A History of Political Caricature - WordPress.com · A History of Political Caricature The use of...

A History of Political Caricature

The use of caricature in politics extends back as far as The Age of Enlightenment a period ofintellectual and cultural revolution beginning in the mid-17th century across Western Europe(Oxford Art nd) Lasting until the late in the 18th century the Enlightenment emphasisedlogic reason and rational thinking over the previous superstitions and dogmas of religion(Wilde no date) 1 Caricature itself can be traced back to the work of Leonardo Di Vinci whochose subjects with deformities to draw as an alternative to a generic portrait (Wikipedia 2015) The term lsquocaricaturersquo (Spitting Image 2015)derives from the Italian lsquocaricaturarsquowhich means lsquoto loadrsquo a caricature is literally defined as a loaded portrait

Such a radical overhaul of principles during the Enlightenment combined with the shiftingpolitical context of 18th century Britain established the ideal setting for political satire toflourish Under the rule of King George III a two party system was introduced intogovernment as a last resort The Tories and Whigs forced the decline of the previousgovernment run by Lord Shelbourne taking matters into their own hands in the House ofCommons (Oxford Art nd)

The Fox -North coalition was formed an unlikely alliance of the Conservative Lord North andhis opposition Charles James Fox a prominent Whig statesman (Batten nd) This unionplus the revolution occurring in France which saw the replacement of absolute monarchieswith democracies emphasized the fragility of the British sovereign The lack of absolutepower in government created little censorship and extensive freedom of the press creatingthe ideal environment for a thriving industry of political caricature

As a result of the slack restrictions and minimal censorship of political cartoons the threatof serious prosecution for artists was rare (Whiteman nd) The only method of suppressionwas through bribery subjects of caricature would often bribe printing houses to stop themproducing the cartoons In one instance Prime Minister Robert Walpole arrested a group ofprint sellers for continuing to print controversial drawings of him but only for one night(Baker 2010)

This era spanning from 1730 ndash 1820 was known as The Golden Age of caricature Itencompassed renowned artists and founders Hogarth Rowlandson Gillray and CruickshankThe appeal of cartoons specifically those ridiculing significant political figures was huge inBritain and graphic satire remains one of the only art forms created by a British artistWilliam Hogarth

The general attitude towards provocative illustration was far more brazen than that oftoday possibly owing to the more accepting attitude of the public lsquoyou had people fartingdefecating urinating vomiting fornicating ndash everythingrsquo The first noteworthy drawinginvolving a political figure was anonymously drawn named lsquoIdol Worshiprsquo It was an image

of Prime Minister Robert Walpole straddling the treasury with his rear exposed ready foraffluent men to kiss lsquoEveryone knew who it was because they knew you had to kissWalpolersquos bottom if you were to get anywherersquo (Rath 2012)

Similarly Gillray the principal figure of the Golden era produced a cartoon of William Pittthe younger a politician and later Prime minister dividing up the world with Napoleon Pittshalf being considerably larger It was voted the most famous political cartoon in the UK

William Hogarth an English painter engraver and artist is often described one of thefounders of political satire (Rowson 2007) He began his artistic career as an engraverproducing coats of arms and designing plates before progressing into print work Anexample of his early satire was Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme a cartoonsurrounding the crash of the stock market and national economy in relation to the SouthSea Stock Company It shows a merry-go-round representing the scheme which is beingridden by various members of society who have been taken in by it (Emblematical Print onThe South Sea Scheme 2014)

Ever the polemicist Hogarthrsquos controversial work became popular in 1732 when hepublished engravings of his first lsquoModern Moral Subjectsrsquo It was a style of art thatattempted to journalistically portray daily life as a form of high art (HogarthHogarthsModern Moral Series nd) The first painting in the series A Harlots Progress follows aninnocent young girls decline into prostitution

Hogarthrsquos popularity allowed him to create cartoons that directly addressed his audienceand attempted to change their outlook ndash a sort of mass media lsquoGin Lanersquo his mostrecognized work advised readers against the dangers of spirit drinking whilst promotingthe consumption of ale and beer

His illustration of national stereotypes the British as ldquobeer-swilling roast-beef-guzzlingfour-square Englishmenrdquo and French as ldquostarveling bare-foot onion-nibbling Frenchpeasantsrdquo were popular he was the master of caricature (William Hogarth|StudioInternational 2006) Hogarthrsquos intense patriotism was evident in his illustration the simianway he drew the French demonstrated his depiction of them as babbling and primal(Home|Online Resources|Online Exhibitons| Vive la difference| The view from England(2007) 2007)

This type of radical caricature also became popular through the works of ThomasRowlandson and James Gillray Rowlandson in particular gained much of his inspiration fromthe behaviour of the public inspired by Sketches by Boz a collection of short stories writtenby Charles Dickens which explored early Victorian life The book contains 4 sections entitledlsquoOur parishrsquo lsquoCharactersrsquo lsquoScenesrsquo and lsquoTalesrsquo each which held the 56 stories andaccompanying illustrations by George Cruickshank The accuracy of the illustrations was ofparticular importance to Dickens who was careful to ensure they emphasised specific

features and characteristics to reveal motives and plotlines to the readers Originallypublished in The Monthly Magazine these more subtle cartoons were the first to appear inmodern literature

Rowlandsonrsquos art also displayed the comings and goings of 18th century London typicalsocial types were his subjects the lsquoGrub Street Hackrsquo ndash a street in London well known for itscollection of journalists poets and aspiring writers lsquothe blowsy barmaidrsquo and lsquotheantiquarianrsquo featured As a young boy he lsquodrew humorous characters of his master andmany of his scholars (The Gentlemans Magazine and Historical Chronicle nd) His work wasmost often painted in watercolour or ink then etched onto copper and characteristicallyfocused less on political figures Rowlandsonrsquos humour was gentle though he exposed theimperfections of everyday life he did it with sympathy

Thomas Rowlandson spent two years drawing in Paris developing his caricature skills beforereturning to the Royal Academy in London After the death of his aunt he was left with aninheritance of around pound7000 triggering a fatal gambling addiction which quickly plungedhim into poverty It was through the encouragement of fellow caricaturist Gillray thatRowlandson began selling his satirical cartoons His primary employer was art publisherRudolph Ackerman who featured lsquoThe Schoolmasters Tourrsquo a popular series ofRowlandsonrsquos drawings in Poetical magazine

Of the little political drawing he did John Bull his cartoon personification of the UnitedKingdom was most significant thickset red-faced and often dressed like a country squireRowlandson created scenarios like John Bull at the Italian Opera which depicted John Bullstifling a yawn at the unpopular Italian opera

Similar to Rowlandson the focus of James Gillrayrsquos satirical engravings was at first centredon social normalities But after he enrolled at the Royal Academy ndash a renowned artinstitution in London the lack of demand for his painted portraits forced him to revert backto engraving (Simkin 1997) He began selling political satire through William Humphrey aprint publisher He later worked for Hannah Humphrey Williamrsquos sister helping establishthe reputation of Humphreys as Londonrsquos leading print seller

Gillrayrsquos political views shifted from liberal in his early life to supportive of William Pitt andthe Tories later His work was particularly critical of the Whigs the rival party lead by RobertWalpole When asked why this was he explained ldquoThey are poor they do not buy my printsand I must draw on the purses of larger partiesrdquo Subsequently Gillray was asked to drawfor the Tory magazine The Anti Jacobin and was allegedly granted regular payments fromthe government for his continued critique of the Whigs

In an era of great headway for British political cartoon the work of James Gillray played asignificant part in influencing his successor George Cruickshank a young upcomingcaricaturist Gillray who was introduced into the world of illustration as a young child

produced drawings for small books (Vogler 2014) By age thirteen he was helping his FatherIsaac also a caricaturist to etch in his studio despite his desire to study at the RoyalAcademy (Simkin 1997)

Often described as the lsquomodern Hogarthrsquo Cruickshankrsquos work developed to imitate hispredecessors in its controversial scathing depictions of political figures Cruickshankbecame especially well known for his negative portrayal of the Royal family his scathingcartoons featured regularly in satirical magazine The Scourge

In an effort to stop his critical drawing he received pound100 with a plea from the Royal familyldquoNot to caricature his majestyrdquo ldquoin any immoral situationrdquo His political standing was verymuch neutral his portrayal of the Tories Whigs and Radical was without prejudice butother sentiments like his blatant racism were clear in his ape ndash like illustrations of IrishRebels like those he did for William Maxwellrsquos History of the Irish rebellion in 1798

In 1819 in response to the Peterloo massacre in Manchester where crowds of around70000 peaceful protesters were charged at the government introduced the Six Acts of1819 These acts intended to deter future disorder prohibiting what bigoted newspaperscould write stopping group meetings and reducing the prominence of weapons trainingCruickshank alongside publisher William Hone created a response in the form of ThePolitical House That Jack Bought a 24-page satirical pamphlet mocking the Acts (Six Acts 2014)

From 1820 advances in technology altered the form of caricature drastically The method ofengraving cartoons was modernized artists discovered that they could engrave more simplyon hardwood and that by combining this with print they could create a magazine Etchinghad given way to lithography ndash an improved method of printing on stone Large publisherswho produced newspapers and magazines in vast quantities overtook printing shops it wasthe dawn of mass media

During this period of modernisation Punch magazine was formed in 1841 It quickly becamerecognized as the magazine for cartoonists introducing the idea of satirical illustrationthrough the term lsquocartoonrsquo After an initially disappointing start Punch Magazine boostedits circulation through creation of its Almanack issue which sold 90000 copies

In 1842 it was sold to Bradbury and Evans a printing company whose new mass productiontechniques enhanced the magazines availability The quality of its political illustrations wasconstantly increasing attracting the work of Richard Doyle George du Maurier and JohnTenniel who went on to stand as Chief Political Cartoonist for over 50 years (About PunchMagazine Punch Cartoons Cartoons History|Links to Punch related material amp links|PUNCHMagazine Cartoon Archive nd)

