Iain Martin of the Wall Street Journal put in a pithy request to the political parties yesterday, Day -1 of the 2010 general election campaign: Better Slogans, Please.
Iain is equally scathing of Labour’s efforts (‘Come on Labour, wake up, get a move on! Don’t you know there’s an election on?’) and the Tories’ (‘a rather unhappy fudge of a slogan that doesn’t stick in the brain. Fail.’). But he’s also slightly underwhelmed by the Lib Dems’ sloganeering:
The Lib-Dems: The party knows there is no point diving in when the two larger parties are getting all the attention. Instead, keep the powder dry, wait until media and public boredom creeps in and then pop-up with a poster offering an alternative. Still, on the party’s Web site they are road-testing various slogans. But they’re all a bit lame: “A fresh start for Britain” (wow, never heard that one before), “Fair taxes for all” (make mine a large slice of motherhood and apple pie) and “Campaigning for Equality” (as opposed to campaigning for inequality). Vince Cable has the best crack at it, saying in a press release that the Tories sums don’t add up — he can get away with these lines, supposedly being a national treasure in line for the sainthood. Expect to hear this Cable line much more often. However, “Tory sums don’t add up” is not much of a slogan. It’s merely an observation.
Verdict: Too early to say.
So, come on, LDV readers: have you got better suggestions for some punchy Lib Dem slogans that memorably sum up the party’s core message?
Over to you …
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60 Comments
Real change, not fake change
Lib Dems: Unlike Nick Clegg, we won’t get into bed with 30 other parties.
Lib Dems: the death of two-party politics.
Change for good, for all
Lib Dems: We stand for nothing.
I have to agree, most of the slogans these days sound like they’ve come out of a random word generator, they make no real sense. It would be nice if a party stuck with a slogan rather than a message. We’ve had all this ‘make it happen’ and such nonsense of late, but it would be nice for the party to be a bit clearer on the principles people would be voting for – ‘making common sense’, ‘we’re thinking what you’re thinking’ or something similar. There’s always the strategy of gunning for policy ground in the event of a hung parliament – the Liberal Democrats, ‘the alternative vote’…
Sally’s slogan gets my vote – laughing at ourselves for the win.
Liberal Democrats:
– change for the better, since 1859.
– because politics isn’t either/or.
If Labour make you see red, and the Tories give you the blues, vote Lib Dem for a Golden future.
Free Trade
Made by Liberals, guaranteed by Liberals
And in similar vein:
The NHS
Old Age Pensions
Progressive Taxation
Education for all
(etc)
For a Just Society, vote lib dem
I’ve always thought we should use something on the lines of ‘you have the power’ or ‘giving power back to you’.
More Lib Dem MPs = More Lib Dem Policies = A Happier Britain (and that includes you).
“Change Politics Forever”
“Yes, you can!”
“Trust the people.”
“Fit for purpose.”
“Think ahead ! ”
“Fair policies, no meddling.”
I like “Lib Dems: For The Underdog”, or “Lib Dems: Making Life Fairer”.
I’d rip off a tried and tested Kelloggs slogan – though I’m torn between “the original lefties and still the best” and “Lib Dems don’t make policies for anyone else”
“Fair taxes for you, real change for Britain” – at least that’s what it says on my next leaflet.
I have a theory that a major problem with trying to advance the liberal position is that the core of liberalism, leaving people be as much as possible, doesn’t seem like much of an offer on paper (e.g. Vote for Us and We’ll Leave You Alone!).
Perhaps it would be better not to produce any leaflets or slogans at all and, instead, spend the money, time and effort on working out the strongest possible policies and insuring the widest possible distribution of the manifesto.
It’s counter-intuitive, but the novelty value of not ‘sloganeering’ might generate more publicity for and understanding of the Lib Dem position than any amount of sloganeering could..
I favour a poster with two steaming piles of poo, one with a Labour rosette and one with a Tory rosette, with the slogan: “Just because you don’t like bullsh**, it doesn’t mean you have to like horsesh**. Vote Lib Dem instead.”
Like when Radiohead released Kid A? “Lib Dems: the Radiohead of politics” would probably go down quite well actually…
(I’m not the same Tom as the one immediately above, but rather the one who first posted.)
