ConservativeHome's Dictionary

Über-modernisation

With those words George Osborne appeared to distance himself from those un-named individuals who believed that the leadership of the party did not need to acknowledge any traditionalist element within the Conservative Party but should pursue relentless, unflinching decontamination of the party brand.

There certainly were über-modernisers within the party hierarchy.

Some believed in imposition of candidates, for example, and wanted to suspend party democracy in order to secure implementation of the A-list of gender-balanced candidates.  A sniffy attitude to the grassroots is a key feature of some übers (eg Bruce Anderson and John Bercow).

One shadow cabinet minister became an über-moderniser because they did not believe that public perceptions could be easily shifted over the course of a parliament.  This frontbencher's conclusion was that it wasn't necessary to talk about core vote issues at all as voters would not stop believing that the Tories were the party of Euroscepticism and a tough approach to crime.   Not one press release should be issued on immigration was this über-moderniser's conclusion.  Every ounce of energy should be dedicated to modernising messages.

For an alternative definition see this related link: Six reasons why I am an über-moderniser by Daniel Finkelstein

Decontamination

Even during the most difficult period for the Conservatives - when Tony Blair enjoyed very high opinion poll ratings - there were plently of Tory policies that voters liked.  Core Tory policies on immigration, Europe, tax and crime all scored highly but the Conservatives weren't trusted to deliver them.

Under David Cameron the Conservatives began a process that became known as "decontamination" to change voter perceptions of the party.  It had a number of ingredients:

• The ending of certain Conservative policies including new grammar schools and the patient's passport - that uber-modernisers believed communicated an out-of-touch and elitist Conservative Party.
• A gentler tone to political discourse including 'an end to Punch and Judy politics' where knockabout and personal campaigning trumps serious focus on the issues.
• Not constantly obsessing about the same issues but also talking about other issues - particularly the environment and social justice.
• Zero tolerance of racist or homophobic attitudes.
• Changing the look of the Conservative Party through the A-list and its drive to increase the number of ethnic minority and female Conservative MPs.

The decontamination strategy as it was pursued had two main opponents.  Some opposed any need for serious change.  Others questioned the emphasis that was placed upon it.  This second set of opponents believed that some form of 'decontamination' was necessary but that there should have been more balance in the Conservative appeal so that the change looked credible and not an abrupt break with the past.  Defenders of the approach as it was pursued believed that only a dramatic process of decontamination would convince voters that the modernisation of the party was deep and significant.

Sat-Nav politics

'Sat-Nav politics' was perhaps the one half-memorable expression to emerge from the 2007 LibDem leadership contest between Chris Huhne and the just-victorious Nick Clegg.  At the start of his campaign, Mr Clegg offered this soundbite:

"The result is the 'Sat-Nav' politics we are seeing today: Turn this way to shore up the core vote, that way for the floating vote. Go left for the approval of the Mirror, right for the Sun."

YouGov's Peter Kellner has also spoken about this tendency.  He has noted that with political parties all using the same opinion polling and focus group systems they are all converging on similar themes and tactics.

It's one of the more interesting debates in politics.  What do voters really want?  Politicians who are simple delegates or politicians who think for themselves?  "Authentic" politicians like Tony Benn and Ann Widdecombe - who eschew fashionable opinions - tend to be amongst the most popular.  Benn has divided the world's politicians into 'weather vanes' and 'sign-posts'.  Ultimately, sign-post politicians succeed, he argues.  Tony Blair, however, enjoyed his best approval ratings when he judged every move according to focus groups.  Things started to go wrong for him and New Labour when he tried to lead public opinion on issues like the war in Iraq.

Love-bombing

The Tories decided that one good way of beating Britain's Liberal Democrats was to "love-bomb" them and their voters.

After years of trying to scare people from voting LibDem (because, for example, of their strong pro-Europeanism, their social permissiveness or "soft" approach to crime), the Tories decided that it was better to flatter them and appear to agree with them on key issues.

The love-bombing strategy revealed by The Sunday Telegraph's Melissa Kite, was partly a result of Tory fears that negative campaigning against the LibDems risked reinforcing voters' perceptions of the Conservatives as mean-spirited rather than affecting voters' perceptions of the 'nice' LibDems.

Love-bombing has included attempts by senior Conservatives to attract senior LibDems into the Tory tent.  George Osborne's attempts to love bomb David Laws did not end successfully, however.

Ed Vaizey, an initial proponent of the love bombing strategy, also admitted to finding it hard work whenever he gets close to real LibDemmery...

"A few weeks ago, I suggested that the next Conservative government might be able to work with the Lib Dems (or to be more specific, the "Orange Bookers") after the 2009 election. Not many Conservatives agreed with me, and many activists told me they would work with the Lib Dems only over their dead body (or mine, perhaps). It may have been that the rarefied air of the Westminster village had gone to my head and addled my brain. In any event, a few days' campaigning in Bromley and Chislehurst has sorted that out. I have been strongly reminded why both main parties - Conservative and Labour - find it so hard to do business with the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems are simply the most unprincipled campaigners in the business."

More here.