Page 165 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

achieved a third election victory with an overall majority in three
figures. Nevertheless, the party leadership’s dissatisfaction with what
it perceived to be a weak campaign led to a restructuring of the
public relations organisation.
Party chairman Peter Brooke divided Central Office functions into
three—communication, research, and organisation—and appointed
Brendan Bruce as Director of Communications. A communication
audit conducted by Shandwick PR in 1991 led to the appointment of
regional communications officers to liaise with the local media in
their areas. In 1991 too, after a period of cool relations, the
Conservatives reappointed Saatchi and Saatchi to plan and co-
ordinate communications strategy in all its aspects. The agency
developed a ‘long’ campaign stressing the Tories’ economic
competence and raising anxieties about Labour’s ‘tax and spend’
plans. ‘The government was urged to seize the opportunity to
dominate the news, exploiting ministerial statements, parliamentary
questions, control of parliamentary time, and, ultimately, the Budget’
(Butler and Kavanagh, 1992, p.81).
The ‘short’ campaign, when it came, was generally perceived as
being much more successful than that of 1987 (although the
government’s majority was cut to 22). In 1992, unlike 1987:

10 Downing Street was to be intimately linked with
operations in Central Office and there would be close
relations between the Prime Minister and the party
chairman; there would be a coherent communications
strategy to which all party spokesmen would be
expected to adhere; there would be no battle between
rival advertising agencies, for advertising was
exclusively in the hands of Saatchi and Saatchi; there
would be a major effort to co-ordinate the content and
timing of ministers’ speeches, press conferences,
election broadcasts, and photo-opportunities; and key
ministers would accord priority to appearing on
regional television.
(Ibid., p.86)

In so far as this strategy resulted in electoral victory, it was
undeniably successful. While, as we have seen, John Major’s image
was self-consciously ‘unconstructed’, the co-ordination and
synchronisation of the Tories’ overall political message was carefully
planned and expertly executed.

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