Communications and the Election: Talk Issues

Claire Thompson, freelance PR Consultant, Waves PR

A few days ago, I posted an article about my frustration at the negative election communications, each politician trying to score points and discredit the others. I’m far from alone in feeling that what’s being communicated is a turn off, and I’ve been fortunate to engage with Kevin Anderson, who rather than just rail against it has been part of a group that set up TalkIssues:

What inspired TalkIssues and who’s behind it?

Suw, my wife, and I often talk about how frustrated we were with political coverage. Underlying much of it is an assumption that the average person isn’t interested in politics. To get them interested, the press believes they need to focus on the soap opera of personalities in politics rather than the issues that affect people’s lives such as education, the economy, the debt or immigration. This isn’t new. However, this is an important election and too often we felt that we were watching life imitate Dr Who, the Christmas episode when David Tennant brings down a prime minister by saying ‘She looks a little tired.’

Kevin Anderson: "If there's one thing that I'd urge people to do is that if they are angry or feeling alienated from politics, there is a solution: get involved."

So many people we spoke to felt alienated from democracy: shut out by a media that infantilised their audience, and treated by political parties as little more than consumers to be marketed to. It’s government by brand managers. Is this what British democracy had come to on the eve of one of the most important elections in recent history?

How can we get back to talking about the issues? Instead of letting the media and the parties get caught up in some soap opera subplot, why not use social media to push back and get them to talk about the issues? In addition to that, we want to bring together smart bloggers and policy people to talk about the issues, not only those that will affect the election but also those would live beyond the six weeks. It’s not about party politics but giving people a space to talk about the topics that are important to them and feel some ownership of their democracy.

I sent out emails to Dominic Campbell with FutureGov, and Mick Fealty of the excellent political blog, Slugger O’Toole. Dominic brought in Anthony Zacharzewski of Democratic Society, and it has just grown from there.

Why should anyone care about TalkIssues?

We hope that it will be a way for people who feel alienated from their own democracy to feel like they have a say, not just on election day but now and after the election on the issues that are important to them. We’re reaching out to people on Twitter via the hashtag #talkissues, and we hope that people use it not only to highlight what’s important but also to push back when the parties make personal attacks. We’ve got a lot of community building to do in six weeks, but Anthony has plans for Talk Issues after the election. He wants to host events because we all agree that this is about using social media to bring people together to not only talk about the issues that are important to them but find ways to act on them.

What do you hope to achieve?

We’ve got a lot of great people lined up to write about the issues that they are passionate about on TalkIssues.org, but we’re hoping to get many more thousands involved via the hashtag #talkissues on Twitter, our Facebook group and, hopefully, events too. You know, if we got people talking about their own issues, getting involved in their democracy, feeling just a little bit less alienated and voting for their future, that would be success.

What role does the media play, and how can the public influence what gets discussed?

The media calls consensus on Twitter a ‘mob’, but that’s just pique because they can’t set the agenda with impunity anymore. Yet while they accuse people of mob behaviour, they are writing poisonous political and social commentary that pollutes the public discourse. And the only reason they do it is to sell papers. They bemoan declining civic participation, but it seems to me that they bear some responsibility for a sense of alienation and powerlessness amongst voters.

The public has a right of reply now. However, just because the tools of media have been democratised, that doesn’t mean that a healthier democracy is just a click or a tweet away. Yes, we have a Facebook group, but we’re hoping that talk turns to action. It’s not enough to call out the media and the parties. It has to be about taking an active role in shaping a better, stronger democracy. That process – which will be a long one that must endure beyond this election – starts with discussing the issues and getting more people involved and engaged, rather than reverting to random mud slinging.

What issues would you, personally, like to see out in the open and debated?

Personally, being an immigrant, I’d like a little more enlightened debate about immigration. I’m an American, and Suw is British. Last year when Nick Griffin of the BNP was on Question Time, the message I took away from it was that the representives from mainstream British politics could all agree that racism was reprehensible but xenophobia was something they could all agree upon. It sent a strong message to me that I wasn’t welcome in my wife’s country.

I’m a white American, and people tell me that these discussions about immigration aren’t about me. Who is it about then? The policies have affected me regardless of my skin colour. I’ve filled out the forms. We’ve paid the fees and taxes and we’ve played by the absurd rules put in place to combat problems like fake or forced marriages – yet which actually do little to prevent them - and ultimately we are punished by wanting to do things properly. Yes, British immigration policy needs reform, but in policy, atmosphere and rhetoric, reform shouldn’t be driven by xenophobia.

If there was one thing you’d urge people to do or to think about after reading this, what would it be?

If there’s one thing that I’d urge people to do is that if they are angry or feeling alienated from politics, there is a solution. Get involved. What issue is important to you? And what are you going to do about it? Use the hashtag #talkissues when you see a story that explores the issue or to call out the media and the parties when they engage in personality politics, or host an issues party. There are a number of e-democracy tools out there, but there are are also a number of people who feel disillusioned like you. None of us alone can take back our democracy from a cynical media and disgraced parties, but we can together. You just have to act.

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