With the general election in full swing, we thought it only right to give a nod to the politicians in April’s edition of The Copywriter. This year\u2019s budget is likely to be Alistair Darling\u2019s swan song, the final flourish in a series of three which the No. 11 speechwriters would no doubt have agonised over. As tribute to their efforts, we put both the 2009 and 2010 budget speeches through the cloud generator to really analyse the stuff they\u2019re made of – the true currency here at Stratton Craig – the words.
\nOf course there were those you\u2019d expect: \u2018recovery\u2019 is emblazoned across both clouds as the Chancellor plots his course amidst the worst financial turbulence for decades. \u2018Global\u2019 and \u2018world\u2019 remain heavily stressed in an effort to explain the epic proportions of the downturn – \u2018the storm which began in America\u2019 that Britain has had the bad luck of getting swept up in.
\nBut there are also some clear differences. Last year, words like \u2018help\u2019, \u2018measures\u2019, \u2018steps\u2019 and \u2018extra\u2019 were emphasised as the government outlined the massive fiscal stimulus required to snatch the economy from the jaws of a depression. This year, out the other side of the recession, we see the spectre of \u2018borrowing\u2019 looming large, returning to haunt the Chancellor as he now works out how to pay all that money back. \u2018Inflation\u2019 also rears its head for the first time in the 2010 cloud, as well as \u2018pay\u2019 and \u2018bonuses\u2019 as he attempts to satisfy the national clamouring for a piece of the bankers\u2019 pie with his 50 per cent tax on their rewards. He is also much happier to talk about \u2018jobs\u2019 in 2010, a word strutting proudly across the word cloud as unemployment has fallen of late.
\nAt Stratton Craig, we\u2019re also interested in the words that slip below the headline-grabbing radar – the small print, those subtle formulations that produce \u2018tone of voice\u2019 or personality in writing. Seen together, the two clouds might summarise a great adventure story: in 2009, the country \u2018was plunged into deep \u2018crisis\u2019\u2019, the events of the past year have been \u2018major\u2019, the Labour government needed to act \u2018quickly\u2019, swooping in to rescue us all; in 2010, Darling the conquering hero, looks back and recounts the tough \u2018decisions\u2019 and \u2018choices\u2019 with rhetoric that is almost triumphant.
\nThe word \u2018already\u2019 stands out as Darling reminds the House of the government\u2019s interventions that have begun taking effect. It\u2019s a swaggering appeal to voters where the word \u2018right\u2019 (not seen at all on the 2009 cloud) holds forth confidently. Interestingly enough, however, words such as \u2018future\u2019 and \u2018long-term\u2019 are not as prominent as they were in 2009 when they were used to shift the focus away from the gloom of the present. This time it seems Darling decided not to try and convince the public of the great future yet to come under Labour. Perhaps even superheroes know when it might be time to retire…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Budget – an analysis With the general election in full swing, we thought it only right to give a nod to the politicians in April’s edition of The Copywriter. This year\u2019s budget is likely to be Alistair Darling\u2019s swan song, the final flourish in a series of three which the No. 11 speechwriters would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[453],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archived-content-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n