Language and political debate
Matthew Elliott, the Chief Executive of Business for Britain & Founder of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, has an interesting blogpost on Conservative Home called "Five language rules for the right."
His basic points are
1) AVOID JARGON - talk in simple terms which sound relevant to the average voter.
"Margaret Thatcher was very good at talking about the economy in terms of a household budget"
2) Don't let the left establish ownership of powerful words and phrases such as "Social Justice", "Fairness" or "Jobs".
3) Use international, outward looking language, especially when talking about the European Union, and not "little Englander" language. For example, make clear that we need build trade with the whole world, not just our immediate neighbours in Europe, but including high-growth countries outside the EU, such as Brazil, India & China.
"This language wins over floating voters, because it shows that the speaker isn't parochial, uncomfortable with the wider world, or – dare I say it – a "swivel eyed loon".
4) The left are often brilliant at renaming policies to give them a bad name, often with phrases which are highly inaccurate but memorable and therefore stick. Examples - the poll tax, pasty tax, and most recently the so-called "bedroom tax." Several of our more successful election campaigns did the same thing to them - "Labour's tax bombshell" and the "Death Tax" spring to mind.
5) On occasions like a referendum campaign when you ought to be able to win some votes on the opposite side of the left-right divide, don't use language which isolates and alienates potential support on the other side.
An example was the AV referendum, when the pro-AV campaign failed to make any use of the fact that UKIP supported them, and cold-shouldered Farage, while the "No2AV" campaign was very careful not to alienate, and indeed to exploit the support of, the large number of opponents of PR on the left.
You can read the full article "here."
His basic points are
1) AVOID JARGON - talk in simple terms which sound relevant to the average voter.
"Margaret Thatcher was very good at talking about the economy in terms of a household budget"
2) Don't let the left establish ownership of powerful words and phrases such as "Social Justice", "Fairness" or "Jobs".
3) Use international, outward looking language, especially when talking about the European Union, and not "little Englander" language. For example, make clear that we need build trade with the whole world, not just our immediate neighbours in Europe, but including high-growth countries outside the EU, such as Brazil, India & China.
"This language wins over floating voters, because it shows that the speaker isn't parochial, uncomfortable with the wider world, or – dare I say it – a "swivel eyed loon".
4) The left are often brilliant at renaming policies to give them a bad name, often with phrases which are highly inaccurate but memorable and therefore stick. Examples - the poll tax, pasty tax, and most recently the so-called "bedroom tax." Several of our more successful election campaigns did the same thing to them - "Labour's tax bombshell" and the "Death Tax" spring to mind.
5) On occasions like a referendum campaign when you ought to be able to win some votes on the opposite side of the left-right divide, don't use language which isolates and alienates potential support on the other side.
An example was the AV referendum, when the pro-AV campaign failed to make any use of the fact that UKIP supported them, and cold-shouldered Farage, while the "No2AV" campaign was very careful not to alienate, and indeed to exploit the support of, the large number of opponents of PR on the left.
You can read the full article "here."
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