Cameron's appeal to 'Waitrose voter'

Richard Reeves - in the Labour conference edition of the New Statesman (not yet online) - thinks Brown et al should be worried.  Reeves draws on George Lakoff's theory that voters are much less interested in a politician's specific policy recommedndations and are much more interested in whether politicians "get" the issues that they are concerned with.

Reeves worries that the Tory leader - with his focus on "labour market mobility, giant supermarket chains, anonymous neighbourhoods and congealed roads" - is more in tune with voters and "the spirit of the age":

"Cameron is tapping into a growing unease about the state of our communities and the still-tattered state of our social fabric.  He is making all the right noises about work/life balance, well-being, corporate power and the environment.  People do not generally feel that their problem is poverty, or lack of individual freedom.  Their problem is that, despite all our advances and advantages, neither market-driven growth nor state-funded public services seem to be delivering better communities and better lives."

Reeves is surely right that this Crunchy Conservatism is spot on for the 'Waitrose voter' and David Cameron should continue to pursue it.  This site believes that it is also important for the Tory leader to 'get' the concerns of the average 'Tesco voter'... value-for-money, safer streets, secure borders, action against terrorists/ militants and so on.  But it is good that the party is rebuilding its connection with the socially-concerned ABC1s and Labour are right to worry about that. 

Comments

[ToMTom]

Ad-men rule - "Tesco voter" "Waitrose voter" - this is absurd. What about the NON-VOTER who thinks the whole thing is nothing but a marketing charade ?

It seems that Supermarkets condition the mindset of politicians............Heaven help Us !

[MH]

Do they sell Chocolate oranges at Waitrose? If so, that could be the end of a beautiful relationship. Well, after reading Cameronism above, I am going to start shopping at Tesco.

[christina speight]

Hear! Hear! ToMTom. And we can't have Waitrose ruined can we by being associated with politicos.

What a lot of spinners drivel!

[Chad]

Deja vu. This is the exact aim that Michael Gove delivered to policy exchange in July 2005 when he said that "everyone" aspires to shop at Waitrose.

A conservative in the audience pointed out that Waitrose has next to no presence in the North, so perhaps it fits perfectly!

Personally, I'm happy with the straightforward good value approach of Tesco, reaching communities that others don't bother to (with its delivery to rural areas) and have no aspirations to shop at Waitrose

[William Norton]

We're in the phoney war part of a battle of the agenda. The side which frames the debate, and paints their opponent as irrelevant/out-of-touch/me-tooish wins. Maggie set the terms for the 1980s (how to turnaround declining second-rate Britain); Major couldn't set the terms; Blair established the view that only he could deliver economic flexibility and improved public spending.

There is more or less acceptance that the Blair/Brown model (we'll pump in taxpayers' money and slap targets and regulations all over the place) is based on false premises but as yet no widespread consensus as to what comes next, or what the key issues are.

Probably whoever comes next will be the Heir To Blair (irrespective of party) in that they'll have to take note of what propelled him to power and provide a convincing explanation of how to avoid the cock-ups Blair will leave behind him. The so-called Cameroons are quite right to talk about the need for the Tory Party to change (although it should be recognised that there is a range of options for what the Tory Party could change into) and they are undoubtedly correct that DC is the best qualified person to pull off such a transition and victory. But a Tory Heir To Blair is probably going to have to run on the basis of a fairly comprehensive programme of reform for the public services (the voters won't buy the idea that things will improve just by changing a blue rosette wearing manager for a red rosette wearing manager) - so that's a point to the friendly critics of The DC Project.

However we're not there yet, with both sides searching for a new way to sell themselves, and that's why the polls are all pointing at a hung parliament. It's all a matter of timing. I can imagine an alternative agenda with which Brown could drive DC off the field, although he might not have the guts/imagination/personal niceness to pull it off. All boils down to who develops their case best and fastest.

The usual suspects will doubtless pile in with their usual shrewdly one-dimensional analysis of DC (from either perspective) - and the rest of us will as usual shrewdly ignore them.

[Ben Redsell]

In Woodbridge Tesco is considered the big evil operator down the road - and many people would agree with Michael Gove over Waitrose.