Soon the profile of Punch magazine was at its peak its refined humour was popular withthose in the middle and upper classes lsquoPunch had become a household word within a year

or two of its founding beginning in the middle class and soon reaching the pinnacle ofsociety royalty itselfrsquo (Altick 1997) Of all the cartoons one of particular significance wasthe main weekly cartoon drawn by Tenniel which often took up an entire page of themagazine Commenting on a topical subject chosen by staff the cartoon has been describedas ldquothe equivalent of Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman crystallising a comment on a politicaleventrdquo (Baker 2010)

At its peak Punch had a circulation of around 184000 in 1948 a figure which soon began todecline because of a diminishing market resulting in the its reluctant closure in 1992 after151 years of publication

As its Chief Political Cartoonist who received a knighthood for his artistic work it is hard toimagine John Tenniel doubting his ability to produce humorous political drawings thoughupon the offer of work at Punch Magazine he was thought to have asked a friend ldquoDo theysuppose that there is anything funny about merdquo (Simkin 1997) It would seem there wasdespite his tendency towards lsquohigh artrsquo Tennielrsquos work reflected the feelings of the Britishpublic during a time of extreme social reform it was passionate and acerbic commenting onthe new legislations passed by government

Politically Tennielrsquos radical style and fierce support for the Toryrsquos meant his cartoons oftenstirred disapproval in particular from leading politicians He studied his subjects carefullyoften arranging meetings to examine them closely In one instance he met with PrimeMinister William Gladstone at 10 Downing Street though he subsequently admitted he felthis cartoons of the PM were not well received

More than just comical sketches the use of political cartoons has been responsible for thecollapse of political systems In the United States the drawings of Thomas Nast were usedto usurp Tammany Hall leader lsquolsquoBossrsquorsquo Tweed Tammany Hall was a powerful political groupin support of the Democratic Party which orchestrated immense influence over the politicsin New York City during the 19th century William ldquoBossrdquo Tweed used his influential positionsin society to influence voters with the promise of employment manoeuvring himself into aposition of great power

By 1870 Tweed and his staff had lsquogained total control of the cityrsquos governmentrsquo and wereusing their power to illegally obtain money inflating the expenses paid to contractorsconnected to the ring Nast had been producing cartoons attacking Tammanyrsquos fraudulencesince 1867 it was at this moment that a turning point occurred

Nastrsquos assault on the Tweed ring intensified he began to publish his cartoons promoting theconviction of the Tweed ring in Harperrsquos magazine despite bribery of around $500000 fromTweed Nast was successful and in November 7th 1871 Tweedrsquos ring was removed from theelection and he was arrested Ironically in a failed bid to flee and escape justice Tweed wasidentified using one of Nastrsquos cartoons

Similarly Herbert Block ndash known as lsquoHerblockrsquo is a political cartoonist who followed theWatergate scandal during the 1970s and whose illustrations were implicit in revealingPresident Nixonrsquos involvement Just six days after the infamous Watergate break inHerblock released a cartoon in the Washington Post which implicated Richard Nixon Itshowed footsteps leading to The White House with the caption lsquoStrange they all seem tohave some connection with this placersquo Herblockrsquos continued bombardment is said to haveaided in Nixonrsquos eventual resignation (Navasky 2013)

David Low was the frontman for British political cartoon in the 20th century His work inEngland began at lsquoThe London Starrsquo after his move to London in 1919 His cartoons filledhalf a page in the newspaper and were so popular that the Liberal Party used them in the1922 General Election

After a stint at the Star he was persuaded to move to the Evening Standard its Editor LordBeaverbrook assured him he was free to draw without restriction on his political views Hisdrawings in particular a strip titled lsquoHit and Mussrsquo (Hitler and Mussolini) were controversialand were not well received in particular by the Germans Nazi Propaganda minister JosephGoebbels told the British government that Lowrsquos political caricatures were damaging Anglondash German relations and the press often labelled him a lsquowar mongerrsquo (Simkin 1997) Duringthe Second World War some of Lowrsquos cartoons were used to motivate the public though herefused to become a propagandist

Lowrsquos most well known work was produced as an outlet of his frustration with theleadership of the British government It was his version of Gillray and Cruickshankrsquos lsquoJohnBullrsquo He was named lsquoColonel Blimprsquo and was a pompous patriotic stereotype of a Britishmilitary man The cartoon commented on lsquoisolationism impatience with the concerns ofcommon people and a lack of enthusiasm for democracyrsquo (Centurys best cartoonist onshow - BBC News 2002)

As Britainrsquos best-selling current affairs magazine lsquoPrivate Eyersquo has provided another outletfor 20th century political cartoonists Started in the 1960s the nature of the magazine hasdeveloped into one that judges the actions and foibles of politicians journalists and othernoteworthy individuals Private Eye is known to choose stories that other major newspapersmay avoid for fear of libel labelling its editor Ian Hislop the most sued man in English legalhistory (Quinn 2015) The anti-establishment attitude of the magazine has proven ideal forpolitical cartoonists and it regularly features work from a number of well-known Britishartists The Adventures of Mr Millibean is one example a strip that represents Ed Milibandas Mr Bean

