From the Political Pipe to Devil Eyes: a History of the British Election Poster from 1910-1997
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From the Political Pipe to Devil Eyes: A History of the British Election Poster from 1910-1997 Christopher Burgess Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 15th January 2014 1 Abstract Despite their use in every British general election of the twentieth and twentieth first century, the political poster remains largely unconsidered by the majority of historians working in the field of British politics. This thesis is the first study dedicated entirely to the posters role in British elections. Through five election case studies, the work contextualises the poster within the broader narratives of election culture. Unusually for studies of political communication, it is the type and content of the communication – namely the poster – that forms the central focus of each chapter. Each of which seeks to locate the production, content and display of posters parties produced for an election, within the broader landscape of that elections particular culture. Understandably given the structure of the thesis, chronologically long, but heavily focused on specific events, the conclusions are at times pertinent to a particular moment. By studying communication in this way, however, by locating posters in one election and understanding them as products of the culture that produced them, the research expands on and questions some of the key totems that define research into British political communication. Moreover, the thesis positions the poster not as an archaic dying form of communication; one replaced by those electronic media that have been of far greater interest to academics, namely television and more latterly online platforms. Rather, as argued here, parties’ use of the poster has constantly been in a state of flux. Ultimately, posters are objects that are constantly being re-imagined for each new age. 2 Acknowledgements Researching, writing and finishing a PhD is the act of an individual, though one whose success depends on being propped up from many sides. Throughout this work I have consulted a number of archives all listed in the bibliography of the thesis. Special mention should go to Darren Treadwell of the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, People’s History Museum, with whom I have been arguing about the importance of posters for nearly five years. At the University of Nottingham, fellow PhD candidates Dr Matthew Francis and Dr Deirdre Duffy provided many hours of stimulating conservation about politics and real ale. The examiners Dr James Thompson of the University of Bristol and Professor Philip Cowley of Nottingham provided a thought provoking viva. I was particularly fortunate in having had a group of supervisors who took a keen interest in a project that was unusual in scope and execution. Professor Alex Danchev proved a ready source of expertise on interpretation of the ‘visual’. To Dr Nick Mansfield I owe a particular debt. Firstly in giving me my first proper job. But also in demonstrating that the understanding of Britain’s political history is enriched by the objects of that history. Working for Nick has shown that curatorship, academia and public history are not activities in and of themselves, but pursuits whose outputs are dramatically improved when all three come together. Professor Steven Fielding, the chief supervisor of this work, demonstrated what good history looks like. I’m not saying what follows is good history, just that I now know when I see it. Perhaps it’s odd to thank an institution, but here I feel obliged. The People’s History Museum has been integral to my life since 2006. Through expansion, staff changes and my own changing circumstances I have clung to it like a limpet. As a collection of objects and an organisation it remains a safe place to discuss democracy, politics and political history. My parents Sara and Paul Burgess, have been unwavering in their support of son who having done two degrees went back to do a third. Finally, all the thanks in the world go to Dale, who began this PhD as my girlfriend and who by the end was my wife. It is to her it is dedicated, and without her it would never have been finished. Chris Burgess, Manchester, 2014 3 Contents I.0 Introduction 6 I.1 1979 and all that 7 I.2 The case studies 12 I.3 What is a poster? 