Presidential Style Elections?

Lesson Objectives I will get the opportunity to reflect on why the party leaders image is becoming more important I will get the opportunity to express an informed view the importance of the party leaders image

Introduction (Don’t copy) In the USA, image has long been important in helping voters decide who they should vote for. This is because it usually a two horse race where people actually vote for a person. In the UK, we vote for local representatives, so in theory, it should not matter what the image of the party leader is like as we are not voting for them directly. Q - Why then do you think the image of the leader, never a hugely important factor in the past, is becoming so crucial to the electoral success of parties?

Presidential Style Elections? Similar ideologies, an ever expanding media desperate to fill 24 hour news cycles as well as the rise of the internet are all reasons for our fascination now with party leaders David Cameron has ‘WebCam’ as well as ’Cameron Direct’ which he uses to ‘connect’ with the voters while other leaders have similar projects (Clegg has a talk show on radio for example) Q - Do you think Cameron v Miliband will be the deciding factor in the 2015 election?

Bloopers! Watch the videos clips below which illustrate the pressure leaders are put under by having to use the media whilst trying to promote a good image of themselves Gordon Brown and ‘Duffygate’ Iain Gray and the Subway Scandal

So does the image of the leader actually have any impact? In short, yes. Ipsos Mori found that in 2010 voters ranked the image of the leader above all other factors except the economy, with which it tied Salmond v Gray, Blair v Major, Cameron v Brown – Recent election history is filled with evidence which suggests that electoral success or failure relies heavily on who takes the parties into battle Cameron is often blamed (by his own party!) for not getting his party a majority in Q - Would Boris help with this? He is very popular and has been elect twice as London Mayor based heavily on his personality

So does the image of the leader actually have any impact? Q - Who is this guy? Nigel Farrage is often held up as one of the reasons UKIP have been doing so well lately Does anyone know why? His image of an ordinary guy, who smokes and drinks and has had a job before politics has been lapped up by the people the party appeals to

Do Leaders really need to be popular? Caroline Flint (Labour MP) said on the 18 th if August that Ed Miliband doesn’t have to be popular for Labour to win in 2016 Q – Is She right? Margaret Thatcher wasn’t always the most popular Prime Minister (neither was Blair in 2005) yet won decisively on three occasions Nick Clegg was the most popular leader in 2010 yet couldn’t increase the vote share for the Liberal Democrats This proves that there are other factors that are influential that must be considered

Conclusion To conclude, the image of the leader is an important factor and is rising in importance with each and every election but is not the only infleuntial factor