Iain Martin’s general election commentary for the Wall Street Journal is rapidly become a must-read for me due to his record of unearthing useful bits of extra information that shed an extra light on the big political stories.
This week he had a good piece on the Conservative Party’s preparation for televised party leader debates during the general election:
Advisers close to U.S. President Barack Obama have been drafted by David Cameron to help the Conservatives in their election campaign against Gordon Brown and Labour.
The Tories have signed a contract with Squier, Knapp, Dunn Communications—a Washington-based Democrat-leaning political consultancy— to help them prepare for the first-ever television debates between leaders during a British election campaign.
That firm’s name is familiar to me as I know someone who has worked with them in American politics, so I asked them what they made of this appointment.
Their response:
Certainly explains where a large chunk of the Tories cash will be going. SKD are one of the most expensive firms out there.
That certainly fits with the pattern of a party that employs a head of communications (Andy Coulson) on a higher salary than the Prime Minister.
- TV leaders debates: predictions, worms, evidence and arbitration
- Is Danny Finkelstein right about televised party leader debates?
- More Euro troubles for Conservatives as donor backs UKIP
- Lib Dems aggressively expand targeting strategy against Conservatives and Labour
- Why Gordon Brown will start the TV election debates with an advantage over David Cameron