I have to take my hat off to the designers of the Conservative Party’s sunny uplands website. Lots of smiling young faces and the verve of a party that thinks it’s heading back into power. The slogans of the pop-up adverts are great, showing the Cameroons’ capacity for empathy. Who in middle Britain could possibly argue with the following?:
A Neighbourhood I Feel Safe In
A Home of My Own
A Good School For My Children
An NHS I Can Count On
Pass Something On To My Children
More Help To Go Green
The Retirement I’ve Worked For
My Money In Safe Hands
But dig a little deeper and there are two slogans they have left off the front page, which only appear in press adverts: Can Work Will Work (i.e. we will crack down on benefit scroungers) and Reduce the Pressure (i.e. there are too many immigrants).
I do believe I can hear a distant dog whistle.