This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8293442.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Secrets of the conference soundbite | Secrets of the conference soundbite |
| (about 1 hour 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". | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 had 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. | 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" 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. |
| | |
| Here is a selection of your soundbites: | |
| The three words that I'd like to hear at the end of the Tory Party conference would be "We're standing down" lee, London | |
| Camerons closing comment will be that immortal Phil Lynott line "The boys are back in town"richard hill, Daventry | |
| How about adapting that phrase from the arch capitalist Alan Sugar (no favourite of mine but, apparently, a hit with the viewers)? | |
| "Brown - you're fired!"Andy Heath, Cranbrook, Kent | |
| Think for tomorrow, not yesterday. | |
| Terence Walmsley, Deal Kent | |
| It's your vote use it. | |
| We are a thousand voices with but one purpose. | |
| We have to change. | |
| Your vote is the life blood of this country. | |
| Its your country do what is right. | |
| Its you the people that create change. | |
| Remember the past to create the future.Roy Sutton, Solihull UK B377JS | |
| It must above all be CREDIBLE. | |
| How about - MAKE IT HAPPENJohn Redfern, Sheffield, England | |
| "Resistance is futile."?Eddie, Newcastle | |
| I think 'This Is It' belongs to Michael Jackson this year - sorry!Tom, UK | |
| Tally-ho !Paul, London | |
| Never in the face of human adversity have so many given so much to so few. | |
| Or Bankers..."Our moneys coming Home"Kevin Rolfe, Crawley | |
| we all simply need change, without we will have nothing. vj, nottingham | |
| How about 'I'm a hologram of everything you want me to be' (for David Cameron). | |
| But actually, he's Alec Douglas-Home with brylcreamrhory fraser, London | |
| We can pull through this togetheralan Price, Milton Keynes | |
| I think a 'catchphrase' has to be short and catchy to grab people's attention, but it also has to be positive to get people on board. How about the Conservatives getting Churchill on board as campaign sponsors and making the soundbite something like: "Conservatives for a better Britain? Oh yes!"?Adam Wilson, Ashgill, Scotland | |
| Never trust a Tory!Mr Big, Manchester | |
| Fatter cats vote ToryBen Terrion, Blaby England | |
| In view of the stance of the unions towards co-operation as they circle the wagons, it may well be."Let battle commence"Dmorr, Grimsby UK | |
| "The drinks are on me!"Judith Davies, Kent | |
| "The time is right"Jon Dane, Cambridge, UK | |
| "We're better then the other guys!"Micah Plourd, Prague, Czech Republic | |
| The problem with soundbite politics is it might bite you back in the future. So if David goes with say, 'honesty, integrity and trust', it will haunt him when the first scandal hits, which it will, no matter how careful he is. | |
| I suggest; 'Don't look back, look forward.' Lots of hidden messages but unlikely to be held against him or the party. Chris Wills, Fareham UK | |
| I know "Doon with Broon" would go down well with the English, and "Brown and Out" would also have a nice ring, but what about: | |
| "Britain can be Great Again"West, Cuves, France | |
| TORY TOFFS TOPPLE TRUTH!!!Nigel Davies, Stockport | |
| In the interests of accurate reporting, you should point out that Obama's "Yes we can" was actually originally coined by Bob the Builder. | |
| Perhaps, in the same vein, "Can we fix it?" would be a good slogan - for any party - right now. It's certainly the question we're all asking of them!Phil Evans, Leicester, UK | |
| "Make it so..."Gary, Wolverhampton | |
| The secret is to keep it simple, honest and sensible and to appeal to the Brtish sense of fair play, fighting spirit and resolve e.g. | |
| Britain needs Conservatives | |
| Working for a brighter future | |
| Working together for all | |
| Britain can be great again | |
| Together we stand | |
| No time to waver. Vote Conservative | |
| Vote Conservative for a safer future | |
| One party. One nation. One purpose | |
| Charles Stuart-Hunt, London, UK | |
| During 2009 the word "change" should be avoided like the plague, simply because it makes it look like all you can do is plagiarise Barack Obama. The fact that the Conservatives have already made the cardinal error of using it for their conference slogan suggests that whatever they come up today will sound tired and derivative. Just like all other recent UK efforts - it's a skill our politicians and speechwriters simply don't possess!Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade | |
| After all the negative accusations by Labour perhaps the best sound bit would be - | |
| "No we won't"Phil, Redbourn | |
| "Tough choices for us. Tough luck for you."Charles Barrand, Chichester, UK | |
| We're the best of a bad bunch! | |
| Or | |
| Death by hanging or firing squad! | |
| Oh, ye of little faith.Sean, Portsmouth | |
| "The Time is now"Geoff Herbert, Claygate England | |
| Only with us!Brian Keith, Ellesmere | |
| "With Your Help"Pepper Quill, Portsmouth | |
| For either main party: "No change there then!"Peter Jones, Tavistock, UK | |
| How about the truth? | |
| "You have been on a spending binge with money you did not have, just like the government. Don't expect us to get you out of this mess because we haven't a clue what to do."John Jones, Carmarthen | |
| I could see the Tories going for something that, a) emphasises the message that they are ready to govern; b) engages the public's attention by asking a direct question; and c) reinforces the theme of togetherness that Osborne trailed. Something like, "We're ready...are you?" Mark Kieran, London, UK | |
| 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 |