Not even James Bond in his Daniel Craig incarnation could clinch a Remain victory in the Brexit referendum. Craig did not indulge in theatrics when trying to persuade his countrymen to vote Remain. He simply slipped on a T-shirt with the words ‘No man is an island, No Country by itself – Vote Remain’.
That – in a nutshell – was the positive side of the Remain campaign, an appeal for unity and solidarity as opposed to isolationism and nationalism.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the most visible aspect of the Remain campaign. Much of it was based on the potentially catastrophic consequences of Brexit, coupled with writing off Remain voters as racist, insular Little Englanders who were only worried about immigrants taking their jobs. This – more than anything – contributed to the Remain vote as it created a backlash among voters who wanted to give their own two-fingered salute to the camp which was describing them as racist hooligans and thugs.
There is a cardinal rule in marketing: never insult your audience. Doing so only provokes a natural defence mechanism which has the unwelcome effect of creating a wall of resentment which blocks out any message you may be trying to get across. People will not support a cause or a politician if they feel they are being insulted and their values belittled. On the other hand, they will stew with resentment and wait for their chance to get even. This is clearly what has happened in the Brexit campaign.
Calling potential voters a bunch of geriatric, inked has-beens will do absolutely nothing to endear them to the cause
Even the most erudite and eloquent of campaigners fell foul of the rule of never dissing one’s audience. Take The Times of London columnist Matthew Parris. He has written excellent pieces expounding the benefits of the Remain platform. They were well-thought out, rational and convincing.
Then he went and spoiled it all in a column where he mentioned Clacton-on-Sea – the only constituency where UKIP have managed to win a parliamentary seat. He wrote, “Clacton-on-Sea is going nowhere. This is Britain on crutches. This is tracksuit-and-trainers Britain, tattoo-parlour Britain, all-our-yesterdays Britain.”
How was this description meant to convince the undecided that they should throw in their lot with the Remain lobby? Calling potential voters a bunch of geriatric, inked has-beens will do absolutely nothing to endear them to the cause.
The condescending tone used by those in the Remain camp irked many. This is evident from the words of those who voted for Brexit and who regretted it. Emily Tierney, a young graduand who regretted voting for Brexit, had this to say in an interview with a British newspaper: “The In campaigners on social media were dismissive and obnoxious. It doesn’t help to call everyone who is considering voting to leave racist. Think next time before you post a preachy status telling everyone else how to vote, because they might not actually respect your opinion and could be inspired to do the exact opposite.”
On the comments board underneath her piece someone echoed these sentiments and wrote: “For a Guardian journalist in a rival paper to describe Northern towns and cities as ‘crappy’. How vile. I mean just how utterly vile. The contempt you see for those in the rest of the country is what has led to this.”
This is a common theme among those who voted ‘Out’ – the resentment they feel at being labelled and insulted. The exponents of the Remain camp may have had sound and rational reasons for their strategy but they obliterated any goodwill and receptiveness to their message by their attitude of disdain towards those who did not agree with them.
We are still seeing manifestations of this attitude in their reaction to the referendum result. It is very similar to that of American Senate candidate Dick Tuck when he was not elected. His curt reaction was, “The people have spoken, the bastards.”
Maybe. But it is those ‘bastards’ who vote and who decide, so maybe not insulting them might be a move in the right direction in any campaign.
cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt