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Posted Colin Byrne on May 13th, 2010 | Filed under Current Affairs, Politics | Comment now »

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Watching that first press conference - and whatever your politics you can't help being enthralled at the sight of NewPol in action, just as whatever your politics you can't help being deeply moved by Martin Argles' amazing photo essay on Brown's last hours in No10 in today's Guardian - I was struck by two things, Buy Lunesta No Prescription. You have to wish these guys well on all our behalf given the financial and international challenges our country faces and you feel yourself unwittingly rooting for them to be able to cope, where can i order Lunesta without prescription. Australia, uk, us, usa, canada, mexico, india, craiglist, ebay, paypal, Secondly, That Joke, buy Lunesta from mexico. Rx free Lunesta, It punctured the tension and was a genuine moment of fun in the middle of drama and high seriousness. Any student of Shakespeare will know the power of that moment, order Lunesta. Buy Lunesta No Prescription, Those of us old enough to recall Spitting Image's puppet-based satirical commentary on politics in the 80's will remember the way comedy shaped our vision of political leaders. Lunesta from canadian pharmacy, Thatcher in a man's pinstripe suit. Hattersley as a dribbling tubster, buy Lunesta no prescription. Purchase Lunesta online, Owen and Steel with a squeaking wee David in big David's pocket. They are at it already, with cartoonists like Steve Bell branding the relationship as Clegg's butler to Cameron's lord of the manor. Time will tell if satire will once again influence our view of politics more than slavish newspaper editorial.

On media influence on the election, last Autumn my firm Weber Shandwick did a unique INLINE profile of what channels voters thought would influence their choice most. Next week we publish a follow up study to see just how influential digital, print, advertising, broadcast and WOM actually were in this groundbreaking election. More on that here soon.

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BBC, tax avoiders

Posted Colin Byrne on March 3rd, 2010 | Filed under Uncategorised | Comment now »

BBC DG Mark Thompson is right to frame the question as "what is the BBC for" as opposed to (the defensive) "is the BBC too big", but are his cuts the right answer to that question? As Lily Allen (swoon) points out in her Guardian op ed, without 6 Music we would be forced back on the blandness of much of the Radio 1 playlist. As for cutting an Asian news network in modern multi-cultural Britain?? I am told this was missing its audience in practice but surely that requires a rethink not just chopping it to satisfy anti-BBC, anti-multicultural jihadists. As a multi-cultural comms expert on my team says "If BBC is to invest in good quality radio for ethnic groups, they need to go back to the drawing board and think about what these listeners want, instead of presuming it's all about bollywood and bhajis." The one that makes very little sense to me is cutting back on the BBC website. At a time when other media are expanding their digital channels, Murdoch and Brooks at NI are chewing over paid for access to digital content, and more of us are consuming news and entertainment online, this smacks of turning back the clock rather than reining in the spending. I love it when the Beeb discusses itself on air. Always a diplomatic affair with BBC inner politics simmering away below the surface. On Today this morning they trotted out a bunch of highfalutin' commentators including cultural elitist Charles Moore (who refused to pay his licence fee until Jonathan Ross was sacked - a bit like Lord Ashcroft saying he will only register to pay tax if a Tory Government is elected. For the record, Ross' Radio 2 show was one of the most entertaining shows ever, for an organisation whose stated role is to entertain as well as educate and inform, even if his pay was ridiculously high.) who droned on about dumbing down, Strictly and chasing ratings (what a dreadful thing for folk in the entertaining and informing business to do). A better move by Thompson would have been to share consumers' credit crunch pain last year and go for a lower licence fee increase, rather than take the money, endure the media flack (Ross' salary, taxi expenses etc) and then start cutting services that are bang on with a modern interpretation of its charter. Let's face it, this is the usual defensive posture organisations like the BBC feel compelled to take in the face of the ritual Murdoch-driven, Tory attack on it. Yes the BBC should be well managed, prudent and popular, but it should also stand up for itself and have us as brand ambassadors. At the moment poor Thompson faces the worst of all worlds. Cutting services is not going to buy off the Murdoch-Cameron unholy alliance. Meantime badvocates are lining up rather than advocates. Meanwhile the other tax story rumbles on, while political anoraks like me try to work out what the negative fall out from the Lord Ashcroft story means for votes in the marginal seats that will decide the outcome of the forthcoming election and which Ashcroft is literally trying to buy for the Tories. The media are right to point out that the Tories are not the only party that take money from nom doms, an act of breathtaking hypocrisy for any political party seeking to run a democracy based on citizens who neither seek to or have the means to withhold tax from the wider national benefit. The difference here is Ashcroft is a senior official of the Conservative Party who is unashamedly funding a key seats operation to decide the election outcome with scalpel-like efficiency. I will pay my taxes - and a stack more from next month - under a forthcoming Tory government. Why should he have the right to decide he will only pay taxes if the party he supports is in Government? The Blair Government I enthusiastically supported in the past took money from people I really don't like (though I assume Richard Desmond does pay his taxes) and one of the less appealing aspects of modern politics is the need to hold your nose occasionally around some of your rich friends. Obama showed there was another way.

