Creating the Party

While sorting the newspapers for recycling last night, a job advert caught my eye: one for General Secretary for the Labour Party. Nothing surprising about that, they turn over fast, so they always seem to be looking for a new one.

What made me look was the section it was listed in. It was in the Media Guardian's Creative, Media and Sales section. It would seem that media management is even more the central concern of the party than we feared - 'we are moving beyond spin' was, well, spin. The role of the General Secretary used to membership and policy development and ensuring that the views of the members were taken note of by the leadership, oh happy days. Now it would appear to be branding and selling and that which is to be sold must first be created, not any longer through the labourious and labarynthine processes of inner party democracy. No, by a group of creatives in a London office snorting their way through ideas for ad campaigns and slogans. If not, why trawl there for candidates.