The Crisis of Rhetoric: Renewing Political Speech and Speechwriting

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The British public distrust politicians and the way they talk. Surveys show not only that the public think politicians are liars who do not share their best interests, but also that their speech alienates citizens from their politicians and from politics. This is one reason that many people are attracted to new kinds of 'populist' politicians such as Jeremy Corbyn or Nigel Farage: they seem to speak to the people and make their case in a seemingly straightforward, every-day and 'authentic' way. At the same time, political argument in the UK has become more sectarian and angry and the 2016 EU referendum campaign was marred by the misuse of statistics on all sides, misleading inferences and hard-to-verify claims. We think that this is a problem. A people needs to be able to debate and argue well about the political challenges it faces, and an effective government must be able to win the respect of a public and ensure that it understands something of what government is doing and why. British Politics may never have the kind of 'inspirational' speech we associate with some American politicians but it can and should have speech that please, proves and persuades (as ancient Greek and Roman rhetoricians and orators advised).We see contemporary British politics as experiencing a crisis of rhetoric - that is, a crisis of the ancient art of political argument and oratory. The network we will bring together for this project will combine and consolidate the best research into political rhetoric: studies of ancient Greece and Rome (where many rhetorical techniques still used today were studied and systematised), historical studies of UK politics, contemporary political theory, media studies, and linguistics. The network will also build on PI's and Co-I's existing links in the political community (politicians, speechwriters and political journalists) to engage these groups in discussion about the current state of political oratory and rhetoric in the UK. Together we can understand and help remedy the crisis of British political speech.In the first workshop political speechwriters, politicians and journalists will explain their views of current British political speech. From them, academic researchers will learn more about the challenges faced when political actors try to explain themselves accurately, clearly and fairly while also being persuasive. These insights will directly inform the discussions in the following workshops.The second workshop explores the various concepts different scholars use when researching rhetoric in order to understand how best to combine the insights of our different fields, to think clearly about the state of speech in our current political culture, and to communicate these insights to the practitioners.The third workshop looks at the ways in which, through rhetoric, political actors try to create a sense of identification, trust and respect between them and their (potential) supporters. This discussion compares practices of different historical periods with British political speech today.A fourth workshop focuses on the ways in which - in the complex, contested and public contexts of politics - politicians and other political debaters present reasons for thinking in a certain way and try to get others to share them. The comparative historical perspective from workshop three will again be applied to highlight what is distinctive about current political practice.A fifth workshop centres on the influence of media on the shape and experience of political argument, and the ways in which old and new media are a challenge to, and an opportunity for improving, our culture of debate.The final workshop presents findings to practitioners. Their comments will feed directly into the outputs of the network, including a report with practical suggestions for the media, politicians and the public for improving our culture of reasoned and persuasive public debate.