Media consumption

Posted Colin Byrne on January 28th, 2010 | Filed under Public Relations, The Media | 4 Comments »

I arrived at a meeting with some advertising and marketing colleagues earlier this week with half a ton of newsprint and magazines under my arm. It caused a few titters. Guess you must be in PR said one. The half ton included the FT, The Times, The Guardian, The Sun, Wallpaper, GQ, Marketing, Marketing Week. Skeletal disformation beckons. But all important inputs and some of it just beautiful to look at. I am passionate about media consumption, up there with my red wine consumption, dry martini consumption and Italian food consumption. I love the stuff. I love buying it, fanning it out on my desk or coffee table, and of course reading it. I carry the stuff around like a sword and shield combined, a badge of honour rather than a burden.

We are all liberal Conservatives now

Posted Colin Byrne on January 26th, 2010 | Filed under Uncategorised | Comment now »

2 months since I blogged. I'm a bad blog-boy. That said, with a busy job and five kids, it is possible to be "too busy to blog".  Today's British Social Attitudes Survey, basically showing that we are more liberal on homosexuality and "living in sin", but are increasingly seeing ourselves as Conservative sympathizers and don't want to pay (even) more taxes, is reported by many papers as counter-intuitive. Not to me. I spent a lot of time around Labour activists and trade union folk in my past. Some were very liberal. Some were verging on homophobic and racist. One gay friend of mine suffered a virtual witch hunt during his Labour selection process. Some of the most illiberal people I have ever known were my Trot fellow travelers in my yoof, who used to describe sex and inter-personal fun as "a diversion from the revolutionary struggle". Snappy slogan huh? I know some very liberal Conservatives on private life issues, who are still hawkish on tax and spend. The Left has always confused the stereotype of the Blue Rinse Tory Lady with the reality of changing social attitudes among people whose vote is swayed by issues like crime in their neighbourhoods and how much of their hard earned dosh they get to keep. And by increasing access over the past few decades to higher education. The Turnip Taliban and Little Englanders are still out there, but they are no more representative of the people now considering voting Cameron than Militant were typical of hard working Labour voters twenty years ago.  David Cameron will want to learn from the "back to basics" mistake and hypocracy of the last Tory PM, John Major.  One paper notes the liberalising impact of Tony Blair. Quite rightly. As Tony prepares for the Chilcot enquiry and gets skewered in the papers again over his speaker fees, it is surely time to remember that there is more to this great statesman's legacy than the divisive issue of Iraq. Time for a rehabilitation of Tony I say.  A Blair Revival is overdue.

Voting influences

Posted Colin Byrne on November 24th, 2009 | Filed under Current Affairs, Politics, The Media, Weber Shandwick | 2 Comments »