I'm not sure Tim's analogy with Tesco's is sensible, as they are a little too pile it high, sell it low for my taste. My idea of party politics is that those services which are provided by the Government should be excellent, but that the Government should only provide services that cannot be provided by the private sector. Consequently Waitrose's focus on quality appeals to me as an analogy.

I see we are currently 7% ahead of the Labour Party and 19% ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Unfortunately I'm sure that some people will see this as a bad thing, clear that DC hasn't done anything.

Listening to Ming's speech today, it was obvious that the Lib Dems are now appealing to ex Labour voters, presumably because they know that they can't peel off the 'soft' Tory vote.

[Andrew Woodman]

If we're going to win the next election, we need Morrisons voter up north!

[Ben Redsell]

No, we need to appeal to those who would vote for 'Waitrose Tory' if there was a Waitrose about. Morrison's voters are Labour voters because they tend to be pile it high sell it cheap merchants and they are prone to be aimed at those people who are living entirely on benefits.

So yes we need to win votes in the North, but they should be Waitrose votes not Morrisons votes.

Oh sod it. I'll take any bloody votes at the end of the day!

[G-MaN Wild]

Waitrose is rubbish anyway, anyone who shops there must be mad.

[Andrew Woodman]

You don't get Waitrose up North Ben.

[Michael Clarke,Chairman Northampton South]

I am not sure about comparisons with Waitrose.
If examples are sought on the average High Street, Conservatives should take a look at Marks & Spencer. Or "Your M&S" as it has been rebadged.
For many years an icon of retailing success on which the sun never set, it was pulled off its pedestal big time in the late 1990s.Coincided with the Conservatives falling from popular acclaim in 1997.

Several years later, Stuart Rose has revitalised the brand and reclaimed the high ground on the High Street.A great recovery story based on listening to customers' needs and responding.Customers/voters? Your M&S should be the model.

[wasp]

The aspiring to shop in Waitrose point is very valid. Where I live people take Waitrose bags to LIDL to do their shopping, and then go to Waitrose to walk up and down the aisles, be seen, and buy as little as possible.

[Gildas]

I'd be interested to see if there's a Waitrose in most of the seats we need to win a majority. I'd bet not. But, by all means enter the scrap to win back a few London and Home Counties AB voters, while ignoring all those C1s and C2s whose votes would actually give us power.

Proud to say we do most of our shopping at an Asda/Wal*Mart supercentre...by car!

[Gareth]

We're not being asked to emulate the marketing strategies of supermarkest. Surely the point is about looking for short hand descriptions of a type of voter. We had 'mondeo man' now we have 'waitrose woman/man'.

[Max]

Waitrose has only recently strarted opening shops in Scotland. It was all part of the Morrisons deal to buy Safeways. In the space of 12 months my local Safeways went from a Safeways, to a Morrisons, to a Somerfield, then to a Waitrose. The perfect place for a floating voter I imagine.

I do prefer Waitrose to Morrisons I have to say.

[Ben Redsell]

Sorry Gildas, I'm even prouder to say that I support the local shops like my butcher, fruit and veg store and one of the two bakers we still have (despite Tesco's best efforts) in Woodbridge.

Mind you I still have to go to Tesco to get everything else that I can't get in Woodbridge...

However I think we've kind of lost the point, which was that David Cameron should be appealing to those voters who aspire to make their lives better. Which is what I think the Conservative Party is all about - helping people up the ladder. Whereas Labour wants to keep them down in the gutter so they keep voting for them.

[TomTom]

No, we need to appeal to those who would vote for 'Waitrose Tory' if there was a Waitrose about. Morrison's voters are Labour voters because they tend to be pile it high sell it cheap merchants

How ignorant can you get ? Is this an attempt to play the idiot ?

Morrisons is a superb supermarket which makes Tesco look really shoddy. It has the best stock availability of any major chain and is far better than anything Tesco can offer which is why Tesco is so much on the back foot.

I do not know where Southerners get their ideas from - this is why they are looked down on I suppose. Tesco and Sainsbury are really not quite up to it.

Morrisons is a far better chain with much better assortment and a complete range of products. At least it cuts cheess from the block not shrink-wrapped with lovely oestrogen-loaded PVC as in Tesco. Morrisons has excellent cheese counters and bacon - it favours local suppliers - especially those who grew up with Ken Morrison who is one of the best food retailers in Britain.

