Hardworking families

"Working families" redirects here. For the political party, see Working Families Party. For the advocacy group, see Working Families for Wal-Mart.

The phrase "hardworking families" or "working families" is an example of a glittering generality in contemporary political discourse. It is used in the politics of the United Kingdom and of the United States, and was heavily used by the political parties in the campaign of the United Kingdom general election, 2005 and the Australian federal election, 2007 where the Rudd Labor Party used the term extensively.

Origins

Emerging from some British newspapers around 1995, Gordon Brown expressed gratitude to Bob Shrum for suggesting the phrase between 1994 and 1997.[1]

Quotations

Some examples of politicians using (or being reported as using) the phrase:

Sometimes the use of the phrase by politicians is echoed in media reports on political events, or indeed the news medium itself employs the phrase as part of its own editorializing, in the expectation that its readers will infer that it is referring to them:

"Hardworking" is also, by itself, a glittering generality:

See also

References

  1. Gordon Brown: Prime Minister - Tom Bower, Harper Perennial (2007)
  2. For example: In debates on tax policy or public services, the contending parties (usually the Labour Party and the Conservative Party), may both propose to lower taxes and provide services for "hardworking families", expecting the listeners to infer that they are amongst the hardworking families who will gain from voting for the relevant party, and to agree that it is inarguably right for "hardworking families" to benefit from lower taxes and increased services.
  3. BBC News, 2004-09-28 ("Pro-hunt demo at Labour gathering")
  4. Lord Northbrook recorded in Hansard, 1999-07-23 (column 1229)
  5. the title of a monthly half-hour television series produced by the Maryland Department of Human Resources and Maryland Public Television
  6. Michael Howard speaking in Telford on 2005-04-10 ("It's time to set an annual limit to immigration")
  7. Alan Milburn in Agenda: magazine of the Association of Labour Councillors, winter 2004/5 ("Britain is Working")
  8. Frank Luntz Republican Playbook at PoliticalStrategy. ORG ("The Budget: Ending Wasteful Washington Spending")
  9. The Herald, 1996-10-07
  10. Daily Telegraph, 2005-03-14 ("At a glance guide to the most likely changes")
  11. Socialist Worker, 2000-03-25 ("Labour fiddles while Rover burns")
  12. Independent on Sunday, 2005-04-17, ("The Curious Campaign Diary of Tony Blair: Gosh! What a spacematic week")
  13. Independent on Sunday, 2005-04-18, (letter by J Ambers)
  14. "Goebbels New Year Address for 1940", which in turn cites Die Zeit ohne Beispiel (1941). Jahreswechsel 1939/40. Sylvesteransprache an das deutsche Volk. Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP. pages 229-239.

External links

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