No Big Money Or TV Ads — What's With The U.K.'s Low-Key Election?
In the U.K., national elections are less than two months away. In the U.S., the presidential election is more than a year away. But you could be forgiven for thinking it's the other way around.
America experiences a long, drawn-out election fever, while the U.K. hardly shows any symptoms at all. That is to say, almost none of the events most strongly associated with an American presidential campaign are part of a typical British national election.
Take political rallies, where the bleachers fill with thousands of flag-waving, screaming supporters.
"I remember being in Denver in 2008," says London-based political consultant Steve Morgan. "The stadium was full, and thousands and thousands of people were outside, and millions more watching on television."
Morgan, who has worked in political campaigns in both countries, recalls the landmark moment when Barack Obama formally accepted his party's nomination to be president of the United States.
"We don't have that," he says.
The last time a British political leader tried to do something similar, says Morgan, "Was Sheffield in 1992, and it was Neil Kinnock."
The speech, three days before the election, was a disaster.
"The British media crucified him for trying to run an American-style campaign," says Morgan.
Kinnock's party lost that year, and no British politician has held a big rally like that since.
Debates are another staple of American campaigns. There were four Presidential debates in 2012, including the Vice Presidential debate. Not so in the UK.
"Last election we had a leaders' debate for the first time," says political scientist Margaret Scammell of the London School of Economics. "We may or may not have another one this time."
This year, Prime Minister David Cameron is threatening not to show up for debates — which points to another big difference between American and British campaigns. In the U.S., voters choose the president. But in the U.K., voters don't cast their ballots for the prime minister. People vote for local members of parliament, who then choose the party leader.
Without a primary system, there are no polarizing, surprising, wild-card candidates, and everything becomes far more predictable.
"So there isn't a lot of bunting and razzmatazz and hoopla around British elections," says Scammell. "They've become rather dull affairs, if you want my honest opinion."
The current party leaders have been around for years. The parties chose them to be middle-of-the-road consensus-builders. As a result, voters may feel not feel very intensely about them one way or the other.
Beyond rallies, debates, and primaries, political ads practically define election season in America. Especially in swing states, it can be impossible to turn on the television or the radio without being inundated.
But in the U.K., "We have very strict rules where you're not really allowed to advertise via television or radio as a political party," says Katie Ghose. She's chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, a nonpartisan group that focuses on improving the way campaigns operate.
The internet has allowed for a bit of American-style political advertising in the U.K., but British campaigns don't have money for the hyper-saturation that Americans are used to. And political spending by outside organizations is not allowed.
"We just think that there is really a grotesque amount of money spent in the U.S. on politics," says Ghose. That's a pretty widely-held view in Britain, which highlights a big cultural difference between the U.S. and the U.K.: In America, campaign laws value free speech above all else. The Supreme Court has ruled that limits on campaign spending may amount to limits on speech. In the U.K., people talk less about free speech and more about what Ghose calls "a level playing field."
"If you have one party that's just able to amass a load of money and shout louder than the others, that's not healthy for democracy," Ghose says. "And we wouldn't interpret freedom of speech to mean an unlimited ability to spend, spend, spend."
The result is a British political campaign that seems almost eerily quiet.
"If you don't watch the news," says political scientist Scammell, "You could ignore the election altogether."
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Transcript
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
The conversation about Hillary Clinton comes just as a reminder with the presidential election more than a year away. In the U.K., national elections are less than two months away, but the British do not experience the long drawn-out election fever we do. From London, NPR's Ari Shapiro reports on the differences.
ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: What are the events you most strongly associate with a presidential campaign? Political consultant Steve Morgan has worked on both sides of the Atlantic and for him, political rallies are high up on the list - bleachers packed with screaming supporters.
STEVE MORGAN: I remember being in Denver in 2008, where the stadium was full and thousands and thousands of people outside, and millions watching on television.
(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you.
MORGAN: We don't have that.
SHAPIRO: He remembers the last time a British political leader tried to do something similar.
MORGAN: It was Sheffield in 1992, and it was Neil Kinnock.
SHAPIRO: It was a disaster.
MORGAN: The British media crucified him for trying to run an American-style campaign.
SHAPIRO: His party lost that year and no British politician has had a big rally like that since. So, no rallies. What else defines American elections?
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I welcome you to the first of the 2012 presidential debates.
SHAPIRO: There were four total that year, including the vice presidential debate. In the U.K? Margaret Scammell is a political scientist at the London School of Economics.
MARGARET SCAMMELL: Last election, we had a leader's debate for the first time. We may or may not have another one this time.
SHAPIRO: That's because Prime Minister David Cameron is threatening not to show up, which points to another big difference between American and British campaigns. In the U.S., you vote for the president, but in the U.K., you don't vote for the prime minister. That means there's no primary system and no polarizing wild card candidates. Everything is far more predictable, says Scammell.
SCAMMELL: So there isn't a lot of bunting and razzmatazz and hoopla around British elections. They've become rather dull affairs, if you want my honest opinion.
SHAPIRO: The current party leaders have been around for years. The parties chose them to be middle-of-the-road consensus builders. And as a result, voters may not feel very intensely about them one way or the other. So, no rallies, no debates, no primaries. But what about this?
(SOUNDBITE OF TV AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Mitt Romney's negative attack machine is back.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV AD)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He should be absolutely ashamed of himself.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Fiscal conservative - really?
(SOUNDBITE OF TV AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: Great patriots turned to God, gave their all.
SHAPIRO: In the U.K...
SCAMMELL: We have very strict rules where you're not really allowed to advertise via television or radio as a political party.
SHAPIRO: That's right, no political ads on British TV and radio. Katie Ghose is chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, a nonpartisan group that focuses on improving the way campaigns operate. She says the U.K. is seeing a bit of American-style political advertising on the Internet, but campaigns here just don't have the money for the hyper-saturation that Americans are used to.
KATIE GHOSE: We just think that there is a really grotesque amount of money spent in the U.S. on politics.
SHAPIRO: That's a pretty widely-held view in Britain. And this points to a big cultural difference between the U.S. and the U.K. In America, campaign laws value free speech above all else. The Supreme Court has ruled that limits on campaign spending may amount to limits on speech. In the U.K., you hear less about free speech and more about what Ghose calls a level playing field.
GHOSE: If you have one party that's able to just amass a load of money and then shout louder than the others, that's actually not healthy for our democracy. And we wouldn't interpret freedom of speech to mean an unlimited ability to spend, spend, spend.
SHAPIRO: The result is a British political campaign that can seem almost eerily quiet. Unless you follow the news, you might not even realize that this country is less than two months away from an election. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, London. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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