If people like Ben Redsell know so little about this country he should think about getting out of his Skinner Box more. I think people making comments like that would be laughed at if they said such patently ridiculous things outside the parochial world of Southern England.

I had not realised that only Labour voters shop at Morrisons...........that much be why there are so many Porsches and Range Rovers outside the stores...........then again the well-heeled in Yorkshire are canny and don't need to waste money showing off to the ad-men neighbours. Ken Morrison is a billionaire - no other syupermarket boss in Britain is - an no other built the business himself.

I have the choice of Waitrose, Tesco, Aldi, Sainsbury, Asda, Booths, Morrisons, M&S............all in all I prefer Morrisons for range of selection, prices, and friendliness........Aldi is great for simplicity and German products............Asda is crap now Wal-Mart has screwed it up, Sainsbury is fine if you like own-brand, Tesco is limited in choice and range and has lots of holes in its ranges. It is also expensive. Asda sells crappy meat products btw.

All in all it looks like Yorkshire will remain Conservative-free if you think Tesco and Waitrose are your new icons..............personally I loathe supermarkets and prefer fresh produce, but I doubt that will be found in any British political party - all seem to be focused on canned goods !

[christina speight]

Just back from my butcher, my fishmonger, my fruit & veg stall and for the rest for today M&S. Once a month it's Tesco local or Sainsbury but under protest!

So categorising voters by supermarkets is batty.

[btw my son does computers for John Lewis / Waitrose but hasn't opened a store here yet! My fault for not bringing him up properly I suppose)

[Anonyshopper]

I wish you lot knew as much about locally produced high quality food as you do about supermarket stuff.

[Annabel Herriott]

Actually, there is a waitrose at Otley, (West Yorks) an d a Waitrose at Durham, Tyne and wear. I dont quite know how this would benefit us however!

[Paul Kennedy]

Oy Ben Redsall 14:29, I shop at Morrisons ;)....... not least because it's the closest one to where I live and I don't have to drive into Warrington to get to it.

I have noted your libel and papers are in the post. ;) :D :D

[Paul Kennedy]

Annabel 16:55, there are also ones in Southport - Lib Dem, and Wilmslow - George Osbourne's patch, and one planned I understand for Cheadle Hulme - Lib Dem ( was the late Patsy Calton);)

[Richard]

Waitrose is a rip off. They charge higher prices for mainstream brands than other stores do even though the goods are identical. Fortunately I managed to persuade my parents to switch back to Sainsbury's. At least Marks & Sparks sell only their own goods which, in my opinion, are of a very high quality.

"The aspiring to shop in Waitrose point is very valid. Where I live people take Waitrose bags to LIDL to do their shopping, and then go to Waitrose to walk up and down the aisles, be seen, and buy as little as possible."

That's pathetic. Aspiring to shop at Waitrose - fair enough (although as I've said, they're a rip off) but pretending to shop there?!

"In Woodbridge Tesco is considered the big evil operator down the road - and many people would agree with Michael Gove over Waitrose."

If it's so evil then why hasn't it gone out of business? Answer: Because it's popular. If people are so anti-supermarket then all they have to do is not shop there. The butcher near my local Tesco Express manages to stay in business because people want to buy his products. Goes to show that providing you produce goods somebody wants, the supermarkets won't necessarily force you out of business.

It should also be noted that those on lower incomes benefit from the low prices offered by supermarkets.

[Paul Kennedy]

PS somebody might like to analyse "Waitrose" seats, here is the link to their branch directory.

http://www.waitrose.com/about/findyourlocalwaitrose.asp

[Jack W]

I deeply depricate this shallow appeal to "supermarket" voters. It's so unremittingly vulgar darlings.

Taxi ..... Fortnums please.

[Paul Kennedy]

"It should also be noted that those on lower incomes benefit from the low prices offered by supermarkets." 17:11

I do.

[Mario]

Waitrose is undoubtedly a good shop with some produce that is of better quality than other supermarkets.

However there is a lot of smugness that comes from some Waitrose shoppers. A classic case in point is Waitrose at Canary Wharf. I've been there !

Round they go on Sunday mornings sipping their lattes, maybe stopping at the Sushi bar- feeling good about themselves and all their organic shopping. There is a uniform "middle class chic" (if that is not a contradiction in terms !!) amongst the men 30-50. They try to look a little arty by not shaving at the weekend and wear some kind of Combat trousers together with flip flops. There's probably a semi-designer t-shirt with some "unusual" Canadian location referred to.

If there's young children in tow, there's probably a large pushchair (preferably 3 wheels) that could give a Land Rover Discovery a run for its money. A copy of the Observer is tucked into the netting at the back of Pushchair. The women are largely wearing the same as the men !

It is all rather evocative of an episode of South Park that featured George Clooney's infamous Oscar Acceptance Speech. All about Smug liberalism and people who are so self-satisfied they smell their own farts !

I know we probably need some of these Waitrose shoppers to vote for us but lets not forget the majority probably couldn't afford to shop there and have to live in a world that is less perfect.

[TomTom]

One thing I do admire about the English is their willingness to pay over the odds for food. The margins in British supermarkets are the highest in Europe and the price of ground coffee for example is many times cheaper in German stores, poultry too...........and I've seen much better Carrefour in Brazil than anything in Britain.

This whole supermarket thing is pathetic - once it was de rigeur to shop at some local department store, now we are reduced to staus conscious supermarket shopping.............truly pathetic !

In fact supermarket shopping is the hallmark of denatured food gloriously packaged for fat overweight Britons to waddle around and gorge like big fat Americans and then pile into their SUV to go home and prepare to eat their way to a cardiac arrest

Pre-supermarket people were fitter, healthier, with less blubber

[James Maskell]

If we think we can just campaign based oin catagorising people as "Waitrose voters" Cameron is insulting other voters. Its low, tacky and should not be the basis of campaigning.

[Dave]

[email protected], I don't think it was Cameron categorising people, but the New Statesman and one of his supporters. Categorising people is very common in marketting and politics, with ACORN (http://www.caci.co.uk/acorn) grouping people into dozens of categories based on shopping habbits (the information mostly collected by credit and loyalty card use). It lets the marketting be targetted to be of interest to the individual household, and is widely used. It is a bit tacky, but can be valuable for postal campaigns (why send economic based leaflets to someone more likely to be concerned about public transport?).

That said, why on Earth are we talking about supermarkets? They draw a wide range of people, and most people only have the choice of 2-3 companies, so are a bad basis for any categorisation. From what has been said, "Waitrose voter" sounds more like ACORN's "urban intelligence"; affluent, socially and environmentally concerned (or feel they should be), university educated, lives in leafy suburbs, reads Observer and Guardian. Mostly vote LibDem because they feel they ought to. Dislike Conservatives who them deem nasty, money grabbing, fuel burning, poverty making capitalist monsters (who are racist). Examples; Bob Geldoff, Steven Polliokoff, Richard Curtis etc.

[Wallenstein]

I think this man Reeves is simply bolting Cameron onto his own pet theory (probably developed before Cameron ever appeared on the scene).

As he writes for the Staggers, presumably the author is a socialist and wants to take credit for awakening Labour to some real or imagined menace from Cameron.

Cameron's own "philosophy" is far more vague and fuzzy than what this guy is talking about. "Waitrose Woman" may be a totally pathetic and pseudish buzzword (remember "Mondeo Man") but frankly I doubt that Cameron is operating at this relatively sophisticated level of consciousness.

The main Cameroon thrust at present is simply to trash accepted Conservative policies and denigrate the Thatcher legacy. It's desperate, it's morally bankrupt, and as soon as Labour gets its house in order it will be shown up as a all-time losing gambit.

Anyway, people who live in deprived neighbourhoods don't shop at Waitrose, which is a total ripoff compared with Tesco.

"Never knowingly undersold" What a joke!

[Yet Another Anon]

Morrison's voters are Labour voters because they tend to be pile it high sell it cheap merchants
They sell Mead there and I bought a stone Griffin at one in Sheffield for my aunt to put in her garden - haven't seen such things on sale at Tesco or Sainsburys. Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons all have their merits in different ways, taking the name of any supermarket chain (or whatever Waitrose) and using it as a generic term for the people who shop there is as absurd as talking about "Mondeo Man" or any of these terms used - all the main political parties get a range of people voting for them and while it is more prevalent in some groups it doesn't fit exactly to particular groups.

[Kevin Davis]

Are going to have Waitrose shoppers on the priority list?

[John Moss]

Sad though it may be, people are categorised as "waitrose shoppers" or "asda shoppers" by retail analysts because that is what they are.

