I’ve had a running joke with some of my friends over the past week by answering unrelated questions in Electionspeak. So, with a few additions pulled from news stories, here’s the list of political soundbites that I’ve been tormenting them with, and which you will be sick of hearing from now until 6th May.
None of them mean anything at all.
- Fairness
- Change
- Accountability
- Justice
- Openness
- Compassion
- Choice
- Sustainability
- Equality
- Engagement
- “Hope, Optimism and Change”
- “The great ignored”
- Champions
- “Road to recovery”, also ”Path to prosperity”, c.f. “Road to ruin”
- “Putting the economic recovery at risk”, c.f. “Securing the economic recovery”
- “Clear and straightforward”
- “Fresh start”
- “British values”
- “Old politics”
- anything “in a globalised world”
- European partners
- Transparency
- Waste
- Efficiency
- anything “for all”
- Westminster culture
- “more with less”
- “Brussels bureaucrats”
- “sleaze/bonus/waste/entitlement/benefits/entrepreneurial culture”
- “building a culture of change”.
- “Honest, hard-working people”/”hard-working British families”
- “fairness and real change”
- Greedy/immoral bankers
- “Fresh start”
- “Big society”
UPDATE:
Some additions courtesy of my loyal blog reader(s), friends and countrymen:
- Broken politics (Chuffy)
- Britishness (Chuffy)
- Tough questions (Susan)
- Broken Britain (Susan)
- Traditional values in a modern context (generic Blairism)
- Community (can’t believe I forgot this one but remembered it in the pub)
The best of Tom’s list (with an SNP slant 
):
- Reform
- Greener economy
- Broken Society
- Keys to Downing Street
- Class war (not so sure this is relevant to this election: aren’t we all aspiring middle class types?)
- Values
- Separatist
- Two-horse race – c.f. “not a two-horse race” from Nick Clegg
- “Alex Salmond can’t become Prime Minister”
- “break up Britain”/”Tear up the Union” (does it merit the capitalisation of a proper noun?)
- SNP “obsessed with independence”. Possibly also “wasting taxpayers’ money on a consultation exercise/referendum bill”
- Minority viewpoint
Don’t forget….
Reform, Greener Economy, Broken Society, Broken Politics, keys to downing street, the 1980s, class war, values…
and for Scotland, the Labour/Tory handbook of press release vocabulary and phrases…
Separatist, two-horse race, Alex Salmond can’t become prime minister/isn’t standing, break up Britain, tear Scotland out of the Union, obsession with independence, minority viewpoint, opinion polls consistently show, should focus on the economy….
I’m sure your list shall have double by May 6th!
Added! Appreciated my dear.
I’m not going to let this one go…
Isolationist, Opportunity, Diversity, Tax on Jobs, New Politics, Exceedingly Good Cakes, Britain being open/shut for business, Party of the many/few, the average middle class family…
Perhaps there is potential to use the aboves lists as a basic for a “political soundbite/speech generator” alla Andrew Bulhak’s Postmodern Generator.
Very good! Mainly relating to a hung parliament- Lib Dem (to audience/public) “We are not the king makers – you are!” Whatever the feck that means.
Apparently M.P’s are no longer representatives and are now delegates!