Is spinning in its grave?

Do political publicity stunts really influence public opinion in the run-up to elections? Michael Alexander sought the views of some experts

If you feel as if you are coming down with a dose of electionitis, you are not alone.

Following last week’s shock announcement by Theresa May of a snap general election on June 8 and political posturing is already well under way.

However, with opinion polls – notoriously unreliable ahead of the 2015 general election – already predicting a Theresa May landslide, do high-profile publicity stunts, intended or unintended, make any difference to the final result?

One man who had a swine of a time before being elected in the Holyrood elections last year was Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie.

While telling TV viewers he liked to “organise visits to send a message in pictorial terms”, Mr Rennie was unaware that a male pig was in the background mounting a mate.

Meanwhile, the animal theme continued last May when Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson was touted as the “coming powerhouse” of Westminster politics while being paraded in front of the cameras astride a buffalo.

A senior source with the Scottish Conservatives said: “It was on every news bulletin and in every paper the next day.

“At the same time, Labour were putting up candidates playing lawn bowls. There was only ever going to be one winner from that and showed a party with life in its veins compared to one on the way down – and so it happened at the polls too.”

According to political scientist and polling expert Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University, media stunts will not directly sway voting opinion.

“It’s a way of generating publicity,” said Prof Curtice.

“But at the end of the day, whether it succeeds or not will depend on the content of that publicity.”

Prof Curtice said spin doctors had been generating pictures for publicity since the time Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister in 1979. However, when photocalls do go wrong, they can indirectly reinforce a negative stereotype.

“The famous one is (the-then Labour leader) Neil Kinnock walking on the beach in the 1980s and falling into the sea. That picture haunted him,” said Prof Curtice.

“When Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader, the first thing the media did was check if he was wearing a tie or singing the national anthem or not. It wasn’t a shock when that happened.

“Don’t be surprised if we see Mrs May on a tank in the next few weeks – looking very Mrs Thatcher – portraying the impression that she is very strong and stable.”

Paul Sinclair was a former special adviser to Gordon Brown and spin doctor for former Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont.

However, he was not working for Brown when, in 2010, the-then prime minister was caught on microphone describing a voter he had just spoken to in Rochdale as a “bigoted woman”.

“That incident could have been avoided if someone had just taken the microphone off him,” said Sinclair.

“But for me Neil Kinnock falling into the sea was the ultimate example of an incident that was not going to win any votes.”

Don’t be surprised if we see Mrs May on a tank in the next few weeks – looking very Mrs Thatcher

Pictures: Deadline News/PA. Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie are two politicians who have had contrasting experiences of how publicity stunts – particularly involving animals – can go.