14 I.4 The purpose of political posters 17 I.5 How the poster has been analysed 18 I.6 Method 24 1.0 The General Election of 1910 33 1.1 Producing posters in 1910 38 1.1.1 The relationship between party and artist 41 1.2 The posters of 1910 44 1.2.1 Peopling Posters 48 1.2.2 Personal Attack 55 1.3 Displaying posters in 1910 57 1.3.1 The poster in its environment 58 1.4 Conclusion 60 2.0 The General Election of 1929 62 2.1 Producing posters in 1929 70 2.2 The posters of 1929 75 2.2.1 The Image of the People 76 2.2.2 Promoting the Leader 83 2.2.3 Attacking the Leader 87 2.3 Conclusion 89 3.0 The General Elections of 1950 and 1951 92 3.1 Producing posters in 1950 and 1951 95 3.1.1 The Conservative and their ‘Allies’ 101 3.2 The posters of 1950 and 1951 106 3.2.1 The Liberals: ‘A number of individuals’ 107 3.2.2 Design Simplicity 108 3.2.3 Photography 110 3.2.4 Women, Children and Men 113 4 3.3 Displaying posters in 1950 and 1951 118 3.4 Conclusion 121 4.0 The General Election of 1970 122 4.1 Producing posters in 1970 127 4.1.1 The advance of advertising 128 4.1.2 ’Scientific’ campaigning 132 4.1.3 ‘Madison Avenue’ slickness 134 4.2 The posters of 1970 136 4.2.1 Labour’s campaign 136 4.2.2 Conservative ‘pockets’ 143 4.3 Displaying posters in 1970 147 4.4 Conclusion 149 5.0 The General Election of 1997 152 5.1 Producing posters in 1997 156 5.1.1 ‘New’ Labour and focus groups 157 5.1.2 Conservative organisation 159 5.1.3 Other parties 162 5.2 The posters of 1997 163 5.2.1Conservative posters 164 5.2.2 Labour’s poster 168 5.3 Poster display 172 5.4 Conclusion 174 6.0 Conclusion: The Death of the Poster? 177 6.1 Mad men 179 6.1.2 The party’s changing role 180 6.2 The changing visual nature of the political poster 182 6.2.1 Development in design 182 6.2.2 Represent and represented 184 6.3 The changing face of poster display 187 Bibliography 191 5 I.0 Introduction Figure i.1 LABOUR ISN’T WORKING, 1978, Conservative Party of Great Britain, CPA, POSTER 1978/9-01. 6 I.1 1979 and all that Election posters are ephemeral things. Political parties produce them in order to speak to a specific body of people, at a specific time. They have a short shelf life, and are easily forgotten. This then, makes the fame of the Conservative party’s 1979 LABOUR ISN’T WORKING. [Figure i.1] remarkable.1 While little has been written on how parties have used posters to communicate with the people, that image of a queue snaking towards an Unemployment Office remains the exception. Rather than add to the already extensive literature on the birth of the poster and its supposed impact, this thesis begins with an appraisal of that literature. This study begins by questioning the hyperbole and myth that surrounds the poster. And in doing so it establishes the need for a study of political posters that moves beyond the narrow confines of ‘1979 and all that’. The product of a relationship between the Conservative Party and advertising firm Saatchi and Saatchi LABOUR ISN’T WORKING. was first unveiled in 1978. Some suggest that the combination of this poster coupled with the supposedly innovative Conservative campaign a year later changed electioneering. For Margaret Scammell the 1979 campaign represented, a ‘landmark in the use of marketing in British politics’, judging the ‘Labour isn’t working’ slogan, ‘the most brilliant and memorable piece of political advertising of the Thatcher era.’2 Alison Fendley agreed, claiming the success of the poster ‘signalled a change in public attitudes to political advertising’. ‘Once the Tories were in office, their advertisements turned the tables on Labour by treating them as if they were a failed government rather than an active opposition’.3 Tim Bell – the liaison between Saatchi and Margaret Thatcher – wrote in 1982 that ‘Labour isn’t working’ ‘will probably go down in history as one of the most effective political posters ever produced’.4 Bell joined (or began) a chorus which testified to the billboard’s role in the Conservative victory. David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh cite leading Conservatives who argued that the poster dissuaded James Callaghan from calling an 1 Unlike conventional works of art posters were not formally titled. Throughout this work the posters referenced are referred to by their first line. Where this ‘title’ appears on the original poster in upper case, the capitalisation is retained in the citation. Where the text appears in lower case this is also reflected. This is a deliberate recognition of the conscious choice made by the produced in whether to use upper or lower case. 2 M. Scammell, ‘The odd couple: marketing and Maggie’, European Journal of Marketing (1996) 30:10, p. 120; M. Scammell, Designer Politics, How Elections Are Won (London, 1995) p. 87. 3 A. Fendley, Saatchi & Saatchi: The Inside Story (New York, 1996) p.