The secret to political success? Lying with sincerity. So says Mary Ann Sieghart, Chair of the centrist Social Market Foundation think tank, who has just done a programme shilling for the ‘centre ground’ of politics for the BBC called “Can The Centre Hold?”
Naturally she doesn’t actually say ‘lie’ but that is the basis of her plea…do what the Dutch Prime Minister did, make right-wing sounding noises in order to con the voters into voting for him….time of course will put an end to that, charade but too late, he’s in power for a good while yet. She helpfully wrote her piece up in the Telegraph…
Embracing patriotism and identity could reinvent the liberal centre
Tacking to the right can help traditional conservative parties lure back voters from the fringes. That’s what Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister, did when he told immigrants that if they didn’t like Dutch liberal values, they could leave, and when he prevented Turkish ministers from attending rallies in The Netherlands.
Embrace patriotism and identity? The BBC must have been choking on their lattes when they heard that….though somewhat relieved to hear it would all be a sham, a charade to once again fool the voter…as in the Netherlands and as with New Labour.
She goes on…denouncing the BBC and Remain’s attitude…the shrill screech that Leave voters are ignorant and wrong…..but also tackles the BBC narrative of just reporting Brexit as purely an economic issue and ignoring the real issues such as sovereignty and immigration and the subsequent issues of culture and identity….you can win by ‘crafting a message around a sense of nationhood. It’s not just “the economy, stupid.”‘…
Is it just a matter of explaining to voters in ever shriller tones why they are wrong? I don’t think so. For what centrist parties haven’t been good at acknowledging is that politics is as much about identity as about economics. You can argue all you like that GDP is boosted by immigration, but if people see their neighbourhood and their country changing in ways that make them feel uncomfortable, it’s no use telling them that they’re deluded.
Centrist parties need to reclaim the message of patriotism from the Right.
Yep, crafting a message about patriotism and identity…that was the secret to New Labour’s success…and all the time the ‘patriotic’ Blair was working to ethnically cleanse Britain, import millions of foreigners who would, he hoped, vote both for Labour and the EU in any subsequent vote, and to sell us out to the EU.
Believe.
I heard that program being advertised. Mary Ann said she would be discussing the centre with Blair, Salmond and Osbourne. Even had a trite sound bite from Blair. No way could my blood pressure allow me to listen to the actual program!
The program demonstrates:
1) The BBC bias. The program was a broadcast of a political message. The “centre” sounds good, but it’s otherwise known as New Labour/Lib Dems/Camerons Tories.
2) Why the BBC is losing its audience.
“Centrist parties need to reclaim the message of patriotism from the Right”
Best I am aware, ‘patriotism’ is very little to do with ‘claimed messages’.
Perhaps that is why those misreading the public mood keep on doing so?
“Reclaim” is an odd word to use; it suggests that they used to be patriotic.
Yes, it’s the ‘centrist’ parties that have actually moved to the left & left the patriots & identarians behind, like the British Tories. They used to be patriotic. Of course, if they tacked to the right they would no longer be centrist. This gives the lie to what Mary An Sieghart is saying, one cannot tack to the right & remain centrist, it’s a contradiction. Therefore if they tack right & still claim to be centrist then they are not to be trusted.
People now don’t believe empty words about Patriotism any more and can see lies a mile off no matter how sincere.
What they do believe in is action .Doing what you promised.Thats why Donald Trumps support won’t waver because he is not a political liar.
We don’t entirely trust Theresa May with her immigration promises that never materialised.
Blair to me was a charleton right from the start .I never trusted him and his sound bites and never voted for him .
Unfortunately for the country millions had the wool pulled over their eyes which is one reason he is so hated now.
They always get the wool,pulled over their eyes – hence Cameron/Clegg, Cameron on his own, and now, Treezer. They were also duped about UKIP and Nigel Farage, and if they’d used their eyes, ears, and brains, these might well have been in power by now, and the outlook far more rosy…
Mary Ann Sieghart is behind the times. If she does not realise why Brexit and Trump occurred, her employers are wasting their money.
Still, her article may well make some of the misled, to open their eyes.
NCBBC,
Sieghart is not the sharpest tool in the box ! She is really quite dim.
Grant
She used to look quite cool, in a hippy Woodstock way, decades back.
Nice example of Beebspeak though: it’s a clash between the ‘right’ and ‘centrists’.
That’s their whole worldview in a nutshell: the fish doesn’t know it’s wet, it just knows that the land is dry. Hence why the party that came second in the Dutch election is described as appealing to ‘fringe extremists’ – surely one for the ‘fog in channel, continent cut off’ file?
This is why the BBC isn’t so keen on Corbyn as they were on Blair. He’s simply too honest about his intentions and his hatred of Britain.
BTW interesting that the female line in their family manifest the mental deficiency of Face-blindness. She and one of her daughters have it very strongly.
Child prodigy “at 16, she gained a scholarship to Oxford.” ..
Father : Paul Sieghart, a barrister turned civil liberties campaigner
Brother : William started a contract publishing company, called Forward Publishing, and is now a millionaire.
Sister-In-Law : Molly Dineen : who made PPB adverts for Tony Blair
Husband : security firm owner Dai Prichard ex SAS
Stew,
I posted above before I read your post !
“Centrists” are actually globalists, they are unable to “reclaim” patriotism from anyone since they simply do not believe in nation states, nor that race and culture have any bearing on national character.
the “Centre” is a complete fraud…National interest or Globalisation and the race to the lowest common denominator….that’s the new politics.