Political satire has developed into a popular industry almost every major newspaper nowfeatures a column of political cartoons some more controversial than others Modernartists like Steve Bell Peter Brookes and Martin Rowson who I managed to interview credittheir influences as Hogarth Gillray and Cruikshank

WK Haselden the lsquofather of the British newspaper cartoon striprsquo was another significantpolitical cartoonist He worked at the Daily Mirror until his retirement producing a mix ofpolitical cartoons and less disruptive observational illustrations of the social trends

Haseldenrsquos most iconic cartoon was a strip of up to eight sections the most popular politicalcaricature was lsquoBig and little Williersquo mocking Kaiser Wilhelm and his son (BiographyWilliamKerridge Haselden - The British Cartoon Archive - University of Kent nd)

Currently Steve Bell represents one of the most popular modern political cartoonists Hiscolumn If has featured in The Guardian since 1981 a left-wing view of current affairs andpolitics Most commonly a 3-panel cartoon it runs in the Monday ndash Thursday editions of thenewspaper often following the same subject throughout Frequent readers of Bellrsquos columnwill notice that his most regular caricatures have developed familiar characteristics DavidCameron began as a jellyfish but is now a bloated pink condom whilst Margaret Thatcher isdrawn with a sharp nose mad staring eye and gigantic hair

Other characters often featured are lsquoReginald Kiplingrsquo an ordinary individual who fought inthe Falklands war and who is often the victim of a one of Bells satirical plots lsquoThe Penguinrsquoa stowaway who has returned to the UK with Reginald is another recurring character in oneinstance becoming overweight (a metaphor for wealthy) and materialistic when he becomesa stockbroker

Steve Bellrsquos political illustrations have recently been the subject of debate This year hisdepiction of Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond sparked social media outrage because of itslsquoracistrsquo joke about the SNP and incest The joke a play on the quote lsquoyou should tryeverything once except Morris dancing and incestrsquo illustrates SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeonclaiming she would not comprise on the SNPrsquos lsquocore demand for incest and Scottish dancingrsquo(Sommors 2015) The Guardian readersrsquo editor Chris Elliot who received 300 complaintsabout the cartoons quoted Bell saying that he did not regret the cartoon and denied anycharges of racism (Turvill 2015)

The provocative nature of political cartoons can provoke some astonishing reactions as wasillustrated with the recent Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris On January 7th 2015 two Islamistterrorists overran the offices of the satirical French weekly newspaper shooting and killing12 (Charlie Hebdo Shooting 2015 nd) The controversial publication had previously beeninvolved in disputes over its circulation of an issue featuring a cartoon identifying theprophet Muhammad an act forbidden in Islam (French Satirical Paper Charlie Hebdoattacked in Paris - BBC News 2011)

Earlier incidents had caused the fire bombing of the Charlie Hebdo workplace and hackingof its website The response to the barbaric murder of these journalists was immense theartists at Charlie Hebdo continued with the publication of the subsequent issue adding an

image of Muhammad holding a sign which read lsquoJe suis Charliersquo The issue sold over 7 millioncopies and was so sought after that it was reproduced in 6 languages

Caricature in popular culture

The use of caricature is a common feature of popular culture

In literature the immensely popular Bridget Jones Diary written by The Independentcolumnist Helen Fielding portrays its central character Bridget like a character from DickenslsquoSketches by Bozrsquo as a social observation She is a single woman in her mid-thirties whooften smokes and drinks too much stereotypically fantasizes about one day finding lovewhilst simultaneously worrying about her weight Her inconsistent love life and careerhiccups are all recorded in her diary As a woman in the same age group as Bridget Fieldingused the guise of a more enhanced character to write anonymously about the trials andtribulations of her own life creating a satirical stereotype of the working women (HelenFielding 2014)

The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook written by Peter York and Ann Barr enlightenedreaders on the style etiquette associated with a lsquoSloane Rangerrsquo a typecast of young Britishupper class individual The term lsquoSloanersquo deriving from Sloane Square a popular area forwealthy residents in London defines females in particular A prime example was DianaPrincess of Wales prior to her marriage her fashionable but conservative style culturedinterests and aristocratic status were chief traits of a lsquoSloaniersquo (On the trail of LondonsSloane Rangers 1984) Most commonly used in the 80rsquos this stereotype was born throughanother of Yorkrsquos books Style Wars and continued to progress in the handbook whichfocused on the lives of Caroline and Henry two typical Sloanersquos

Following on from this was lsquoHooray Henryrsquo the male equivalent and the opposinglsquoHampstead Liberalrsquo or lsquoChampagne socialistrsquo an equivalently affluent socialist whosecomfortable life contrasted with their political choices Russell Brand is the most recentindividual in the media to be labelled as a lsquoChampagne socialistrsquo after he left an anti-capitalism rally to attend a celebrity after party (Spillett 2014)

