Backfire - Culture Wars and the General Election

For all parties, culture wars offer a way to distract from scrutiny – about their record in the case of the Conservatives, and to deflect scrutiny from their plans for Government in the case of the Labour Party. [...] How then can candidates and activists avoid falling into the rhetoric and campaigning tactics that might generate headlines and excite the base but leave the rest of the electorate feeling cold? The following recommendations are a starting point to help campaigners better navigate cultural debates and better reflect the public’s values and viewpoints in the process. [...] Recommendation 1: Talking about the issues that matter most to the public Polling and focus group conversations show that when it comes to the public’s priorities the same issues emerge repeatedly – the cost of living, NHS appointments and waiting lists, levels of immigration, the environment and crime. [...] The public want to see efforts made to reduce the growing number of frictions they see in everyday life whether it is the 8am rush to get a GP appointment, the unreliability of local train and bus services or the lack of availability of local affordable childcare. [...] In the case of the Sunak crime posters, attacking the Conservatives on crime is clearly fair game and something you would expect from a political party – but laying Backfire: Culture Wars and the General Election individual blame for sentencing at the feet of the Prime Minister, and using his image to do so, is not.