Strong and stable

"Strong and stable" or "strong and stable leadership" was a phrase often used by the British Prime Minister Theresa May in the run up to the 2017 United Kingdom general election.[1][2]

Theresa May in 2017

The slogan was criticised often by opponents of May, for its perceived robotic delivery and contradictory nature, also becoming an internet meme.

Origins
Poster in Shoreditch, London, mocking the phrase during the election campaign

According to the Financial Times, the phrase may have originated from former Prime Minister David Cameron's resignation speech after the UK voted to leave the European Union: "stability . . . strong, determined and committed leadership".[3] David Cutts, professor of political science at the University of Birmingham, has described the phrase as an example of compressing information to provide helpful cues to voters and reduce the time needed to acquire information.[4]

Use by Theresa May and others

"Strong and stable" was described as a cliché and led to criticism that May was an ineffective political campaigner who could only talk in slogans.[5][6] In an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr, May was stopped after saying "strong and stable" in the first 30 seconds, and was asked to not use sound bites.[7] During a Commons debate, Labour MP Paul Flynn sarcastically asked the Speaker if a microchip had been planted in Conservative MPs' heads to repeat "strong and stable" every 18 seconds.[8]

Artist Jeremy Deller designed a poster parodying the phrase and mocking the government's Brexit process.[9] At a press conference during the election campaign, a reporter suggested that May was "weak and wobbly" rather than "strong and stable".[10] This was repeated by other news outlets.[11] At another point in the election campaign, a man presented opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn with two bananas, one bearing the word "strong" and the other with the word "stable." Corbyn found the incident amusing even though the man had intended to suggest that his politics were bananas.[12]

After the election, May reportedly wanted to drop her "strong and stable" slogan because she felt it was making her look "stupid", and it was widely considered that the phrase had been overused and was becoming ever less effective.[13]

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's coordinator for Brexit-related affairs, parodied the phrase by saying "Any Brexit deal requires a strong and stable understanding of the complex issues involved".[14]

Later use

The phrase was still being associated with May in 2019, the year of her resignation as prime minister.[15][16]

The Guardian quipped, on a book collecting a few years of John Crace's politics sketches:[17]

"Brexit means Brexit." "Strong and stable." "I don't think I'm in the least robotic." Ever since Theresa May first whirred into inaction as prime minister, there has only been one reliable source of strength and stability: John Crace's political sketches for the Guardian.

— John Crace. I, Maybot: the rise and fall. London. ISBN 978-1-78335-159-6.

Bibliography

References
  1. "'Strong and Stable' versus 'for the Many not the Few'". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  2. "'Dreadful night' when Theresa May's strong and stable fantasy evaporated". The Guardian. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  3. "The surprising origins of May's 'strong and stable' slogan". Financial Times. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  4. Cutts, David. "'Strong and Stable' versus 'for the Many not the Few'". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. "European media delight in covering anti-Brexit march". The Guardian. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  6. "If Jacinda Ardern was in No 10, imagine how different Brexit would be". The Guardian. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  7. "Theresa May lasts just 30 seconds when asked on Marr "not to used soundbites"". The Independent. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  8. "'Strong and stable' - Why politicians keep repeating themselves". BBC News. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  9. "It's not Brexit (yet), but is it art, asks new London show". Reuters. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  10. "May challenged on being weak and wobbly". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  11. Quinn, Carolyn (24 May 2018). "When 'Strong and Stable' became 'Weak and Wobbly'". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  12. Gilbert, Simon (9 May 2017). "This is why Jeremy Corbyn was offered 'strong and stable' bananas". Coventry Telegraph.
  13. Jimmy Nsubuga (12 June 2017). "Prime Minister Theresa May 'wanted to drop strong and stable slogan' | Metro News". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  14. Poole, Steven (10 May 2019). "Strong and stable leadership!' Could Theresa May's rhetorical carpet-bombing backfire?". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  15. "For EU, Brexit has trashed May's 'strong and stable' image". Washington Post. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  16. editor, Heather Stewart Political (24 May 2019). "Theresa May announces she will resign on 7 June". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 January 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  17. John Crace. "The politics sketch". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
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