An alternative view of Lawson
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [compassnetwork] Stern followup and comms ideas
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:04:46 -0000
From: Chris Smith <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
To: 'Liana Stupples' <[log in to unmask]>, 'Stuart
Singleton-White' <[log in to unmask]>, 'Chris Church'
<[log in to unmask]>, <[log in to unmask]>
No no no……. Lawson was perfect on Newsnight! Just what’s needed. Why?
because he came across as being nutty, old, posh and weird. Completely
out of touch and entirely self interested. Telling the former chief
economist of the world bank that he’d got his numbers wrong and that his
conclusions were ‘with the birds’. Perfect.
The naysayers can be left alone to roll around in their pit of weird
eccentricity. Don’t rise to it, just patronise them, ignore them and
sideline. That’s far more powerful.
Harmless old fools……. bless.
Agree with Steve C, the consensual 75 per cent is the audience requiring
attention.
-----Original Message-----
*From:* [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Liana Stupples
*Sent:* 31 October 2006 10:36
*To:* 'Stuart Singleton-White'; 'Chris Church';
[log in to unmask]
*Subject:* [compassnetwork] Stern followup and comms ideas
Some communications priority ideas from someone who watched Newsnight last
night (TV Programme) and had to turn it off because I was so angry.....
1. Get onto the BBC - and remind them that to continue to roll out
nutters like Lawson (who was spouting discredited anti CC arguments, and
incoherently at that) and to give them a disproportionate amount of airtime
is lazy and dangerous journalism. It is not "balanced" to get one extreme
and minority point of view and put it against the majority as if the debate
was evenly split.
2. Don't see it as communications when it is actually politics - amid
all this the government are getting away with looking very green whereas the
tax outcry is largely their fault because of their refusal to link the tax
on the "bads" with less tax on the "goods". Also while they are getting
glory for proposing a Climate Bill, they have not said they will fulfill the
key demand of the climate movement which is to leglislate for year on year
cuts. We need to help people become more media savvy and see through the
spin, as well as having a few key benchmarks that govt action will be judged
on.
3. One of the key points of the Stern report was that the odds are
there is no real alternative to taking action now if we want to avoid
significant chaos, but Stern was really left on his own to carry that
message. We have to start getting out of protest mode and create an
atmosphere of "the bus is leaving" - something is happening, all the
sensible people are on board, lets go: join in or miss out.... we are about
to change the world....
Thanks for listening
P.S does anyone have the BBC complaints number/web address?
Liana Stupples
[log in to unmask] <mailto:liana.stupples%40virgin.net>
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:compassnetwork%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:[log in to unmask]
<mailto:compassnetwork%40yahoogroups.com>]
On Behalf Of Stuart Singleton-White
Sent: 31 October 2006 09:55
To: Chris Church; [log in to unmask]
<mailto:compassnetwork%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [compassnetwork] Stern reactions and common strategies
I think Chris makes some very interesting points here. One of things that
is a little concerning about the debate as it is currently constructed and
being pursued by elements within the media and political establishment is
that the question of tax and "green taxes" is becoming an end in itself,
rather than a means to an end. I stress that I am neither an economist, nor
a tax expert, but I am concerned that the discussion of "green taxes" seems
to be in terms of any such tax having two objectives - to change behaviour
and to raise revenue. I think this is dangerous thinking because either the
revenue streams will not materialise as everyone changes behaviour, or the
behaviour will not change but the revenue will flow from a different (and
possibly regressive) source. The politics then seems to play out along
traditional lines in terms of the Tories trying to claim this is just
revenue raising by Brown, and their "green tax" plans will replace other
revenue streams, thus not increa
sing the tax burdens on the hard done by middle classes and there potential
voters. And Labour are not yet clear on how they will tackle the issue of
"green taxes" and the balance between tax, regulation and market incentives.
Though it is worth noting that as they rush to wrap themselves in the green
cloak we have seen CO2 emission rise since 1997 and the proportion of tax
taken by "green taxes" fall (mainly because they have run scared of the
motorist backlash - a moment the environmental movement itself did not come
through without blame in 2000).
I think our challenge as communicators has to be to get to the bottom of the
purpose of all this "green tax" discussion. I would like to think that the
primary reason for "green taxes" is to engender behaviour change. If it is
then we need to hold the media and politicians to account on this and ensure
this is truly a means to an end. In my view only honesty in this debate
will bring people round, not to liking "green taxes" but to understanding
and accepting them.
Stuart Singleton-White
Themessagehub
e. [log in to unmask]
<mailto:stuart_singletonwhite%40btconnect.com>
m. 07710 403092
________________________________
From: [log in to unmask]
<mailto:compassnetwork%40yahoogroups.com> on behalf of Chris Church
Sent: Mon 30/10/2006 22:57
To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:compassnetwork%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [compassnetwork] Stern reactions and common strategies
The reactions to the Stern report do indeed make for interesting reading /
deconstructing.
At one end there is the Greenpeace / Independent 'this changes everything'
viewpoint (and maybe it does) but the other end seems to have (as ever) two
tails: there's the brutish approach (the Sun, which Graham highlights) but I
would suggest that as usual the Mail (and the other Rothermere press) have a
slightly nastier, more divisive and undermining approach. Underlying the
Sun's approach is that everyone's going to pay - parts of the Mail seek to
suggest that this is aimed solely at the Mails' core audience (paraphrasing
I know) and that as ever they seek to capitalise on greed and envy. Despite
the overwhelming case it does look as if this may not be the point at which
things move towards some degree of consensus as the anti-tax lobby bury the
underlying message in whinging about higher fuel tax.
So how best to communicate this 'new' message? And is there another issue
about the tax matter: the assumption that higher taxes will bring lower
carbon? Classical economics suggests yes, but the nature of millions of
drivers' approach to motoring may mean that 'pay up and continue as you
were' is the order of the day for too many.
It's also been noticeable today that in talking to colleagues in other parts
of Europe that their attitude does seem to be that the UK is getting a bit
obsessive about climate - despite the stories about our poor performance we
appear to be way ahead on this issue.
It does seem that we (whoever 'we' are these days) have a huge opportunity
here but the fragmentation of the people seeking to communicate the 'it
really is time for change' story (and the different ideologies and outcomes
looked for by the different agencies, NGOs, PR companies green gurus et all)
worries me in that the tax whingers can make their case more easily (by
keeping the debate at that level) than can those seeking the redical changes
we need.
Is there a case for (or indeed any possibility of) getting a consensus on at
least the basics of what is being communicated to help break through the
confusion? It's hard to think of examples of where such a wide variety of
agencies have co-operated effectively (outside wartime). Or does it not
matter and do we simply continue to work within our constituencies as best
we can?
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