As the general election looms ever larger you can't move without tripping over someone who claims to be a key insider from President Obama's digital and social media campaign. Digital campaigning and social media is a growing battleground area for the main parties, with the Conservatives still clearly in the lead, helped by celebrity blogger outriders Mssrs Dale and Fawkes. However a recent "INLINE" (quite simply, where online meets offline in integrated communications campaigns) survey of eligible UK voters by Weber Shandwick suggests that digital won't have that decisive an impact in the country at the next election, despite the passions and claims and counter-claims it inspires in the Westminster bubble. Details are below. When I trailed this research in The Guardian recently, a Lib Dem blogger accused me of doing down political social media campaigns. Far from it. I am proud to have top Labour blogger Luke Akehurst on my team, Jonny Rosemont in my digital squad is a Tory blogger, and we will soon be launching a new Tory blogger onto the scene. I even dabble myself occasionally. I strongly believe that at grassroots level, digital and social media is already a strong force, even if the attempts by party leaders get mixed reviews. the recent Mumsnet oting by David Cameron shows how effective narrow-casted digital outreach can be. So I wasn't knocking it, I was merely reflecting on the first statistically sound and comprehensive poll of its kind, and the comparison to the influence of digital advocacy on consumer purchase decisions - cited as the biggest influence in a parallel "INLINE" poll of UK consumers. Anyway, here's the stuff. The longer report on consumer insights can be seen on our website. BRITISH VOTERS STILL TURN TO TRADITIONAL PRESS AND BROADCASTING WHEN THEY DECIDE HOW TO VOTE LONDON, UK – Nov, 2009 – Despite the huge impact of digital and social media on Barack Obama’s election campaign, and the strides by UK political parties to emulate that, a new poll shows that blogs, social networking sites and digital campaigning will have little impact on UK voters in the coming general election. The poll, for leading UK PR Company, Weber Shandwick, by KRC Research, was conducted with over 1,000 potential voters at the time of the recent Party conferences. In parallel to other research conducted amongst UK consumers about what media channels influenced their purchase decisions – which showed digital and social media and online advertising to be the biggest influence on buying decisions – political voters rated political blogs and party campaigns on social networking sites to be the least influential media avenue on voters. Political adverts scored the same influence rating on voters as brand advertising did with consumers – 10%. “Traditional media” (national print, brand media, local media and news media websites) were rated as overwhelmingly the most influential on voters – 59% influence rating vs 23% influence rating on consumer purchase decisions. Despite huge attention given to political blogs and efforts on Facebook and similar social networking sites by UK political leaders, blogs and social networking sites scored only a 5% influence rating on voters, and party websites and political viral advertising only a 7% influence rating. According to Weber Shandwick’s CEO, (and a former Labour election strategist) Colin Byrne, “Whilst digital and social media is now a huge influence on consumer purchasing despite all the hype about Barack Obama’s election campaign, Gordon Brown on YouTube and David Cameron’s “Webcameron”, British voters are still overwhelmingly influenced by good old press and broadcasting. This will change over successive elections as a new generation of voters come of age, but for now former Cabinet minister Hazel Blears appears to have been right when she said, “YouTube if you want too…….”. # # # NOTES TO EDITORS: •    Research conducted amongst a sample of 1,017, aged 18+ in the UK in the weeks leading up to this year’s Party Conference season by KRC Research. •    Sample was representative of gender, age demographic and UK regions. •    72% of sample said they were certain or likely to vote in the next general election. •    16% of respondents indicated that they still had to make up their mind on which way to vote.

Thoughts from an airport lounge…

Posted Colin Byrne on November 10th, 2009 | Filed under Current Affairs, Politics, Uncategorised | 1 Comment »

Tapping this out at an early hour in a cold dark Heathrow airport. Had the great joy of listening to Farming Today and the early hour of Today, the best broadcast news programme in Britain. Two items struck me. One, David Miliband deciding not to pursue the EU "High representative" role. Good call though the EU's loss, especially if Tony Blair does not do the EU president job he would do so well. I have long admired David as one of our best ministers. Whatever he does in the future, he has a big role to play in domestic politics and he has killed a story that was running on. Second, the BBC's admirable attempts to open up reporting from the Family Courts. A disturbing case is reported of a father who had been to the Courts twenty times to try and get access to his kids. Despite many judges supporting his applications, and some thirty court orders being issued in support of his access, his ex-wife has refused to comply. At the latest attempt, reported by the BBC, he was supported once again but told no action would be taken - but that he should have the right to send cards and letters.  When is the law not the law in this country???

Clean up politics yes, but let’s not make it a club just for those who can afford it

Posted Colin Byrne on October 28th, 2009 | Filed under Uncategorised | 2 Comments »

