Priming time for Blair? Media priming, Iraq, and leadership evaluations in Britain

Priming is often mentioned in studies of media effects in Britain, yet empirical tests of its extent and nature are lacking; most evidence of priming effects is from the United States. Moreover, research on British elections concludes that the media have little impact on the public’s perceptions of issues, including in the 2005 election. In this paper we argue that priming by the British media has been misconceived and thus not studied adequately. We demonstrate that the issue of the war in Iraq was primed by media coverage in 2005, both as a consequence of the volume of coverage of the issue and its tone. The influence of Iraq was not just long-term, via its impact on confidence in the Labour government or Tony Blair’s reputation, but was also affected by media coverage during the campaign. We also demonstrate that the media’s coverage of Iraq in 2005 influenced voters’ evaluations of Blair by polarizing consumers of the same news. Finally, we find slightly more of an impact of the tone of coverage of Iraq in 2005 but it is moderated by the editorial stance of the newspaper—the editorial stance of British newspapers still seems to matter, suggesting that the dealignment of the British press has not eliminated the influence of reading a newspaper that endorses a party, no matter how qualified that endorsement may be.     

A Rhetorical Perspective on the 1997 British Party Manifestos

This article discusses the British political system's reliance on party manifestos and suggests that they deserve study as rhetorical texts. The magazine-like 1997 manifestos of the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat Parties are analyzed with respect to their iconic structure, the priority of policy domains in their social critiques, their historical narratives, and their narratives on the central issue of economics. Results suggest that all three parties focused on British history since 1979 and on economic issues. The Conservative Manifesto subordinated people to icons and graphs, concentrated on economic analyses, and portrayed the party's policies as successful. Labour and Liberal Democrats emphasized economic failures; the Liberal Democrats sought wide-ranging populist reforms, while "New" Labour ran against the Tory record and the historic radicalism of "Old" Labour.     

New Labour

Abstract

This paper examines the use made by political parties of branding, as a means of establishing party values and winning political support. It looks in particular at the way in which political parties use communication to create, build and maintain political brands.

The paper involves an examination of the recent history of the British Labour Party. After a long period in the political wilderness, the party re-branded itself as “New Labour” in the mid-1990s, and-as New Labour-swept to power in a landslide election victory in 1997, under their new leader, Tony Blair.

Using media coverage and material written by some of the architects of New Labour, the paper will describe the creation of the “New Labour” brand, and look at how it was developed and used to generate political support. The paper will also consider the evolution and development of the brand, as the substance underlying the stated brand values has come to be questioned, not least by so-called “Old Labour” supporters of the party.

The paper will draw conclusions regarding the successful management of a political brand, pointing in particular at the need to ensure that the performance of a party espousing a particular brand supports and reinforces communicated brand values and the brand itself.     

The Use of Force in British Foreign Policy: From New Labour to the Coalition

This article studies the ideational underpinnings of the UK Coalition government's ‘liberal conservative’ foreign policy. It begins by suggesting that an Iraq‐centric account of Blair's foreign policy suggests a grand vision on the prime minister's part that was lacking from his earlier foreign policy adventures, which relied on a more conventional form of British statecraft. The second section contends that the Gordon Brown years 2007–10 and, since the end of New Labour, Coalition foreign policy, can be seen as a response both to the substance and style of Blair's highly personalised stewardship of foreign policy post‐9/11. The war on terror and the invasion of Iraq were accompanied by a seemingly open‐ended democracy promotion around the globe which was quite out of character with past British practice. The article argues, therefore, that under Brown and Cameron cautious pragmatism has tended to win out over the proclamation of grand strategic ambition.     

From Blair to Brown: The Condition of British Government

Peter Hennessy examines the conduct of central government since 1997, especially Cabinet processes during the build-up to the Iraq war of 2003. He discusses the degree to which both Blair and Brown over the past months have appeared to run against aspects of the governing style of the administrations they have jointly dominated. He assesses what Gordon Brown's floated idea of a written constitution might mean in practical terms and makes a particular case for a War Powers Act.     

