending cuts. |
| It got patchy take-up on the front pages, with some newspapers coming up with their own neatly-turned take on his message. | It got patchy take-up on the front pages, with some newspapers coming up with their own neatly-turned take on his message. |
| Sometimes the headline writers will ignore the carefully laid-out soundbites altogether and zero in on a single phrase - such as Gordon Brown's "no time for a novice" line from last year - that sums up the leader's message but also says something about his wider predicament. | Sometimes the headline writers will ignore the carefully laid-out soundbites altogether and zero in on a single phrase - such as Gordon Brown's "no time for a novice" line from last year - that sums up the leader's message but also says something about his wider predicament. |
| Mr Brown's line was interpreted as a swipe at young pretender David Miliband as much as David Cameron. | Mr Brown's line was interpreted as a swipe at young pretender David Miliband as much as David Cameron. |
| At other times - as with Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's "I want to be prime minister" speech this year - they will be nudged towards a phrase by party aides, who claimed it was the most ambitious statement ever made by a leader of their party. | At other times - as with Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's "I want to be prime minister" speech this year - they will be nudged towards a phrase by party aides, who claimed it was the most ambitious statement ever made by a leader of their party. |
| Change | Change |
| Mr Clegg did say it four times during the speech, just in case we had missed it. | |
| Like all opposition politicians, he also mentioned "change" a lot. | Like all opposition politicians, he also mentioned "change" a lot. |
| David Cameron is certain to make heavy use of it on Thursday. | David Cameron is certain to make heavy use of it on Thursday. |
| Nick Clegg wants to be prime minister | |
| For the past year or so, the Conservatives have been trading under the slogan Plan for Change. This week they have moved to Ready for Change. The signs are everywhere in the Manchester conference centre. | |
| Presumably the next stage of the campaign will be Time for Change. | Presumably the next stage of the campaign will be Time for Change. |
| Although, given the party's new belt-tightening message, "spare any change?" might be more appropriate. | Although, given the party's new belt-tightening message, "spare any change?" might be more appropriate. |
| But whatever Mr Cameron decides to go with on Thursday one thing is certain - it will be short. | But whatever Mr Cameron decides to go with on Thursday one thing is certain - it will be short. |
| Going viral | Going viral |
| Even before Obama arrived on the scene with "Yes We Can", political slogans have been growing increasingly terse. | Even before Obama arrived on the scene with "Yes We Can", political slogans have been growing increasingly terse. |
| Labour fought the 2005 election with "Forward, Not Back", which makes their 1997 slogan "New Labour: Because Britain deserves better" sound like an essay. | Labour fought the 2005 election with "Forward, Not Back", which makes their 1997 slogan "New Labour: Because Britain deserves better" sound like an essay. |
| Nowadays that would probably be truncated into something a little punchier and more personal. "You're worth it" perhaps. | Nowadays that would probably be truncated into something a little punchier and more personal. "You're worth it" perhaps. |
| The advent of Twitter, with its 140-character limit, can only increase this trend. If you want to go viral it helps to be brief. | |
| Tony Blair's 1996 conference slogan "Labour's coming home" - a shameless attempt to capitalise on football's Euro 96 tournament - would have worked well on the net. | Tony Blair's 1996 conference slogan "Labour's coming home" - a shameless attempt to capitalise on football's Euro 96 tournament - would have worked well on the net. |
| You also suspect former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith's contribution to the genre: "Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man" would have been a hit on YouTube, if not for the reasons its authors intended. | You also suspect former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith's contribution to the genre: "Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man" would have been a hit on YouTube, if not for the reasons its authors intended. |
| But although the internet has certainly loosened the grip of the spin masters and professional media classes on the politicians' message, this does not have to work to their disadvantage. | But although the internet has certainly loosened the grip of the spin masters and professional media classes on the politicians' message, this does not have to work to their disadvantage. |
| Obama's "Yes we can" phrase only became the defining phrase of his campaign after it was picked up and passed around by his thousands of online supporters. | |
| David Cameron and his rivals in the UK should be so lucky. | David Cameron and his rivals in the UK should be so lucky. |
| What is the secret of a well-crafted soundbite? Send in your comments - and suggestions for any that politicians could use - on the form below. | What is the secret of a well-crafted soundbite? Send in your comments - and suggestions for any that politicians could use - on the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |