The PRCA will be running a weekly panel until the General Election, asking senior public affairs practitioners to comment on how the General Election campaign has been going so far. The panelists will discuss gaffes, performances by party leaders, and campaigning tactics.
This week we are joined by Gill Morris FPRCA, Founder and CEO, DevoConnect and Lionel Zetter FPRCA, Managing Director, Zetter's Political Services and PRCA Public Affairs and Lobbying Group Chairman.
Gill Morris
It's a General Election like no other! The battle to be Prime Minister between 2 unlikely candidates is turning out to be a lot of fun to watch. For most the victor is a foregone conclusion but this week Ms May has shot from being strong and stable to wibbly wobbly. Visibly rattled by the #dementia tax debacle and the Blue Labour tag it was extraordinary to see Jeremy Corbyn only 9 points behind in the polls. Surprisingly Jeremy's manifesto triumphed whilst Theresa's bombed. There is a long way to go and as we have seen in US and France the impossible is possible. Could Jeremy lose well and not badly? It's not impossible just incredible. In an effort to counter complacency Theresa has rallied that she only needs to lose 6 seats and she's sunk. Unlikely as this is, it is also unlikely that she will secure a landslide victory on current form!
Lionel Zetter
The week started badly for the Tories with the furore over what Labour labelled the 'Dementia Tax'. This forced Prime Minister Theresa May to hastily announce a consultation which would impose a ceiling on the cost of home care.
Then the cowardly attack in Manchester brought the whole campaign to a juddering (and shuddering) halt. Rapid consultation between all of the main parties resulted in a suspension of national and local campaigning. This at least relieved Tory campaign guru Sir Lynton Crosby of the need to find a dead cat to sling on to the table as a conversation killer.
However, towards the end of the week Jeremy Corbyn returned to the fray, linking terror attacks in the UK to British foreign policy and participation in American-led conflicts.
Jeremy Corbyn may not be a good party manager, but he is a good campaigner. As the Tory lead continues to shrink, it is squeaky bum time at CCHQ.