Sam Veevers: PhD Project Plan

Project Title: Political Marketing and Leaders of the Opposition- The

Conservative Party since 1979
Mode of study: Full-time
Primary supervisor: Dr Stuart Wilks-Heeg

Scope of the Project

The main focus of the project will be the changing ways in which
Conservative leaders have approached elections since 1979, charting
the growing presence of political marketing after the advent of
Thatcher, and linking the use of political marketing methods to the
success of the Conservative party. Thus, the leaderships of William
Hague, Ian Duncan Smith, Michael Howard and David Cameron will be
discussed, their personality, image and use of spin studied and
compared, the message they tried to convey to the media and the
electorate identified and analysed, and the success of their relevant
political projects evaluated. The thesis will start with the argument that
Thatcher represents the decisive rise of political marketing in Britain,
laying the predecent for future Conservative leaders, particularly
Cameron, and will aim to decide whether a marked-led approach to
politicals is now the fundamental factor in success or failure in modern
British elections.
Objectives for First Year of Study
The objectives for the first year are to:
Revise the initial research proposal in light of discussions with
the supervisor
Complete a first draft of the literature review.
Provide an initial written overview of the methods to be used and
likely methodological issues arising.
Complete required PGR training.
Conduct of Supervisory Meetings
Supervisory meetings will take place at least monthly, although there
will be periods in which it is appropriate to meet more frequently than
others. Where written drafts are required for meetings, these will
normally be sent to the supervisor at least a week in advance (or
longer if they comprise more than one draft chapter). Feedback will be
provided verbally at the meeting and, whenever appropriate, in written
format such as by using track-changes in Word. The extent of
feedback will inevitably depend on the quality of the draft and the
stage which the student has reached in the research process.
Signatures
(Sam Veevers)

..

.
(Stuart Wilks-Heeg)

Date

20 January 2015