PARTY PEOPLE
How will the party that styles itself the natural party of business avoid aligning itself too overtly with banks or big corporate, asks Ruth Sunderland, editor of Observer Business & Media
Could it be the PR profession’s finest hour? If David Cameron finds himself waving from the doorstep of Number 10 Downing Street, it will be the first time a former flack – in his case for TV company Carlton – has reached the highest office in the land.
But Cameron’s possible ascension poses fascinating challenges for a whole generation of PRs, lobbyists and executives who have spent the last 13 years dealing with New Labour: indeed, some youngsters have experienced nothing else.
The Conservatives style themselves as the natural party of business, and can traditionally count on the support of parts of the print media, but a Cameron premiership would be intriguing in several respects.
First, it would follow a Labour administration that broke with its socialist roots and painted itself as friend of enterprise and of the City. Second, Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne have had difficulty winning over some of the Tories’ usual media allies. These include the Daily Mail, where editor Paul Dacre has a somewhat unlikely friendship with Gordon Brown.
Third, against their normal pro-business instincts, the Conservatives do not want to align themselves too overtly with banks or big corporates. Detoxifying what once was the “nasty party” is a key element of their own rebranding.
Fourth, whoever is in government will be sensitive to growing public unease about the power of PR and lobbying itself. This is a hot issue in the US, where the finance industry spent $344 million on lobbying in the first three quarters of last year. A concern not to be perceived as in thrall to the money men could easily cross the Atlantic.
“A Cameron premiership would be intriguing”
Influential figures in a Tory regime from the business world are likely to include their largest financial backer, Lord Ashcroft.
Other large donors include hedge fund manager Stanley Fink and billionaire City entrepreneur Michael Spencer. This trio is likely to have interesting views on the regulation of offshore tax havens and hedge funds. Another face to watch is Steven Norris, the former Tory transport minister and London mayoral candidate, who is currently chairman of Jarvis, and tipped for a peerage under Cameron.
Connections in the party might come in handy for Sir Archie Norman, a former chairman of the Conservative party, now fulfilling that role at ITV. On the media front, Cameron’s inner circle includes former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, the director of comms, and director of strategy Steve Hilton, whose wife Rachel Whetstone is head of public policy and communications at Google. That might lead to some interesting times as the row between Rupert Murdoch and the search engine giant rolls on.
The Thatcher era saw the urbane Sir Tim Bell, Maggie’s favourite PR man, become the undisputed godfather of spin. Who might fill his shoes under Cameron? Heavy hitters Roland Rudd at Finsbury and Alan Parker at Brunswick have both prospered under New Labour, but have cultivated links to the Tories. When people ask who will be the new Alan Parker or Roland Rudd, my answer is that it is quite likely to be the old one.
It’s entertaining to speculate, but the serious subtext is that whatever the political complexion of the next government, it will have to deal with the UK’s enormous budget deficit. That will mean cuts in the public sector and tax rises. The prospect of austerity, coupled with high unemployment, the squeeze on people’s incomes and the desire of households to pay down debt are all contributing to already fragile business confidence.
Winning the ear of a new set of politicians is one thing, but in a nervous climate like this, wooing worried customers is even more important.
