Promotional Cultures by Aeron Davis

Author:Aeron Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Polity Press

Celebrity, symbolic capital and political capital: the case of David Cameron

This case* looks at how the ability to generate celebrity symbolic capital, among the wider voting public, has become a key source of political capital, and therefore power, inside the political field. The focus is on David Cameron’s victory in the UK Conservative Party leadership election in 2005. Some years later, as prime minister, Cameron appears as an established public figure. But in 2005 he was a young, barely known MP, with little public exposure either inside or outside Parliament. Under such circumstances, his rise was astounding. A closer investigation shows that his ability to accumulate symbolic capital through his media skills, contacts and knowledge proved vital to his elevation.

Following the 2005 general election loss, the then leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, announced his resignation on 5 May. A delayed leadership election was announced. To win the contest candidates had first to gain support among the 198 Conservative MPs, whose two ballots would decide the two final can-didates. Party members would then cast the final vote. David Davis, the shadow home secretary, was recognized as the clear favourite. David Cameron was one of three other candidates who put themselves forward in late September, when the official contest began.

At this point, it seemed that Cameron’s hopes of winning were remote. He was relatively unknown to MPs, having been elected only in 2001 and appointed to his first shadow cabinet position in May 2005. In contrast, his three rivals had had lengthy political careers. They had accumulated significant levels of symbolic capital, being widely recognized both within the UK Parliament (political field) and among voters outside it. Table 7.1 shows the media mentions of the candidates for the three years before the election period. Cameron’s coverage was by far the lowest. Accordingly, most journalists and MPs at the time concluded that Cameron would be last and Davis was the most likely winner. Davis had the most media exposure and a clear lead among MPs, and was deemed ideologically closest to ordinary party members who cast the final ballot. In early September, Cameron was supported by just 3 per cent of party members and less than 5 per cent of Conservative MPs ( Sunday Times/YouGov, 4 September 2005; The Times/Populus, 6 September 2005).

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