Interesting point, Tom. In the heat of an election campaign, when there are hot issues flying around, and demands for action everywhere, it’s tricky to use simple-minded slogans to get across slightly subtle responses such as “That particular issue is not for central government to dictate; we want people locally to make the decisions about their local hospital, post office, schools… (whatever)” or “Stamping hard on immigration isn’t actually very productive” or “Let’s try not to interfere in people’s lives quite so much”.
BTW, on the subject of value for money when electioneering, Duncan Scott has an excellent graphic here.
The Liberal Democrats – for a fairer, greener and more equal society. The only party working for you, not for masters of the universe.
I have to agree, I am not too enamoured with A Fresh Start and talking about fairness – if we could only come up with a more current version of no one being enslaved by poverty ignorance or conformity – that would do it for me. And can we not talk a wee bit more about freedom? And to the person who clearly has cotton wool buds for brains, I presume the charge that we stand for “nothing” is a classic case of projection……….or someone who thinks being enslaved by poverty ignorance and conformity is perfectly OK since it doesn’t affect them…….
We didn’t get you into the shit but we are happy to dig you out of it.
Actually, I think “we’ll leave you alone to get on with things yourselves” would resonate with a lot of people right now.
Only the Liberal Democrats have the principles, the policies and the political will to bring about real change in Britain to build a fairer society.
Is it really easier to give up heroin than to stop voting Conservative/Labour ?
You know you can’t trust the Tories, we can keep them in check
If you want to change the route, not just the driver – vote Liberal Democrat
Do you want different faces or different policies ?
Liberal Democrats – the other parties hate and despise us – two good reasons to support us.
Try something new on polling day – Liberal Democrats
Run by ordinary people for the people
Make more of a difference – Liberal Democrat
If we all had a pound for everytime Labour broke a promise – we could pay off the deficit
Tories fooled you once, shame of them, Labour fooled you twice shame on you – don’t get fooled again.
Don’t worry, Clegg won’t be Prime Minister, but Cable might be Chancellor
Off goes the Analogue. Upgrade to Cable.
Lib Dems. We break Manifesto Commitments.
Liberal Democrats. The party FOR you. The party for YOU.
Hereward, you have us confused with Labour (Top Up Fees anyone?)
“If we all had a pound for everytime Labour broke a promise – we could pay off the deficit” is very good.
The problem is that a slogan has to capture something, and that is very hard when party’s are coalitions, and issues are complex and overlapping. We say that we are for a fairer Britain, but Labour could retort that they have increased benefits for millions, and created and increased the minimum wage. Or we could say that we will set people free, but then others might ask if that includes the freedom to hunt foxes (no), drive without a seatbelt on (no), etc etc. Or for a greener Britain, but we won’t raise the price of petrol.
That is why almost all the successful slogans capture a mood about the country, not about the party concerned – “Labour isn’t working”, “Things can only get better”, or even Obama’s “Yes we can”. But these three were all in the context of a clear sense in the nation, about the nation. There was little doubt after 1979 that we needed a change of government (not the same as saying the one we got was the right one), and the same was true in 1997. But the principal opposition party will almost inevitably be the main recipient of the anti-incumbency feeling, and as such it is easier for them to come up with a good slogan, because they are more credible as the next government.
“…others might ask if that includes the freedom to hunt foxes (no)…”
Yes, actually.
GO-LD !
Labour and the Tories work for big powerful vested interests – like big business, big unions, big government, and big millionaires. Lib Dems work for you!
As I have said previously, we have had “none shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity” for a long time, and I see no reason not to continue with it.
Some may say this language is too old fashioned or uses too long words. I say to them, that I shall not be enslaved by the conformity that says I must speak in modern ad-man’s talk, nor by the ignorance that is scared of words of more than two syllables, nor by the poverty of imagination that cannot rise above the cheap and childish politics we have now which cannot make use of noble sentiments like these we have from our past.
Whatever we choose, can we have a moratorium on the word “change”, please?
And while we’re here, let’s combine Nick and Andy’s suggestions;
“You’ve got the power. We’ve got the Cable”.
