In place of spin
Yesterday saw a classic example of the Brown method. In place of spin - stealth.
Having re-appointed Andrew Adonis and apparently committed himself to Blair's city academy scheme, quietly the new Prime Minister has moved to neuter the bodies.
City academies will now be under much greater local authority control, and as The Times put it this morning:
Academies would have to work more closely with local authorities at every stage, suggesting that they could not simply be imposed in an area without local agreement.
So what we get is a policy that looks like one thing but is, in fact, something else. Instead of using spin - pressuring the press to report favourably on news, manipulating media announcements and so on - Brown uses stealth - hidden policy details, unannounced taxes.
It's a different working method. Personally? I prefer spin. It's easier to see through.
The crafty control freak indeed! Not so easy these days with blogs.Didn,t take more that 15 minutes to expose the tax deceit at his last budget.
Posted by: ken from gloucester | 12 Jul 2007 07:56:13
Surely this approach is not new at all. NuLab has always been a skillful exponent of the smoke and mirrors - now you see it, now you don`t - approach to its manipulation of media and public opinion.
Posted by: David | 12 Jul 2007 08:09:30
Surely this approach is not new at all. NuLab has always been a skillful exponent of the smoke and mirrors - now you see it, now you don`t - approach to its manipulation of media and public opinion.
Posted by: David | 12 Jul 2007 08:10:34
So a policy announcement that's covered in The Times is now 'stealthy'? I know your circulation's in decline but don't sell yourselves short!
As he's only been PM for a fortnight it's pushing it a bit to say he was 'committed' to Blair's vision of Academies.
Posted by: adam | 12 Jul 2007 11:17:08