A twin-track approach can drive the Tories to victory

The debate in Tory circles about strategy earlier in the year was overly polarised. Some argued that the party should run a purely positive campaign, that going negative at all would just make voters see the Tories as the ‘nasty party’ again. Others thought that all the Tories needed to do to win, was to rip into Gordon Brown.

In reality, the Tories needed both a negative and a positive message. They needed to show people why ‘five more years of Gordo Brown’ would be a disaster and why a Tory government would be better. The Tories’ latest ad campaigns suggest that the Tories are now pursuing such an approach. The M&C Saatchi ads go after Brown, emphasizing just how much of a failure he has been as both Chancellor and Prime Minister. While the latest set of ads featuring first-time Tory voters highlights the positive side of the Tory message.

There is still a lot of work to be done by the Tories in explaining to the country how Britain would be different after five years of Prime Minister Cameron. But the Tories now have a balanced strategic approach.