My dad was a milkman
General Election boring? How can it be when there’s so much entertainment? The gaffes, the photobombs, the It’s-a-Knockout-style stunts of Lib Dem leader Ed Davey…
But my favourite part of any election campaign is when politicians go into Man of the People mode.
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is so keen to appear like one of us that he’s told us his dad was a toolmaker roughly 44 times according to a website dedicated solely to mentions of it. (And did he really make tools or did he own the tool factory itself? The jury is out.)
The more politicians try to not to seem wealthy and disconnected from ordinary people, the more they seem to be. This week PM Rishi Sunak explained his deprived background in terms of not having Sky TV as a child. Cue mocking headlines and tiny violins.
But my favourite gaffe of this type is the story – perhaps apocryphal – of when Hartlepool candidate Peter Mandelson, visiting a northern chippie in 1997, asked for “some of that guacamole” when referring to the mushy peas. It’s just so easy to picture this happening.
Working class heroes
“We’re all middle class now,” said Deputy Labour leader John Prescott in 1997, so it’s quite bemusing when politicians reach for working class playbook whenever they try to seem real.
It’s not just politicians.
Victoria Beckham was widely ridiculed for claiming on the Netflix documentary Beckham that she had a "working class background" when husband David forced her to admit that her dad owned a Rolls Royce.
Scrambling around to prove you’re working class is a lazy way of proving authenticity. Middle class people can be real too! It just requires a bit of thought and subtlety to demonstrate a genuine and relatable approach. And also trust that the audience can cope with sincerity - they can certainly see through over simplicity.
Shameless plug
Check out my latest piece in Money Marketing which expands on an issue I was banging on about a few weeks ago: ‘How to get boring-but-important small print through to clients’.
Counting Crows
Crows can vocally 'count' up to four in response to cues, demonstrating complex vocal control comparable to that of young children.
The end
The number of children who enjoy writing in their spare time has sunk to 29% compared to 47% in 2010 says The National Literacy Trust.
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