Andrew Scott Crines

THE RHETORIC OF THE COALITION: GOVERNING IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST?

This article examines coalition rhetoric across two political dimensions. These are the economic and social spheres. To conduct this analysis, the article examines how elites frame their rhetoric towards drawing out specific reactions from their audiences by using their individual political credibility. For the Liberal Democrats, this implies ‘progressive’ forms of rhetoric, whilst for the Conservatives a more ‘market orientated’ form of rhetoric is utilised. Through emotive and/or logical language, it becomes possible for such elites to construct appealing rhetoric for their chosen audience. Central to both, however, is the national interest. The importance of the national interest overrides previous ideological concerns, given that it enables the coalition to claim governing legitimacy. Broadly defined, the national interest is conflated as the growth of capital, the promotion of ‘wealth creation’, enabling social welfare. In terms of the coalition, tied to this interest are economic and social reforms designed to promote a specific reconceptualisation of morality rooted in more traditional values. Consequently, this article presents a rhetorical assessment of the coalition tied to its economic and social reform agenda.

An Analysis of George Galloway's Oratorical and Rhetorical Impact

This article analyses George Galloways methods of communicating with the electorate through the anti-political establishment party ‘Respect’. The article evaluates Galloways use of emotive rhetoric and performance-based oratory, arguing that these are likely to appeal to a particular segment of the electorate, specifically those disaffected with the mainstream parties. To do this, the article evaluates a selection of indicative speeches that highlight his style of communicating. The article concludes that Galloways impact can be attributed to his emotive style of rhetoric, and performance style of oratory.

The United Kingdom Referendum on European Union Membership: The Voting of Conservative Parliamentarians

This article considers the attitudes of members of the parliamentary Conservative Party (PCP) during the European Union (EU) membership referendum held in the United Kingdom (UK) on 23 June 2016. First, the article identifies the voting positions – remain or leave – of each Conservative parliamentarian in order to assess the strength of opinion within the PCP and place it within its historical context. Second, the article uses multivariate analysis to test a series of hypotheses about the voting of Conservative parliamentarians. Through this we will aim to identify whether any associations existed between advocates and opponents of Brexit and social variables such as age, schooling, university, occupation and gender; political variables such as constituency marginality, and whether they were a minister, an ex-minister or a permanent backbencher; and the ideological variable of morality – such as support for or opposition to same sex marriage.

The rhetoric of neoliberalism in the politics of crisis

This is the first article to compare directly Margaret Thatcher’s and David Cameron’s rhetoric of neoliberalism in the context of global economic crises. By doing so, it highlights similar rhetorical arguments used to justify the liberalisation of the British economy, each striving to emphasise the ‘common sense’ nature of neoliberalism by comparing it to household economies and a broader sense of economic simplicity, and each is presented as the sole solution to economic crises. The structure of the analysis focuses on the modes of persuasion ethos, pathos and logos, whilst acknowledging the importance of the political and ideological context in each period. The article concludes that, although similarities exist in their rhetorical strategies, differing political circumstances shaped the particular features of Thatcher’s and Cameron’s discourses.

Reforming Labour: The Leadership of Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyns election as leader has shaken Labour to its core. Yet the Partys current divisions should not be surprising given its historical origins. Meanwhile, the new leader has an opportunity to fashion an interpretation of socialism for the 21st century, writes Andrew Crines.

Transforming Labour: The ‘New’ Labour Leadership of Jeremy Corbyn

POLITICAL INSIGHT • SEPTEMBER 2017 J eremy Corbyn’s election to the leadership in September 2015 set in motion a political narrative of inevitable defeat at the ballot box. This was predicated upon the assumption that he did not have the leadership skills needed to lead and manage the party. Given Corbyn’s lack of Cabinet experience and record of consistent rebellion against the leadership of Labour’s leaders since Neil Kinnock, it became almost self-evident that Corbyn would not be able to lead Labour to electoral victory. Transforming Labour: The ‘New’ Labour Leadership of Jeremy Corbyn

Conservative ministers in the Coalition government of 2010–15: evidence of bias in the ministerial selections of David Cameron?

ABSTRACT The article uses a data set of the 2010–15 Parliamentary Conservative Party (PCP) to test a series of hypotheses in order to determine whether those selected for ministerial office during the coalition era were representative of the PCP as a whole. The findings show no significant associations or bias by Cameron in terms of age, schooling, regional base, morality, voting for Cameron in the Conservative Party leadership election and, most significantly, gender. Significant associations or bias were evident in terms of Cameron’s patronage with regard to university education and electoral marginality. The findings demonstrate that any critique of current Conservative ministers based on their supposed elitism stems from the institutional and structural biases within the Conservative Party at candidate selection level, and cannot be attributed to bias on behalf of Cameron.

Rhetoric and satire - spitting image and political comedy

Political satirists strive to replicate elements of a real-world situation or person before exaggerating them to convey an overt or covert message. This can be achieved by employing techniques such as caricatures and impersonation. Given the volume of satirical outlets, this chapter focuses upon ethos, pathos and logos and their relationship with three examples of British political comedy. These are The Thick of It, Private Eye and Spitting Image. They have been selected because of their perceived impact on the image of politicians and public figures alike, as well as their longevity in the minds of the British audience.

The Oratory of Donald Trump

This chapter considers the most prominent Republican figure in 2016—Donald Trump. When announcing his candidature to be the nominee for the Republican candidate for President of the United States, Trump was seen as a ‘joke’. In the early months of the campaign, he was surrounded by elites of the Republican establishment—from Jeb Bush to Marco Rubio. Trump faced such a wide field that his chance of securing the nomination was—it was assumed—small. Yet on 20 July 2016 he secured the nomination to face Hillary Clinton (herself nominated 26 July) in the general election campaign.

Conclusion: Oratory and Rhetoric in Republican Party Politics

The conclusion points towards the importance of the oratorical style of each Republican Party figure: Each had a distinctive style of communicating with their audiences which had a significant impact upon their political successes; the context, arenas, and political circumstances that each faced also affected the oratorical and rhetorical style. The conclusion will draw out these similarities and differences, asking whether a ‘Republican Party oratorical style’ is identifiable. It will also provide a summation of how the findings impact upon Democratic Party politics more broadly: For example, how changing expectations of the audience may necessitate a different style of oratory that may require clear lessons for the future.