We are all talking a lot about the "decline" of traditional media vs the continued influence of press and broadcasters here in the UK, the USA etc. But if you want an example of just how influential an editor, painstaking journalism and some editorial balls can be, look to The Daily Telegraph. Their exposure of the alleged abuses and sheer stupidly the Parliamentary allowances system deserves a UN media award, let alone Newspaper of the Year. It has truly changed politics and its relationship with wider society. Not always for the better. I had some sympathy for Austin Mitchell's wife (knowing Austin of old, truth is I have ALWAYS had sympathy for his missus) when she complained on the BBC recently that being married to ANY MP, not just a porn/duck house/moat/gardening/mortgage tax relief expense “abusing” MP, was like being married to a social pariah. However, you could say that the insular nature of the political class as a whole, whatever background they come from, that made MPs and Peers think this was all acceptable, brought it all upon themselves. The latest proposals on second homes, mortgage interest payments etc have been well received by the press, against the background of the continued steady trickle of “abuse” stories and the howls of revolt from backbenchers. As a long distance commuter (2 x 2 hours a day when I am in the London office) I was interested in the proposal that if their nearest railway station was within 60 minutes of the Commons, MPs will be banned from claiming for a second home. A 60 minute journey during peak travel times is, as any rail commuter knows, a very different kettle of fish from a 60 minute journey late at night, which any MP would have to contemplate if they are doing their job properly. (I don’t understand why they don’t do what any company would do, which is have a sensible policy of allowing for reasonable overnight hotel accommodation if their work legitimately - a late night sitting or whatever, as opposed to a jolly at the Brits - requires them to be at work after a certain hour. I work a lot of late evenings. I don’t need a second home. I just need the odd opportunity not to have to arrive home at 2am having negotiated engineering works, delays and hoards of fast food gorging drunks and violent yobs on a late night train, just to get up and start it all again three hours later, and to stay in a reasonably priced hotel that my company has done a sensible group discount deal with. This is beyond the wit and organisational abilities of the Parliamentary authorities??) The concern voiced by some if that this will return politics to being the preserve of those who can afford it. To a point. We need elected representatives who can truly represent the electorate. You don’t get that if they all come from Eton or a career as a trade union official. Don’t get me wrong. I am not calling for social engineering. I have met many Labour MPs and PPCs with the right working class credentials, but were either as thick as two short planks or just unpleasant careerists. Ditto many MPs with Oxbridge educations but lacking the street smarts to get from one end the road to the other. But whatever reforms are brought in, they must reflect the need to get people into politics who have a passion for serving society and for change, not just those who can afford it. (While all the above is going on, one Conservative PPC – Liz Truss – is facing deselection by her local party for having an affair with another married MP in the past. I have never met the woman but am told she is bright and has a lot to contribute both to public service and to improving the quality of people in Parliament. Get fired for raking in questionable expenses, fine, but for this? On that basis half the flamin’ Commons would be out.)

Emerging from the recession

Posted Colin Byrne on October 13th, 2009 | Filed under Corporate Communications, Current Affairs, Public Relations, Weber Shandwick | 5 Comments »

