"Clear and Present Danger"...

bug

A Hollywood style quote from news talk this morning...23/11/04
Is this the way Labour is going to win the next election In the UK in six to seven months time?…On the basis of fear?
Do you think that US admin militaristic media “strategy of fear” can win labour the election?

Do you think that the recent reports from ITV news of a 9/11 style attack on the canary wharf are real, clear and present threats or is this a ploy/ strategy to win the next election

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1348572004

My own personal opinion is that this is the Labour government taking a leaf from the current US administration by instilling fear into the hearts of the UK populous. The question is will they fall under the same” terror- fear spell” as the US or will they come to their own conclusions? I am interested as to hear the opinions of general boardsters on the above.

thanks

flogen

Heck, it worked for Bush, why not Blair?

I figure Blair and Co. will try this scare-mongering however they will do it with less zeil and more caution. In other words they'll be more careful than the Americans, mainly because they're dealing with a populous that has been very critical of these tactics in the past, and is much more aware of their occourances

flogen

bug

cheers flogen,
I dunno, but what is apparent to me is that this media tactic wont work (if that is what it is), purely on the basis that the UK hasnt suffered directly as a result of 9/11 (with the same emotive force) as the americans have, so if this card is weak.
They have however, lost forces in Iraq and lost civilians as a direct result of terrorism.

{* I would prefer not to bring any terrorism related to NI into this thread and concentrate on the situation within Iraq and the middleast if at all possible because I personally do not see a direct correlation between the two*}

...but they do see that there can be resolution from conflict, rather than, the "up in arms" tactics that the american admin seems to strive off (IMO obviously)...
the question purely remains ..in your general opinion...media strategy? could it be successful?

billy the squid

I am of the opinion that the broadcasting authorities are stricter in the UK than they are in the United States. I doubt that they will let the Labour party hijack the media in the way that the Bush Administration did. but then that is just me.

If Labour were to try the same thing the Ruplicans did in the states, then I think it would backfire as there is a stronger anti-war movement in the UK.

Not to mention that the pro-hunt lobby are waiting in the wings to compound the Labour party's troubles.

SkepticOne

billy the squid wrote:

If Labour were to try the same thing the Ruplicans did in the states, then I think it would backfire as there is a stronger anti-war movement in the UK.

Yup, I think there's only so long you can stretch out a particular issue before people get tired of it. Labour can only milk the terror threat thing for so long. Labour lost a lot more credibility over the WMD issue in Britain than the Republicans did in the US (where many believe that Saddam was directly responsible for 911).

Not to mention that the pro-hunt lobby are waiting in the wings to compound the Labour party's troubles.

Hmmm. I don't think many people really identify with the plight of the pro-hunt lobby except the pro-hunt people themselves who mainly vote Tory anyway. Commentators suggested that the pro-hunt group did Blair a big favour when they interrupted his speach at the Labour conference as they took attention away from difficult Iraq issues.

Ivan

In fairness from what I've seen and heard of the election in America, it was the War on Terrorism that lost the election for Kerry.
Focusing on The War and terrorism while Bush sidelined him with issues on repressing gays and how his opponent didnt know what he was talking about because he kept changing his mind, was how Bush won.
Expect similar tactics in the UK.

Tbh, I cant see Tony getting re-electected. I'm not sure as to why exactly, but I have a gut feeling, I guess.

billy the squid

The question is though, are the concervitives strong enough to take power from Labour. Or what are the chances of the Liberal Democrats doing it.

Labour would want to take a massive hit at the ballot box to lose the next election.

Also religion had a large part to play in the US election along with Gay rights

ixoy

billy the squid wrote:

Also religion had a large part to play in the US election along with Gay rights

Or, more precisely, lack of gay rights (I'm still pissed at those laws).

There were a number of interesting articles about the religion aspect of it, pointing out that Europe is generally more secularist and that religion isn't as important. However, what was interesting, was reports that certain groups, particularly Evangelicals (sigh) and Muslims are uniting together on common ground issues such as the right for religious freedom and preservation of marriage, many of the same issues that helped Bush retain the presidency. There could be a bit of a group for Blair to home in on.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

mike65

The only way Blair could play or the Fear and Loathing card to win the election would be if the media was compliant and they are'nt. It'll be the usual stuff health, education, regular crime etc that decides the election along with the fact that the Tories are still unelectable.

Mike.

growler

Labour has become very adept at manipulating the media in the UK, all they have to do is let slip some far fetched scenario of "possibly imminent attacks" and the press will undoubtedy report it. I think the main stumbling block for Labour in using such a tactic would be a backlash from the security services themselves who after Hutton are less willing to be party to misleading the nation. Straw, Blunkett and Blair seem to have no qualms about lying to the populace, ID cards and new anti terror legislation are paving the way for an increassed climate of fear, but if a few well placed spooks debunk them then public trust (what remains of it) may well evaporate.

The Sun and Sky News are likely to play along with a campaign based on fear as it makes for sensational headlines and their influence amongst the masses cannot be understated. The conservatives and lib dems are far less polished in media manipulation, however despite the large potential defections of labour voters because of the Iraq invasion I think of the lack of a realistic opposition will allow Labour back in. I also suspect that despite the Lib Dems lack of overt media allies they may well emerge as the leading opposition after the next election.

DadaKopf

I can't see how playing the terrorism card will work for a cynical British electorate.

Instead, they'll piggyback on the terrorism/security zeitgeist by playing up fears about street crime. Blunkett and Howard have already begun framing the debate for May.