As speechwriters we’re obsessed by our theories of communication, but in practice hardly anyone ever follows them.
Most politicians out campaigning just do the best they can in the time they’ve got.
Candidates write their own leaflets. They put in them what the party tells them to or what they think is attractive about themselves.
The party leaders use speechwriters, but their approach seems to be to repeat words and phrases until they stick. Since they’re in charge, that’s the way it is.
I’ve been a member of the Liberal Democrats for two-and-a-half years now. In Bournemouth, nobody wanted to stand in my ward for the council elections. So I volunteered.