I was last speaker up at a joint PRCA/Corp Comms Magazine conference late last week entitled ‘Emerging from the recession’. Having spent a week on 2010 budgets, talked to clients and fellow agency heads, and been at the Conservative conference in Manchester (a bit like one of those old concept albums – a ‘dark side’ spelling out economic gloom and tough measures, which then flipped over midweek to the ‘light side’ of Dave spelling out vision and values), I pointed out that there really needed to be a question mark at the end of the title. Although we are seeing real green shoots, and technical definitions of recession suggesting we are emerging from it, it is not a done deal. Just this morning one economist was talking about a ‘saxophone’ shaped recession with a deep dive followed by a slow and faltering recovery which could be blown (forgive the pun) off course by deep public spending cuts, another international financial crisis etc. The point I tried to make in my presentation was that even if the recession is, or will be, over, we in PR have to rethink some of our strategies and assumptions if we are going to be able to help our clients (internal as well as external if we are in house) and ourselves take advantage of it. First off, while we are all familiar with the grim images of recession at home and abroad, the most meaningful one for me right now is the picture of another David, taking to the streets with his sandwich board and advertising himself for work, with an introductory offer of doing the first month free. That picture should be up in PR offices and PR recruiting materials. First of all it is a great creative idea that got loads of coverage. Secondly, it was about clear communications. Thirdly there was a compelling consumer offer. Fourthly, it was entrepreneurial. I made the point that clients were starting to see real upsides in their business – though not in all sectors – and top executives are now refocusing on growth and less on bottom line protection. I also pulled out a quote from the Stanford economist Paul Romer who said ‘A crisis is a terrible thing to waste’. That may seem uncaring given the jobs lost this year in our sector, but in truth when times are tough PR focuses more on the tangibles – ideas that drive sales and not just reputation, proving ROI, improving measurement strategies. I then quoted one of the USA’s top marketers, GE’s Beth Comstock, who perfectly summed up the pivotal position PR advisers are in now when she said “The marketer is the one who understands that the question isn’t just “How do we make our year” but also, “How will we thrive in 2015”. That ability to juggle the here and now with the long term view is key to our industry’s success. Changes in the media mix, the rise of consumer scepticism about spin and traditional advertising, the power the Internet has given to advocates and badvocates, have all helped build the power – or potential power – of PR in today’s marketing mix. And as the recent VSS Communications Industry Forecast has noted, the comms industry is expected to grow faster than GDP for the next five years, and one of the key drivers of this growth is the PR industry. So, despite the downturn, the fact is that PR’s time has come. But the challenges and opportunities ahead are increasingly complex. They require strategic thinking, a lot of listening as well as talking, and a willingness to challenge the ideas we went into the recession with. Even if the budgets return and the economy picks up, we need to keep the disciplined thinking of the downturn front of mind. One of the personal examples I gave was my recent appointment of Matty Tong, a very talented strategic planner, from the world of adverting. Traditionally advertising is much more focussed on audience insights, planning and measurement than PR. Learning from that is one of the planks in our success platform going forwards. A book I have been reading lately is Richard Watson's 'Future Files - The 5 trends that will shape the next 50 years'. He summarises those trends as: 1. Ageing 2. The power shift Eastwards 3. Global connectivity 4. GRIN technologies 5. The Environment All have implications for PR. The backdrop to the changing opportunities and challenges for PR is clearly digital and social media. But even in this relatively new branch of PR and marketing, there are assumptions which don't match the facts. Take ageing. In the USA someone passes their 50th birthday every 8 seconds. In Japan the proportion of the population over 75 is forecast to rise by over 30% in the next 10 to 15 years. The opportunities in healthcare, technology, tourism, financial services and government communications are obvious. Yet our industry, with our relentless desire to hang with the kids and hug our inner teenager, and many companies, prioritise the teen market. Despite rising youth unemployment and graduate debt. And the assumption is that the sole route to teenbucks is digital, and to the "seniors" market is The Mail, The Telegraph and some gardening weekly. (Two views on this. In PR we are increasingly hiring people who don't consume media despite aspiring to advise clients on media. Or if they do it is purely the online bit, whereas customers and citizens increasingly consume offline and online which = "inline". Secondly - back to my point on the need for more strategic planning skills in PR.) On the powershift East, the dramatic growth in the BRIC and CHIME markets may have temporarily slowed but we are still looking consumer spending in China alone to hit over $2 trillion by 2015. On global connectivity Watson notes that 1 billion of us are communicating and increasingly shopping around online, with that figure expected to double in a decade, and 2.5 billion are chattering to each other on cell phones. Meanwhile 13% of the world's population is now living somewhere other than the country of their birth. GRIN stands for Genetics, Robotics, Internet and Nanotechnology, and the big beast for us is the 'I', but GMOs, nanotech etc have marketing implications as well. Finally The Environment and associated issues like CSR remain major drivers of present and future consumer and corporate behaviour. So to summarise so far: * Recession over? Too early to say? * If it is PR is well placed to help drive both clients' and its own business - but it will have to keep rethinking its MO and business proposition * All the major trends driving the future have huge implications for PR and marketing * To be successful, PR has to learn from advertising, anticipate the future rather than just react to the present, and constantly challenge its own stereotypes and assumptions. As I said earlier, the biggest driver of change in marketing is the Internet, digital and social media. Beneath the froth there are important moves in the media landscape and consumer/citizen thinking and behaviour. But not all is as we expect. Weber Shandwick is in the process of publishing a wealth of INLINE research over the coming weeks, charting what influences consumer and citizen behaviour. (One 'INLINE profile' is in the PowerPoint). So, while the expected upsurge in third party advocacy is there, almost a quarter of 'influence' is still generated by 'traditional' media - compared to less than half of that for advertising - and many of those third party advocates will themselves be influenced by other spokes on the wheel including media coverage and advertising. When asked about interaction with brands through social media, 31% of UK consumers agree they want this. But 43% say they often don't believe what they read online unless they fact check it in offline media. Then there are the demographic assumptions. Our research found that 50% of UK consumers aged 18-34 claimed their purchasing decisions were influenced by "traditional" print media. But only 26% of UK consumers aged 55+ claimed their decisions were influenced by traditional media. Offline and online. Both are important. So the assumption that yoof in general no longer consume print and broadcast media is false, that they only buy what their mates advocate online is false, that oldies are more influenced by traditional media coverage is false. Only research and customer insights, and a balanced approach to recruitment, can challenge the easy assumptions and urban myths that surround modern marketing. I also made points - using research undertaken by our Chief Reputation Strategist Dr Leslie Gaines Ross - on the challenge of increased online activity by protest groups and badvocates to corporate reputations. As we emerge from recession we need to bear in mind that consumers are increasing exposed to corporate and consumer brand badvocacy as well as advocacy. Referring back to another of Richard Watson’s trends, the environment, I pointed to brands that had embraced sustainability and associated CSR strategies in their marketing plan as well as corporations whose reputations had been damaged by exposure of bad environmental practice. These days being environmentally responsible is a basic consumer expectation, but clever marketing of real environmental benefit can give a brand a competitive edge in a recovering and increasingly choosy consumer market. Finally, returning to my ‘insights’ theme, and the preparedness of PR to help clients take advantage of the economic upturn, I pointed out the lack of ethnic – and occasionally social – diversity in the PR industry. This is something I have written about before and in truth I still have a lot to do in my own organisation. Ethnic groups are a growing segment of consumers and society. Research by Weber Shandwick’s Multi Cultural Communications practice shows that three quarters of Black and Asian consumers and half of Chinese consumers in the UK felt that marketing by mainstream brands had little or no relevance to them. They also thought that most consumer brands simply did not know how to market to increasingly diverse UK consumer groups. If we are to help our clients, we need to look at our own ranks and work hard to diversify our intake so we start to more accurately reflect those whose purchasing power and attitudes we claim to understand. In summary, we are emerging from recession, but how quickly and how sustainably is still an open question. But when the economic upturn does come, for us in PR it can’t be ‘business as usual’.