The anglicisation of political marketing: how Blair ‘out‐marketed’ Clinton

Despite increasing academic interest in political marketing, confusion remains over its meaning and scope. Whilst most research focuses on its use in election campaigns, some argue that marketing influences other aspects of political behaviour. This paper contends that a lack of comparative research has contributed to this confusion. Theories derived from country‐specific studies may not be broadly applicable due to the impact of systemic differences. To show this, it analyses the case studies of Clinton in the 1992 US presidential election and Blair in the 1997 UK general election. Comparing the use of marketing in the two cases reveals that while systemic features created the scope for a broader, more coordinated and delivery‐oriented approach in the case of Labour, in both cases marketing influenced the design as well as the presentation of the ‘products’ on offer. This suggests that the potential applications of political marketing are broader than conventional definitions imply. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.     

冷战后的英美"特殊关系"

冷战结束后 ,围绕英美“特殊关系”问题产生了两个主要的争论 :一是冷战后英美两国应该放弃还是继续保持“特殊关系” ?二是这种“特殊关系”在冷战后是加强了还是淡化了 ?前一个争论主要发生在英国国内 ,尤以“疑欧派”与“拥欧派”之间的对立为代表。后一个争论 ,从英美关系的现状看 ,尽管两国在双边关系及一些重大国际问题上存在分歧 ,但由于两国继续保持并强化了战略伙伴关系 ,这种“特殊关系”在冷战后实际上得到了加强     

UK Labour and the EU Single Market: ‘Social Europe’ or ‘Capitalist Club’?

This article looks at the UK Labour Party’s view of the EU single market over the last four decades, focussing on three case study periods when this issue was particularly salient: first, the time of the single market’s introduction under Neil Kinnock’s leadership; second, the A8 accession with Tony Blair as Labour Prime Minister; and third, between the 2016 European referendum and 2019 general election during Jeremy Corbyn’s time as party leader. This historical narrative uses the theoretical approach of Harvard economist Dani Rodrik—of a ‘trilemma’ faced by national policy makers in response to globalisation—as a lens to describe a clear arc in Labour’s policy towards the single market across the three case studies. A position of initial scepticism moved to support under Kinnock’s leadership, and then active encouragement under Blair, before coming back again under Corbyn to uncomfortable non-commitment. This arc directly correlates with the ebb and flow of the party’s overall economic approach—first the Keynesian, national Alternative Economic Strategy at the time of the party’s 1983 general election defeat; then, the deviation under Blair to a policy that actively encouraged cross-border market liberalisation; and finally the return to an Alternative Economic Strategy-style approach under Corbyn.     

Feral Beasts: An Introduction to Tony Blair's Reuters Speech on the Media

One of Prime Minister Blair's last speeches was on his governments relationship to the media, and the at times damaging impact of the 'sensation hungry media' on every aspect of public life, many of whom were too frightened to take on the 'feral beasts'. He argued that his government had to attempt to deal with the media power, that 'spin' is an attempt to handle that power, that the media attack private life and that in the end the media must manage themselves. The piece includes his speech, the revealing questions and answers, and commentary on them by a series of distinguished journalists and academics.     

The National Interest and the Politics of Threat Exaggeration: The Blair Government's Case for War against Iraq

During the 2005 General Election the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, suggested that the invasion of Iraq was in 'the national interest'. Whether he knew it or not, this phrase has often referred to controversial decisions taken by governments, away from scrutiny and subject to criticism when made public, but which they believe are in the best interests of the British state.
The article summarises the consequences of the invasion in terms of the subsequent criticism and official inquiries before addressing the question of what is the national interest. The article then considers what exactly was the threat, and whether or not it was exaggerated, and what evidence is now emerging to indicate that the decision to invade was taken 'in the national interest'. It concludes that there was a decision to support the USA and that the threat was exaggerated to justify this decision.