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Palgrave Macmillan
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Designer Politics

How Elections Are Won

  • Book
  • © 1995

Overview

Authors:
  1. Margaret Scammell

    1. School of Politics and Communication Studies, University of Liverpool, UK

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
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  2. Introduction: Propaganda and Political Marketing

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 1-24

  3. Crusted Agent to Media Expert: The Changing Face of Campaigns

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 25-59

  4. The Rise of Thatcher: Political Marketing’s Quantum Leap

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 60-88

  5. Marketing Triumphant: Falklands Fallout

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 89-117

  6. Towards the Permanent Campaign: the 1987 Election

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 118-164

  7. Government Publicity: Managing the News

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 165-201

  8. Government Advertising: Information or Propaganda?

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 202-232

  9. The Image-Makers Unbound: Marketing in the Post-Thatcher Era

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 233-268

  10. Thatcher’s Legacy: The Americanisation of British Politics?

    • Margaret Scammell
    Pages 269-298

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 299-342
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Keywords

About this book

This is the first book to offer a serious examination of the phenomenon of political marketing in Britain. It presents an analysis of the increasingly influential role of the image-makers and casts a critical eye over the debate concerning the impact of marketing on political conduct and governance. Its primary focus is party and government communications in the Thatcher era and beyond, up to and including the 1992 general election. It argues that Thatcher, despite her image as the resolute politician, pioneered marketing techniques and concepts which have since become standard practice. Designer Politics looks at the historical engines of growth of commercial salesmanship in politics. It explores how political culture and conduct have been affected by the phenomenon and to what extent politics and policy have been remoulded to fit the marketing process. The author challenges the prevailing pessimism that Britain is hurtling towards American presidential-style campaigns and that marketing necessarily demeans and undermines democracy. While there are inherent dangers, there also comes new potential for a more genuinely popular democracy.

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Politics and Communication Studies, University of Liverpool, UK

    Margaret Scammell

About the author

MARGARET SCAMMELL is Lecturer in the School of Politics and Communication Studies at the University of Liverpool. Formerly a freelance journalist, she has published extensively on political advertising, and press and television coverage of election campaigns. She contributed to The British General Election of 1992 by David Butler and Dennis Kavanagh.

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