Stuart Bruce

Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 8:49am

Stephen, pop out of work for a moment on Tuesday morning and come along to the official launch of Alan Johnson’s campaign to become Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

I promise you that Alan is the type of politician that you say want to see. That’s why I’m working running his campaign.

It’s at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, just opposite the HofC near QEII.

Matt Ambrose

Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 9:26am

There is a lot of evidence to suggest that faith in your national institutions contributes to a nations sense of contentment, as highlighted in a recent survey in which Denmark came top and Britain continues to fall year on year.

If politicians really want to contribute to people’s lives then a good start is to try and restore faith in politics and trust that they are turning up to work to do a job, rather than simply chasing headlines - or ‘news management” as GB calls it.

Alex

Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 4:13pm

You query whether we are more certain of our future now than ‘97, but look at Blair’s speech. No-one is debating the concluding section about Britain being the greatest nation, and the world knowing it. That sort of sentiment would have had a politician laughed off stage a decade back. Such an increased sense of national worth is significant, I’d say.

Thoughts on Brown’s auto-cue escapades?

Matt Ambrose

Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 4:57pm

Britain can certainly be viewed as a more dynamic place than it was ten years ago - thanks largely to the growth in our creative industries and banking. Whether this is down to politicians though is another matter.

Labour inherited £10 billion surplus and an economy in its best shape since 1914. The UK’s period of rapid growth didnt start in 1997 as some would have people think.

I’m just a great believer in pushing the new ethos of transparency and think politicians would be better off approaching problems objectively and letting the results speak for themselves. Chasing headlines and spin can only hide the facts for so long, and it’s these tactics that have caused the loss of faith in politics we find today.

I wasn’t so concerned with Brown’s problems with the autocue so much as his promise of a new direction and substance over spin. After the smoke and mirrors of his last budget I think we are going to have to put up with spin for a while yet.

To be honest though, I dont know what the answer is. Politicians have to win elections and people’s views are shaped by the soundbites they hear on the news. There just has to be a better way of achieving concrete improvements than through targets and league tables.

Stephen

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 7:54am

Stuart: Would love to but got a big event for a client on Tuesday night.

Matt: I agree. Restoring faith is the way to go.

Alex: I’ve always been a proud Brit.

David Brain

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 8:14am

Stephen,
At the risk of sounding even more of an old fart than you know I am, it was a different world ten years ago . . . and so, so much worse ten years before that. I for one left this country (and didn’t come back for seven years) in 1992 because there seemed no economic opportunity and the class divide was still rigid and set against people like Durham boys and (in my case) Essex boys - - unless your daddy knew someone. And the PR industry was rife with it. TB has reformed politics in the UK definitely (it’s a GOOD thing the Tory party have changed and you can see little difference - though there is - between it and Labour), but more importantly he has presided over a total cultural change to a much more meritocratic society. Long way to go still, but a long road travelled too for those of us that can remember what it was like mate.

Stephen

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 10:19am

Yeah I’ve heard the PR industry used to be quite stale in that respect. I was talking to someone who has worked down here for some time but is originally from up north. This person told me that those that didn’t have a southern accent were encouraged to change it in those days.

I guess I’m looking at it from a regional point of view as he hasn’t done a lot for Sedgefield District in my opinion.

Julia Seeratan

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 9:27pm

You’re right — people are put off politics. And it’s not just Blair (or his team of writer’s; which did a great job with his speech, appealing a bit to just about every group). But that’s part of the problem you outline. Politicians (or the one’s in power) are so busy trying to appeal to everyone, ‘make decisions for the masses’, that they fail to make decisions based on political ideology. And why should they when they know that there are people out there that just ‘want to have faith in the government – regardless of which party it may be’?

ZOE BANKS

Friday, May 18, 2007 at 5:16pm

Hello. I don`t think Tony Blair will be hurt by the song `Bye Bye Blair` will he? he`s a musician after all (sort of).
Z>X

David Phillips

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 6:34pm

In 35 years in PR, have we have made some progress. It is to be expected. The key issue is have we made enough progress?

In ten years of political power we made some progress. It is to be expected. Is it enough?

With all that we have available to us, the answer for my lifetime is no on both counts.

There remains a huge frustrated and under valued segment in our society and it is about the same number as 35 years ago.

Oh! yes… I recall there was a very special and these days politically incorrect description if you moved north with a cut glass accent 35 years ago .

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