After this came the lsquoYuppiersquo a term that characterized young urban professionals ofThatcherrsquos era who revelled in the economic boom of the eighties Associated with slicksuits and high salaries a male lsquoYuppiersquo was described as an individual who valued a highpaying job personal fitness top education and cultural interests as lsquothe mark of a real manrsquo(Hanson 2010)

These socio-economic definitions became internationally recognised The term lsquoValley Girlrsquowas used in America during the 1980s defining a woman who was from the San FernandoValley in Southern California Her accent or lsquovalley speakrsquo described the way girls often-added words such as ldquolikerdquo or ldquowhateverrdquo into their sentences whilst an affluentbackground and preoccupation with personal appearance turned the label into a caricatureThe term quickly became a pejorative label for a young female associated with a shallowinterests and little intellectual concern

In television the popular sitcom Love Thy Neighbour characterized the contrast between awhite couple living in the suburbs of Twickenham and their new West-Indian neighbourswho they find difficult to get used to Released in the late 1970s the programme addresseda problem that Britons watching were experiencing of the struggle to adapt to the influx ofimmigrants

The programmes characters were created as racial stereotypes Eddie Booth the workingclass white male finds it especially difficult to adapt to his new neighbours using racistnicknames like lsquoNig-nogrsquo and lsquoKing Kongrsquo that give the impression he is foolish and narrow-minded He supports Manchester United uses phrases like lsquobloody Norarsquo and canrsquot help butstare at his new exotic neighbours wife

In comparison Bill Reynolds his Conservative West African neighbour is portrayed aseducated and intelligent He works at the same factory as Bill which is why they oftenbicker and sometimes resorts to anti-white taunts like lsquosnowflakersquo

Similarly Goodness Gracious Me a BBC comedy sketch show aired on television and radioexamined the introduction of the Indian culture into British society The sketches sometimeschanged perspective In one instance it portrays the point of view of Indian family testingout British culture by lsquogoing for an Englishrsquo trying traditional British food in the way theBritish lsquogo for an Indianrsquo

Spitting Image another satirical British show used caricature in the form of puppets tomock influential figures of the 1980s90s Political figures such as Margaret Thatcher andRonald Reagan were parodied and it was the first series to caricature The Queen MotherSpitting Image was political caricature in animated form and at the height of its popularitywas watched by 15 million people

A moment of political significance for Spitting Image was in the resignation of MargaretThatcher new sketches were created featuring John Major her successor and his wife inawkward domestic situations In exactly the way that cartoonists chose distinguishingfeatures to emphasise the puppets played on the physical appearances of celebrities JohnMajors clothes skins and hair were shades of grey whilst Margaret Thatcherrsquos hooked noseharsh bagged eyes and high forehead were accentuated (Spitting Image 2015)

This month it was announced that a new show titled Newzoids would begin on ITV whichhas been likened to Spitting Image because of its topical sketches often covering currentaffairs which use puppets of current celebrities Less anchored just to political figures theopening show will feature Ant and Dec Professor Brian Cox and David Cameron (Styles2015)

Stereotype in politics

Voter Segmentation is a method of psychographic stereotyping used by political partiesduring election campaigns It is a type of analysis that takes into account values interestsand lifestyles of the voting population (Voter SegmentationHow Worcester Woman votestoday - BBC News 2014) It was revealed in 2013 that the Conservatives had stepped uptheir electoral preparations and using segmentation had formed eight specific groups totarget (Bland 2013) Some examples of these stereotypes were the lsquoAnxious Aspirationalsrsquoand lsquoDisaffected Toriesrsquo The idea behind such labelling is that by exposing the peoplebehind the votes the Tory party can focus on influencing their voters in a more personaland targeted way This has been made possible through the use of a computer programmecalled Mosaic which can categorize voters into 15 main groups from as much as 400 piecesof data The programme is used currently by the 3 main parties and is based on thestrategies used by President Obama in his election campaign

An example of voter stereotyping is the creation of Margaret Thatcherrsquos Essex man In thewake of World War II Britain experienced a socio ndash economic shift Those in the workingclass were plucked from their damaged homes and ushered out of inner London and intonewly built council houses in the planned communities of Basildon and Harlow in Essex(Essex Man 2014) This combined with an end to the lsquogolden yearsrsquo of the 1950s meantBritainrsquos economic status was slipping significantly (Postwar Britain nd) and Thatcherrsquospolicies such as lowering taxation and controlling inflation appealed to a group of peoplewho ordinarily would have voted labour

This group of Essex Men looked more toward middle class ideals for job prospects andsubsequently changed their political views from Labour to Conservative resulting in thesuccess of Margaret Thatcher in the general election