As a localist, free market, 19th century liberal type, I believe in trusting people to make decisions for themselves, even if they make bad ones, and am forever up against the "you should see the parents down my school! I wouldn't trust them with a lollipop" mob. I tell you, it makes it hard to stick to the cause.

However, the analysis by William Norton (right at the top), is, as ever, spot on. We are in a battle for the agenda and we need to be seen as "anti-establishment" and on the side of the ordinary person - wherever they shop!

This is a tactic which is not just about getting in to power either, the friendly critique of which William speaks is the crux of this.

If we truly believe in the "and" theory, localism, or old fashioned liberal principle, then we can continue to present ourselves as anti-politicians, because we have so many things we can return to people and local institutions over time.

What better line than....

"You don't trust politicians? So vote for somebody who wants them to do less!"

[malcolm]

Read the editorial James Maskell, Cameron is not insulting anyone as this piece was written about his strategy not by him or anyone else within the Conservative party.
Do you really want to be lumped in with the lunatic fringe of posters on this site who attack the leadership on every damned thread?

[The Morningstar]

Ben Redsell : Morrison's voters are Labour voters because they tend to be pile it high sell it cheap merchants and they are prone to be aimed at those people who are living entirely on benefits.

Do you really have the slightest clue? We don't all live in some sort of southern cloud cuckoo land.

The closest Waitrose is 63 miles away, but I can walk between Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Lidl, Adli, Netto, Co-Ops and Kwiksaves in less than an hour and I'm disabled.

Only a complete f***wit would drive that far just to shop at Waitrose, I'd like to think that as conservative voter I've got more sense.

[James Maskell]

So Im not already part of it? Im trying so hard, and finally after 9 months someone noticed Im rather critical of Cameron?

There was a comment months ago about me being part of a right wing anti-Tory clique out to destroy the Conservative Party or something like that. Ive been desperately trying to track it down to no avail... Its pretty obvious that Cameron and I are polar opposites when it comes to politics. We're never gonna agree. So yes, Im already a member of this "lunatic fringe of posters on this site who attack the leadership on every damned thread". Look back through the posts to check...

[Og]

I'm off to the barber tomorrow to get one of those "lunatic fringes".

[Solon]

If I'm anything to go by, "Waitrose Voters" are slavering right-wing death-beasts with fat City salaries who spend their working lives "widening and deepening" corporate power.

Call Me Dave is barking up the wrong tree.

Again.

[James Maskell]

Are you sure you want one? Its got a heavy slant to the right...

[Matt Davis]

Errrm we can't win the General Election on just upper middle class votes you know, whether they shop at Waitrose or not. They are essential but we also need to achieve the votes of "Basildon Man" or Tesco shoppor or whatever you want to call him. As such Tim & William Norton are totally right and I hope that we will, in the fullness of time, see the Party move to ensure that we attract that support as well. Oh and personally I'm a Tesco.com to the door person myself, so what does that make me then?

[Jack Stone]

The people we should be attracting is those who shop at there farmers market or there local store.Who want to buy local goods or who grow there own. People who want to play there part in saving the planet.
The people we need to attact are the middle or upper working class with a conscionse that use to vote Conservative but now vote Green or Lib/Dems.
We need to get it over to people that we are not all about money, which people thought we were in the eighties and nineties but are just as concerned about people`s quality of life and that the inheritance we give our children is not just about the amount of money we leave them but how good an environment we leave them as well.

[Icarus]

UIS this is what the Waitrose strategy means? Dont think it will work.

From Matthew Norman in the Guardian:

"Apologies for what may seem a statement of the offensively bleedin' obvious, but not for a nanosecond before now have I ever been tempted to cast a vote for the Conservative party. Doubtless the urge will fade, but at this moment the desire to remove Gordon Brown from office is such that the unthinkable must be thought."

[Sally Roberts]

MH - they DO sell chocolate oranges at Waitrose - and much other good stuff besides!! Nothing wrong with being "Waitrose Voter" - I wear the badge proudly! And I have to say Ocado (their home delivery service) is the only one of the supermarkets that turns up on time, WITH the correct items and WITHOUT broken eggs!!

[Sally Roberts]

MH - yes they do!

[Sally Roberts]

Sorry - I see I'd already replied to this point!! :-(