This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/02/tories-election-message-middle-of-the-road
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tories position their election message in the middle of the road | Tories position their election message in the middle of the road |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| On first evidence, the key message of the Conservative party in its general election campaign is that voters should stick with the safe and familiar path. | On first evidence, the key message of the Conservative party in its general election campaign is that voters should stick with the safe and familiar path. |
| The Tories’ first billboard poster in the fight for No 10 shows a long straight road amid bucolic English countryside under a tranquil blue sky. It reads: “Let’s stay on the road to a stronger economy.” The approach is in stark contrast to the attacking, infamous 1997 poster that featured Tony Blair with devilish eyes, and the slogan “New Labour, New Danger”. | The Tories’ first billboard poster in the fight for No 10 shows a long straight road amid bucolic English countryside under a tranquil blue sky. It reads: “Let’s stay on the road to a stronger economy.” The approach is in stark contrast to the attacking, infamous 1997 poster that featured Tony Blair with devilish eyes, and the slogan “New Labour, New Danger”. |
| With the road cutting the image in two, David Cameron is pitching his tent firmly in the middle, just as the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, this week moved to seize the centre ground for the Labour party in a comment piece for the Guardian. | With the road cutting the image in two, David Cameron is pitching his tent firmly in the middle, just as the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, this week moved to seize the centre ground for the Labour party in a comment piece for the Guardian. |
| This approach is in some ways reminiscent of Angela Merkel’s “Die Mitte” – the middle – slogan. When a country is divided, don’t sway to the hysterics of the right or the left, go with the middle. Amid divisiveness and in times of uncertainty, incumbent parties tend to remind voters of the need to place their trust in a safe pair of hands. | This approach is in some ways reminiscent of Angela Merkel’s “Die Mitte” – the middle – slogan. When a country is divided, don’t sway to the hysterics of the right or the left, go with the middle. Amid divisiveness and in times of uncertainty, incumbent parties tend to remind voters of the need to place their trust in a safe pair of hands. |
| But while Cameron is more popular than the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, he is no Merkel when it comes to trust among voters. The final Ipsos Mori poll of 2014 showed that 36% of voters are satisfied with the PM. Trust in the German chancellor averaged 69.5% last year, and even hit a record high 74% due to her handling of relations with Russia. | But while Cameron is more popular than the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, he is no Merkel when it comes to trust among voters. The final Ipsos Mori poll of 2014 showed that 36% of voters are satisfied with the PM. Trust in the German chancellor averaged 69.5% last year, and even hit a record high 74% due to her handling of relations with Russia. |
| The Tory poster makes it clear that Cameron will be keen to keep the economy uppermost in voters’ minds, something the prime minister has been clearly planning to do since warning in November that “red warning lights are flashing on the dashboard of the global economy”. | The Tory poster makes it clear that Cameron will be keen to keep the economy uppermost in voters’ minds, something the prime minister has been clearly planning to do since warning in November that “red warning lights are flashing on the dashboard of the global economy”. |
| Voters trust different parties to handle different issues. Labour is most trusted in managing the health service, Ukip is viewed as being most sensitive to voters’ worries on immigration, while the Tories are seen as best at dealing with the economy. | Voters trust different parties to handle different issues. Labour is most trusted in managing the health service, Ukip is viewed as being most sensitive to voters’ worries on immigration, while the Tories are seen as best at dealing with the economy. |
| That leaves parties with a difficult balancing act. They need to have a position on the topics voters feel are most important. But they also need to make the issues where they’re most trusted the more salient ones. | That leaves parties with a difficult balancing act. They need to have a position on the topics voters feel are most important. But they also need to make the issues where they’re most trusted the more salient ones. |
| Simply put, Cameron needs voters to feel that the economy is the most pressing issue. | Simply put, Cameron needs voters to feel that the economy is the most pressing issue. |
| But here too he faces a challenge as the economy has been falling away as an issue worrying voters since 2010. Immigration is now the issue of most concern – and by some margin. 42% of respondents in December’s Ipsos Mori poll cited immigration as the most important issue facing Britain today, up five points on November. Only 33% mentioned the economy, unchanged from the previous month, and significantly down on the 70% the issue was registering five years ago. | But here too he faces a challenge as the economy has been falling away as an issue worrying voters since 2010. Immigration is now the issue of most concern – and by some margin. 42% of respondents in December’s Ipsos Mori poll cited immigration as the most important issue facing Britain today, up five points on November. Only 33% mentioned the economy, unchanged from the previous month, and significantly down on the 70% the issue was registering five years ago. |
| In 1980, trailing in the polls a week before an election, Ronald Reagan looked into the camera during a presidential debate, and told voters: “Ask yourself: are you better off than you were four years ago?” Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter and became the 40th president of the United States. | In 1980, trailing in the polls a week before an election, Ronald Reagan looked into the camera during a presidential debate, and told voters: “Ask yourself: are you better off than you were four years ago?” Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter and became the 40th president of the United States. |
| The election in May though will be more complex than simply asking voters if they’re better off than they were in 2010. Although the roles of Labour and the Conservatives are reversed, we are likely to see more of the fearful warnings of returning to the past and calls for change that have characterised previous campaigns. | The election in May though will be more complex than simply asking voters if they’re better off than they were in 2010. Although the roles of Labour and the Conservatives are reversed, we are likely to see more of the fearful warnings of returning to the past and calls for change that have characterised previous campaigns. |
| The problem for both Labour and the Conservatives is that so much has changed over the past five years. Debates over the union with Scotland and Britain’s place in Europe remain divisive. Combined support for the two main parties is at record lows – and this same lack of trust has led to the current fragmentation among the British electorate. | The problem for both Labour and the Conservatives is that so much has changed over the past five years. Debates over the union with Scotland and Britain’s place in Europe remain divisive. Combined support for the two main parties is at record lows – and this same lack of trust has led to the current fragmentation among the British electorate. |
| According to research by King’s College London and Ipsos Mori, this particular trend is unlikely to change any time soon. By 2025, only 24% of Britons will identify as supporters of a political party. In 1985, 51% did. Just above 30% trust that a British government – of any party – would place the country’s needs above party interests, a threefold increase since 1985. |