In popular television this was brought to life by Harry Enfieldrsquos character lsquoLoadsamoneyrsquo abrash cockney plasterer inspired by Essex Man He would boast constantly about how muchmoney he had often whilst holding vast wads of cash As part of late night satire showlsquoSaturday Liversquo Enfieldrsquos character mocked the get rich quick ideals of the Conservativegovernment (Bignell 1997) Subsequently Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock used the termlsquoloadsamoneyrsquo to attack the policies of the Conservatives the pejorative association withthe free enterprise culture was inherent

Tony Blairrsquos Mondeo Man was a political typecast used to illustrate whom labour should betargeting and which resulted in the creation of New Labour This individualrsquos profile statedthat they had progressed and now owned their council house their own car were possiblyrunning a business and felt to move on in life it was necessary to vote Tory From thiscaricature Blair revealed he had found a group of voters he was previously missing out on

and by targeting the New Labour policies accordingly won the 1997 general election with alandslide victory (Essex Man 2014)

Furthermore Worcester Woman a working class woman plagued with the responsibility ofchildren and worry of getting on in life As a voter who previously would have supported theTories but who was persuaded by the lsquoNew Labourrsquo to change her vote (Worcester Woman2014) More recently it has been recognised that the vote of the Worcester Woman will beextremely significant in the 2015 General election not since 1979 has a party lost the voteof Worcester and won the election and it is the female vote in particular which is influential(Riddell 2014)

The evolution of Worcester Woman and Mondeo Man continued and by 2013 Aldi Mum andCrawley Man had taken their place Aldi mums economic status is now middle class thoughshe in no way feels financially secure She has upped her hours at work and is mindful of theincreasing food and living prices shopping more regularly at discount supermarketsCrawley Man is her equivalent a modernised Mondeo Man who has traded in his Mondeofor something of equally mundane status He works hard but has become frustrated thatthe government are giving people without jobs benefits whilst he doesnrsquot receive anything

Simply associating with a political party brings with it a stereotype that society recognisesthose who support the Conservatives are seen as lsquotoffsrsquo extremely traditional upper classindividuals who push for issues like lower taxes and private enterprise Labour supportersare the opposite middle aged working class manual labourers potentially trade unionists

Those who vote for the Green Party are labelled hippies unconventionally thinking voterswhose concern is less around general wellbeing and more around the environment Anyonesupporting UKIP currently the most controversial party in the General Election is associatedwith fierce nationalism which is often interpreted as racism In a similar way politicians asa whole are stereotyped as evasive and typically dishonest often avoiding directlyanswering questions put to them

Winchester Woman ndash How did I come up with the idea

In the competitive world of politics the use of political stereotypes can be employed tocreate associations with certain parties but also to form realistic profiles of constituentshelping politicians target specific demographics As we have seen through the success ofBlairrsquos Mondeo Man politicians can group voters according to their lifestyle choices andgeneral attitudes to create a voter stereotype to focus on

In the midst of the build-up to the 2015 General Election the ideal environment hastranspired to create a new voter stereotype a modern day Worcester Woman I havechosen to profile the type of female voter found in Hampshire specifically Winchester ThelsquoWinchester Womanrsquo is a prototype of the middle aged female voter for this area

My intention is to discover whether or not she forms a realistic profile and to categorize hervoting habits and political views By becoming a stereotype she also becomes a caricatureof the chosen demographic an angle I intend to explore by producing various feature typesin the style of the lsquoWinchester Womanrsquo diary entries following the general electioncustomer reviews of Winchester retailers a broadsheet style profile and magazine spreadsThough these are generally serious pieces there were others like Winchester Womanrsquosdiaries that were written with satirical intention

The reason for my concentration on the female vote stemmed from my assumption that ofboth sexes it was the female involvement in politics that I expected to be less The gender-voting gap was brought to my attention through an article which expressed that thenumber of women voting in general elections has been on a decline since 1992 Though itacknowledged voter turnout in general was diminishing the more dramatic drop belongedto women (Cohen 2015) This being said it has been recognised that the female vote holdsgreat value and there is evidence that the major parties have recognised this RecentlyUKIP announced that they would scrap lsquotampon taxrsquo ndash the 5 tax on female sanitaryproducts if they were elected into power

Having created the idea of Winchester Woman I realised that to create a realistic profile Iwould need to gather data from the women of Winchester and so I created aquestionnaire which examined their political choices and general lifestyle To create a fairrepresentation of the average woman I repeated the questionnaire at different times of theday both at the weekend and during the week in the same area in Winchester Town Inorder to further create a profile that was as accurate as possible I gathered the opinions ofother vital groups I interviewed local Conservative MP Steve Brine to find out how he felthis party were addressing the female vote

How significant do you think the female vote will be and what threats to yourposition have you identified For example do you think Tory woman voters aremore likely to be convinced by UKIPs arguments than male voters

ldquoI think all votes are significant and have to say that in nearly ten years of knockingon doors and emailing and corresponding with thousands of my constituents I havenot picked up any particular gender gap in terms of who people support That saidwe have a great story to tell from this Parliament

Wersquove done a huge amount on childcare and almost 2m families could benefit fromour new tax-free childcare scheme from autumn 2015 worth up to pound2000 per child Iam also delighted that the gender pay gap is the lowest on record and women under40 working full-time now earn more than men