I think Tim Leunig has hit the nail on the head. A couple of weeks ago the Guardian asked various ad agencies to come up with poster ideas for the parties, and they were mostly appallingly bad, particularly the suggestions for the LibDems. We have to avoid anything which feeds into the ‘time for a change’ narrative because that will just aid the Tories. My partner Jenny came up with an idea which, while not being of specific benefit to us, taps into doubts about the Tories, which given the number of our seats that are vulnerable to them, might have a spin-off for us: large picture of Cameron looking smug and well-fed on a Tory blue background, strap-line “We are all in this together!” and at the bottom right, Are we? (OK, I know it was Osborne, but the voters don’t know who he is or what he looks like, and Cameron can hardly disown the sentiment that Osborne so clunkingly emphasised).
@Mouse: “If you want to change the route, not just the driver – vote Liberal Democrat”
Superb!
@Burkesworks: “You’ve got the power. We’ve got the Cable”.
🙂
Sorry, that last thing was meant to be a smiling smiley; trying again: 🙂
Dont get short-changed – Vote Liberal Democrat
Or as we say in Devon: Things can only get butter.
The time honoured wording could be turned into a slogan “Freedom from poverty, ignorance and conformity”.
The best one I’ve seen so far is “Upgrade to Cable”
More Blu-Ray than Betamax
Lib Dems don’t do Governments, but if we did they’d probably be the best Governments in the world…
Re burkesworks’ suggestion for a moratorium on “change”. Yes, the word is hackneyed. But it does tap into the widespread feeling that the Labour government has has run out of ideas, has failed too often, and has gone on too long for re-election to be healthy . At the same time there isn’t obvious clamorous enthusiasm for the Tories, so drawing attention to the fact that they aren’t real change can work.
Of course, like talk of being “radical”, talk of “change” in itself doesn’t tell anyone anything about the distinctive LibDem offering. However, claiming “fairness” and “freedom” for our own might not help either: as Tim Leunig points out, voters for Labour and Tory would also likely see these parties as supporting some notions of “fairness” and “freedom”, albeit rather different notions from the LibDem ones.
Freedom is fair, not easy!
Liberty, equity, responsibility!
Liberty: don’t bellieve the politicians, try it for yourself!
Tony Hill “large picture of Cameron looking smug and well-fed on a Tory blue background, strap-line “We are all in this together!” and at the bottom right, Are we? ”
Give your GF a big smacker – that’s brilliant!
And to add to the above, I’ll even supply the photograph.
A big photo of Blair and Cameron captioned can you spot a difference ?
Photo of Vince Cable – or do you want to make a difference – Liberal Democrats
Big Photo of Brown and Cameron captioned “Fair enough?”
Google ‘we are all in this together george osborne’ .
Top result? A you tube vid of George set to High School Musical music with added lefty political comments.
Thanks all for the funnies. There is wine all over my keyboard now. Seriously though I think one of the best was Tom’s “death of two party politics” early on. Anything that plays the anti-establishment card has to be good. Although “Upgrade to Cable” is inspired, and I now intend to take “Things can only get butter” as my personal motto.
Vote Lib-Dem for a Conservative Future
Cost of voting Labour….bankruptcy
Cost of Voting Tory… social breakdown
Benefit of voting Lib Dem…Priceless
Probably the best party in the UK
The UK’s leading local party
What the Liberals have done for us – then list all our achievements – (someone got close above) pensions, saving the spitfire in 1942, opposing appeasement, free trade etc. A lovely series of posters could come from that
A viral advert with the same theme tune to “go compare” anything really to stop me singing that bloody song
Pictures of Cameron/Thatcher and Brown?Blair with the terminator slogan underneath “Rise of the Machines”
70 years of Labour and Tory rule. 70 years of decline.
It took one rock to destroy the dinosaurs. It will take one vote to kill them again.
The future’s bright, the past was Brown.
Can you honestly take another 10 years of these 2?
Tories – a party with a leader and no-one else
Labour – a party with a leader no-one wants
Lib Dems more than a gimmick.
Lib Dems – not quite as rubbish as the other two.
From Jennie: “Actually, I think “we’ll leave you alone to get on with things yourselves” would resonate with a lot of people right now.”
If only my Lib Dem MP thought this way…instead of involving himself in every populist cause going!
LibDems – Neither LIberal nor Democratic!
As shown by their attitude to the Lisbon Treaty and the EU
‘Britain’s majority party’
This emphasises that :
1) We represent the majority view in Britain – we are thinking what you are thinking
2) We don’t stand up for just a core vote like the other parties, but for the majority
3) Our goal is to have a majority at the ballot box