Berlin blog

Posted Colin Byrne on September 30th, 2009 | Filed under Uncategorised | Comment now »

I always get emotional when I visit Berlin. This is one of the most significant cities in modern history, as well as emerging as Continental Europe's cool contemporary cultural capital. As you fly in you can see from the formations of the flatblocks below which was the East and which was the West. From the air the Eastern zone flatblocks look like the Maze prison (though from the ground they are now refurbsihed and cucumber cool). The emotion is churned up by different things. One - this city symbolises the crashing waves of European history from the thirties to present day. Fascism, Communism, Cold War divide, nihilism, cultural rebirth and identity regained. Two - Bowie on coke, Lou Reed, Iggy, punks on dope, Christaine F, 70's Eurocool, 'Heroes' (the song Bowie should go to heaven for even more than the Ziggy Stardust album). Three - young Lefties like I was once having their illusions shattered. Four - we all have our modern Berlin moment. Mine was coming here two years after the Wall came down, buying a rabbit fur army hat off a desperate Russian soldier at the Brandenburg Gate, and then wandering down the scar tissue left by the ripped down wall before the City regenerated. Tonight I spent the evening with my lovely Berlin team. We went to a great Italian restaurant right by the old Checkpoint Charlie. A colleague told me the genesis of the place. Salle e Tabacchi is in the ground floor of the HQ of the left wing, environmentalist daily newspaper Tageszeitung TAZ and is the haunt of German Guardianistas and political PRs who like authentic Italian nosh, good wine and conversation. Maybe this is the answer to the media's business model problem in the UK. Launch a great restaurant and have a decent newspaper attached.

Youth vs Experience

Posted Colin Byrne on September 22nd, 2009 | Filed under Uncategorised | Comment now »

Waiting to get off the train on the way home last night, two geeky teenagers were talking about collecting original versions of albums. One was bragging about his Prodigy CD collection (keep it to yourself bud). The other countered that he had original vinyl Beatles albums. He is currently locked in the trunk of my car. (Kidding.) Age (as in youth) vs experience is emerging as the theme of the week. First my friend Peter Mandelson brands George Osborne 'a boy in a man's job', echoing the put downs from the world's leading fictional spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, in the year's funniest movie, 'In the loop' when he finds teenagers running politics in Washington. Then Vince Cable jumps on the Osborne bashing band wagon, but only serves to remind his party of his own age-acquired experience in contrast to his more youthful (and some say lighter weight) leader Nick Clegg. But all this is just a curtain-raiser for the real Youth vs Experience clash of the titans. Yes, it's the lovely Alesha vs Arlene. The BBC dump dance veteran Arlene Phillips for younger Alesha in a bid to win the ratings war with The X Factor (first blood to ITV in that one). The vehemently anti-BBC Sun promptly sign up Arlene as their Strictly commentator to pour vinegar all over Alesha and the show. The fur flies in tabloid land. It's only her first week. Give the girl a chance! Not an excuse that will get you far in politics though.