Feb 12, 2025 07:08 PM
RELATED TOPIC (scivillage): Labour Party defends immigration crackdown amid Reform UK surge in polls
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The British public was wise to Labour’s deportation videos
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/me...ion-videos
EXCERPTS: . . . This side of the Atlantic, the government’s net popularity rating has hit -48 per cent, and the spectre of Reform, now leading in one poll and hoovering up every atom of media attention, looms large in Labour minds.
And so, on 10 February BBC News at Ten viewers were faced with Trump-lite images of illegal immigrants being marched up airline steps in our own set of deportation videos. Across social media, there were videos of arrests being made in houses and shops in a bid to illustrate that 19,000 illegal migrants have been deported since the election.
And yet a media strategy clearly intended to ape the “success” of Trump’s immigration videos was chiefly successful only in reminding us of the vast differences between our two nations. Not since the US version of The Office has television so clearly highlighted the gulf between the perma-positive gullibility of Americans and the innate scepticism of Brits.
In the US, the footage was accompanied by exuberant or outraged voiceovers from glossy-haired TV hosts. In the UK, the BBC’s Chris Mason was sent to Basildon in the drizzle to show passers-by the videos on his mobile phone. The BBC story of dawn raids was framed as “This is what the government wants you to see” rather than “This is a thing that has happened”.
Which is exactly what the people of Basildon thought. “That, to me, is a government gimmick,” said one resident. The story quickly became about the government’s decision to release the videos, rather than what they contained.
On YouTube, where the videos racked up thousands of views, the comments were depressingly predictable (both for Labour and humanity). “This is just a lame PR operation,” said one. “Not even a drop in the ocean,” said another. Of course, some will have been persuaded that Labour is doing something to end illegal immigration. And undoubtedly it is a big issue for “Reform-curious” voters. But the British dislike being confronted by unkindness.
[...] The lesson of all this? Yes, the threat of Reform and Nigel Farage is real and, yes, they’re clinging on to Trump’s coat-tails. But a British audience is very different to an American one. As Ricky Gervais, who co-wrote both versions of The Office, said, Americans “applaud ambition and openly reward success. Brits are more comfortable with life’s losers. We embrace the underdog until it’s no longer the underdog.” (MORE - missing details)
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The British public was wise to Labour’s deportation videos
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/me...ion-videos
EXCERPTS: . . . This side of the Atlantic, the government’s net popularity rating has hit -48 per cent, and the spectre of Reform, now leading in one poll and hoovering up every atom of media attention, looms large in Labour minds.
And so, on 10 February BBC News at Ten viewers were faced with Trump-lite images of illegal immigrants being marched up airline steps in our own set of deportation videos. Across social media, there were videos of arrests being made in houses and shops in a bid to illustrate that 19,000 illegal migrants have been deported since the election.
And yet a media strategy clearly intended to ape the “success” of Trump’s immigration videos was chiefly successful only in reminding us of the vast differences between our two nations. Not since the US version of The Office has television so clearly highlighted the gulf between the perma-positive gullibility of Americans and the innate scepticism of Brits.
In the US, the footage was accompanied by exuberant or outraged voiceovers from glossy-haired TV hosts. In the UK, the BBC’s Chris Mason was sent to Basildon in the drizzle to show passers-by the videos on his mobile phone. The BBC story of dawn raids was framed as “This is what the government wants you to see” rather than “This is a thing that has happened”.
Which is exactly what the people of Basildon thought. “That, to me, is a government gimmick,” said one resident. The story quickly became about the government’s decision to release the videos, rather than what they contained.
On YouTube, where the videos racked up thousands of views, the comments were depressingly predictable (both for Labour and humanity). “This is just a lame PR operation,” said one. “Not even a drop in the ocean,” said another. Of course, some will have been persuaded that Labour is doing something to end illegal immigration. And undoubtedly it is a big issue for “Reform-curious” voters. But the British dislike being confronted by unkindness.
[...] The lesson of all this? Yes, the threat of Reform and Nigel Farage is real and, yes, they’re clinging on to Trump’s coat-tails. But a British audience is very different to an American one. As Ricky Gervais, who co-wrote both versions of The Office, said, Americans “applaud ambition and openly reward success. Brits are more comfortable with life’s losers. We embrace the underdog until it’s no longer the underdog.” (MORE - missing details)