The vision thing and political spin
How our politicians conceal rather than reveal
EVER wondered why our politicians seem to slide effortlessly into making vacuous statements in sometimes impenetrable ways? It’s the art of political spin - where mangling the English language comes second to the job of keeping on message.
Here’s a few of my favourites:
“There are proposals here that we can support”
Often deployed as a tactical precursor to listing a whole lot more of proposals that they can’t support. Not so much a strategy directed at the public - as particularly used by councillors when responding to government consultations.
“That is a very important question but the real question is why xyz…”
When a politician responds to a question they would rather not answer, they try to flatter their interrogator with a response that is designed to put them off the scent. It’s also a way of wasting time during interviews.
Here is a classic use of the diversionary tactic when PM Keir Starmer is tackled by BBC Political Editor Chria Mason about the deal to reduce tariffs: in certain sectors:
Mason asks the PM if the deal is any better than when the UK had no tariffs in place:
"Is the deal any better than six months ago given where we were?” is the gist of Mason’s question. And the PM’s reply? “Well, the question you should be asking Chris is are we better off than we were yesterday…”
The exchange is about 8 minutes in.
“We have a robust plan in place”
Ah, yes: the gold standard response when things have gone terribly wrong and the politician accountable is trying to mitigate the scale of the mess. The rule is: no-one ever has just ‘a plan’ in place. It must always be robust. Examples? Operation Brock along the M20 is a ‘robust’ plan. You can coincidentally conjoin these adjectives to give additional heft to the issue.
“Bold missions”
Are there really such things as ‘bold missions? Used by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to describe how his government intended to ‘deliver’ on its manifesto proposals. The important point here is that it leaves enough wriggle room if things go-awry as it allows the politician to say they were the baby steps taken towards meeting those targets.
“Spending alignments”
A new phrase that has replaced “efficiency savings” which has become a little tired. What do you need to know? It’s really another way of describing ‘cuts’ to services.
“We are setting up a hub”
Any reference to hubs of the none-bicycle type should be treated with great caution. There may be a good reason for a hub but quite often its purpose is to cut costs by having fewer staff - often ‘outreach’ workers. Sometimes described as ‘multi-pronged’ which conjures up an image of a turbo-charged garden tool.
“Ground-breaking”
Any council doing something new will like the idea of it also being ‘ground-breaking’ - conveying a sense of innovation and leading the pack. When it can’t be definitively identified the words “believed to be” are a convenient preface. No-one will have the resources to check. Ground-breaking usually accompanies some form of “digging the first sod" - usually by a civic dignatory.
“Bold”
No politician is ever going to describe their work as timid or bashful. Politicians are keen on the ‘vision-thing’ and bold fits the bill. Especially ambitious ones often couple these words or phrases with others - for example: “we have a bold, radical and robust scheme…etc”