I tend to not spend too much time given I am actually doing the job working outwhat lsquothreats to my positionrsquo there are but in conclusion I donrsquot think female votersare any different to men in realising that a vote for UKIP risks the chaos of an EdMiliband Government which would put at risk the recovery we have in our economyrdquo

I wanted to know whether woman in Winchester were voting who they were voting for andwhy I also wanted to know whether or not political parties felt the female vote heldparticular influence and if so were they adapting their policies to it It was interesting to seethat indeed more woman than men failed to vote in the previous election with figures ofaround 9 million female votes lost in comparison to 8 million male Though this did indicatethat there was a lag in the number of female voters it was a lot smaller than thediscrepancy I was expecting

Winchester Woman

Winchester Woman is aged 35 ndash 50 and primarily votes for the Conservatives She lives in ajointly owned detached home is married and has 2 children A few things define hersupport for the Conservatives and her political choices

middot Her partner also votes Conservative as do her parentsmiddot She feels the public image of David Cameron and his wife is the most positivemiddot She approves of the policies they endorsemiddot She considers Winchester a typically Conservative constituency ndash but could be

persuaded to vote otherwise

An interesting find from my research was that female-oriented policies like childcare werethe least popular matters of importance to women instead more general economic issueswere held in high value the most common of which were tax general wellbeing and the OldAge Pension

UKIP proved to be the least popular party with Winchester Woman Nigel Faragersquoscomments shunning public breastfeeding were viewed as lsquosexistrsquo and his lsquoracistrsquo opinionswere offensive Faragersquos public image was equally bad Winchester Woman felt he cameacross like a dictator the most common description of him was ldquomadrdquo

Her Conservative support cannot be taken for granted 40 of Winchester Women admittedto frequently considering voting otherwise Reasons for changing their votes included thepolicies of parties at the time failure of new government a passion for environment andthe desire for a lsquobig changersquo The focus on issues locally in particular maintenance of theNHS and involvement in any local planning also proved important

The Green Party was particularly popular because of Winchester Womanrsquos environmentalconcerns and the appeal of their female leader Winchester woman though intelligent andeducated did not feel that she is informed enough about lsquoother partiesrsquo to permit her tochange her vote She still views politics as a field dominated by men thus explaining whyshe often votes for the same party as her partner Her perceived lack of understanding plusthe social stigma of voting for a party considered lsquoradicalrsquo in society limits WinchesterWomanrsquos political range

Demographically she would be categorised as a social grade AB which is classed asmiddleupper middle class Her partnerrsquos job is most commonly defined as at intermediatemanagerial level administrative professional and well paid Normally working partndashtime oras a self-employed individual Winchester woman is comfortable financially sometimes tothe extent that she considers early retirement

Her lifestyle reflects her higher economic status she generally travels least twice per yeardines at a restaurant once a week and spends her remaining income on clothes from

Winchester high street most regularly high end stores LK Bennett or The White CompanyShe expects her children to continue into tertiary education deeming careers in law orbusiness as appropriate career paths to follow Surprisingly she is not the typical Waitroseshopper her food shopping habits imitate those of Aldi Women sporadic visits todiscounted stores like Aldi and ASDA combined with more recurrent visits to SainsburyrsquosWaitrose and Marks and Spencer

What is the political context in Winchester

The results from the 2 previous general elections indicate that the Liberal Democrats andConservatives are the most popular parties in Winchester by a wide margin Thoughcurrently the Conservatives hold a majority previous results indicated that the Lib Dems ledby MP Mark Oaten were the most popular In 2010 Steve Brine Conservative MP won theWinchester constituency by a majority of 3048 votes In 2011 the Conservatives regainedcontrol of Winchester City Council and despite switching to NOC (No Overall Control) theyhave recaptured their influence The current set up of Winchester City Counciladministration is Conservatives 28 Liberal Democrats 25 Labour 3 and Independent 1 TheWinchester constituency remains a Conservative seat with a majority of 16914 in the 2015General Election

The boundaries of the constituency are made up of the City of Winchester Chandlers Fordand Hiltingbury though Winchester serves as the largest part An assessment of theconstituencies in Hampshire in 2010 initiated the establishment of a new seat The MeonValley constituency is made from of old parts of the Winchester seat Chandlers Ford theother largest area with 21000 residents is split between various wards a majority with theWinchester constituency some with the Eastleigh West division held by UKIP MP ChrisGreenwood as well as the Baddesley division held by the Conservatives

From 1950 until 1997 the Winchester seat was safely Conservative only changing when inthe 1997 General Election the Conservative MP Gerry Malone was overpowered by LiberalDemocrat Mark Oaten by just two votes The result was petitioned by Oaten a decisionthat was overruled by the High Court as invalid Instead a by-election took place which waswon by the Lib Dem MP by a majority of 21556 shifting the profile of the constituency fromits usually secure Conservative seat

