Fresh cut sandwiches

As election slogans go, I thought Labour’s pitch in 1989 (I think it was) ‘Meet the Challenge: Make the Change’ was quite catchy. Well, it was something like that, alliterative and positive, albeit accompanied by a grinning Kinnock and a newly blossomed red rose. Not everybody got the drift, obviously. At the time I quite liked the idea of dropping the ‘ge’ from the word Challenge. Today the clever bods in Labour’s HQ will be scratching their heads searching for a new, inspirational and easily remembered slogan, something which perhaps captures our leader’s charismatic vision of a New Britain. (Possibly not New Labour, New Britain, c.1997) The party's recent drift towards negative messaging on social media doesn’t bode well. And sadly, ’For the Many, Not the Few’ has to be disregarded, with its socialist, Corbynistic tone (even if the phrase was lifted from Tony Blair’s words drafted onto all party membership cards after the abolition of Clause 4).  So what will be Labour’s pitch next year (the general election will be held in October 2024 unless Sunak expects to lose and delays until the last possible moment)? ‘Let’s Get New Management’ has a ring to it, reminding one of the fate of failing businesses which proudly claim ‘Under New Management’ when what is needed is an entirely new business model. I once worked in pub which proudly stated that it sold ‘fresh cut sandwiches,’ a reassuring statement above a motley collection of curled-up several days’ old staleties (spot the neologism). Unless Labour can convince the electorate that it has more to offer than a few ‘fresh cut Tory policies’ no effort on the slogan front will succeed. It’s substance we need, not PR. Actually, I would run with Meet the Challenge, Make the Change, except I'm not at all sure our leadership knows what the challenge is, still less the change.