How important is oratory in modern politics? Once considered an essential tool for any would-be statesman, nowadays the art of public speaking is considered a subordinate sibling to the dark art of being “media-savvy”. But following the speech of Britain’s Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, last week at the party’s annual conference, rumours of its declining importance may be premature.
With the next UK general election now less than two years away, Mr Miliband has been struggling for some time to convince the country of his credentials. While many may like him personally, deem him decent and sincere in his beliefs and acknowledge his political proficiency, whenever voters are asked if he would make a convincing prime minister, their response is often discouraging. Most people, it appears, consider him deficient in what Brits call “that extra something”.
But “that extra something” is less easy to define. Is it vision, charisma, gravitas – or even a blend of all three? Whatever it is, the polls suggest that three years into his job, Mr Miliband is still looking for it.
Yet last week he showed that whatever else he might lack, he has plenty of guts. For no sooner had he arrived in the town on the eve of the conference than he found himself a handy orange crate to stand on, erected it in the busiest shopping street he could find and got to work proclaiming his message to bemused shoppers.
Shirtsleeves furled, tie flapping in the breeze, his off-the-cuff alfresco performance was more reminiscent of a 19th century tub-thumping evangelist than anything his predecessors Tony Blair or Gordon Brown might recognise.
Such stunts are dangerous for politicians, as there’s always the chance that some passing pedestrian will hurl a nicely-timed insult in their direction, or even a piece of rotten fruit, ensuring they make the next morning’s headlines for all the wrong reasons (indeed, Mr Miliband had already been on the receiving end of a rogue egg in August).
Yet on this occasion his performance was compelling. You could sense both passers-by and the TV-watching public admiring him for it. Even this, though, was eclipsed in his main conference hall three days later. Mr Miliband delivered a speech to the party faithful without recourse to notes, prompts or even an autocue. Instead, he spoke extemporaneously with passion and humour but without hesitation for over an hour. At one point, he even casually slid his left hand into his trouser pocket as he roamed round the podium. If anyone had attempted to do this at a political conference 30 years ago, they’d have been accused of forgetting their manners.
His display gave potential voters a hint of how he might be if put in charge of the country’s affairs. And by stuffing his speech with good, populist initiatives, such as freezing energy prices for two years and providing free school meals for every child, his words entranced the delegates. Standing ovations are almost de rigueur for conference speeches these days, but for once, the one that greeted him at the end of this speech seemed genuinely spontaneous. Even his political enemies had to admit it was an impressive effort.
But beyond the ability to remember vast quantities of words and deliver them with aplomb, Mr Miliband has shown political nous too. For in recent years many voters have become disillusioned with politics and politicians, viewing them as too slick, too self-assured and somehow too plausible at such occasions. With teleprompters turning even the most flaccid orator into a Martin Luther King, the public has lost trust in both the singer and the song. Our leaders may gaze into the middle distance as they speak of their aims and ambitions, as if contemplating a distant vision of a Utopia which only they can see but we now know it’s merely an attempt to read their words off the autocue fastened 50 metres away on the back wall of the conference room. Substance has yielded to style.
Mr Miliband may just have made it fashionable again, and given himself the first glimmerings of possible victory come polling time – especially as the latest YouGov opinion poll has given Labour an increased lead in the days since his discourse.
It was the American writer Dale Carnegie who said there are always three speeches for every one you actually gave: “the one you practised, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave”. For once, Mr Miliband may have managed to pull off all three at the same time.
Michael Simkins is an actor and writer based in London
On Twitter: @michael_simkins