Interestingly it was also in this election that the vote for Labour candidate Patrick Davieswas so low at just 17 that he lost his deposit (Winchester (UK Parliament Constituency)nd) At that point Winchester was the lsquosafest Liberal Democrat seat in the countryrsquo with68 of voters choosing Mark Oaten whilst the Conservative vote decreased 14 to 2820 of voters had swung from Conservative to Liberal Democrat (Lib Dems win the vote inWinchesterVote up to 26 - BBC News 1997) The following two General Elections weredominated by the Liberal Democrats who held their seat with majorities of over 6000 inboth

In the 2010 General Election Conservative candidate Steve Brine beat Liberal Democratcandidate Martin Tod Winchesters seat reverted to Conservative with a majority of over3000 votes

The Winchester Constituency candidates for the 2015 General Election are

middot Conservative ndash Steve Brine

middot Labour ndash Mark Chalonermiddot UKIP ndash Martin Lyonmiddot Liberal Democrat ndash Jackie Portermiddot Green ndash Michael Wilks

In the run up to the General Election the importance the main parties have placed oncapturing the female vote has varied Labour MP Harriet Harman caught the attention of thepress in February when she debuted the parties lsquopink busrsquo a shocking magenta vehicle thatwas designed to tour 70 constituencies attempting to persuade women to vote Labour Sheexplained that in the previous 2010 election 91 million women did not vote because ldquotheydidnrsquot think that politicians have any interest in their livesrdquo The BBC reported that the busreceived a mixture of reactions some claiming it was lsquopatronisingrsquo (Harriet Harmans pinkbus hits the campaign trail - BBC News 2015)

Tory leader David Cameron used a different strategy announcing that the Tories lsquosecretweaponrsquo to persuade female voters was his wife Samantha Cameron Her tactically plannedpublic appearance began in 2013 when she appeared in the Downing Street Kitchen bakingcakes for Red Nose Day Subsequently she visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon as a Save TheChildren ambassador and has more recently visited schools educating children with specialneeds (Stonehouse 2013) Her public appearances and vastly growing reputation as a styleicon appear to be working with a recent YouGov poll indicating that 54 of voters felt shewas the lsquobest election assetrsquo (Watts 2015)

Similarly The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has been focusing his election campaignon the female vote through policies that prioritise mental health and address sharedparental leave whilst also promoting their attempts to increase the number of female MPrsquos(Nick Clegg targets female votes as Lib Dems launch election campaign 2015) UKIP alsounveiled policies that appeared to target women such as a reduction in the lsquotampon taxrsquo onsanitary products and a focus on lsquoproperly resourced maternity wardsrsquo (Hope 2015)

Socio- Economic Profile

A rural city based in Hampshire Winchesters average population is that of around 45000Featuring one of the largest cathedrals in Europe a University and Art college Winchester ischaracterised as the lsquomost prosperousrsquo area in its county Factors contributing to this statusinclude

middot A mature population with a particularly large number of individuals aged 45-64middot An above average number of individuals employed in finance and servicesmiddot Above average rankings for Social classes 1 and 2 ( AB)

Around 45 of Winchesters neighbourhoods are categorised as lsquowealthy achieversrsquo living inlsquosuburban areasrsquo with another 13 identified as lsquocomfortable middle agersrsquo and 10lsquoaffluent executivesrsquo living in lsquofamily areasrsquo Just 1 are lsquoCouncil Estate Residentsrsquo whilstthere are no individuals living in lsquo multi ethnic low income areasrsquo in comparison to the 2in Great Britain overall

In terms of economic status the lsquoBusiness Densityrsquo (number of business in economy perhead of the population) ndash is 39 businesses per thousand people in Winchester animpressive figure that tops the national average of 28 The Economic Activity Rate definingthe number of people with the potential to work is relatively low at 783 possibly owningto the affluent nature of the area or the ageing population The wealthy status ofWinchester is confirmed by the statistics for its average earnings which are pound429 acomparatively high figure that corresponds with the impressively low unemployment rate ofjust 05

In concurrence with these figures is the measure of lsquodeprivationrsquo in Winchester a ratingbased on various factors such as income employment health and disability Winchester isamong the 20 least deprived authorities in England indicating levels of deprivation areincredibly low 24 out of the 32 wards in Winchester fall in the top 20 least deprivedwards in England with no wards falling in the 40 most deprived wards

Furthermore the predictions for Winchesterrsquos workforce indicate that the number ofindividuals who are lsquoself-employedrsquo will continue to increase as will the lsquoeconomicallyactiversquo population The female workforce in particular is predicted to grow at around twicethe speed of the male workforce as well as continuing to age (Unsupported source type(DocumentFromInternetSite) for source PDF15)

A recent YouGov poll taken from the 16-17th of April 15 asked prospective voters thequestion Would you be embarrassed or proud to tell your friends and family that you weregoing to vote for each of the following political parties

Of the 882 women questioned UKIP was the party with the highest percentage of womenwho felt lsquoembarrassedrsquo to admit voting for at 56 whilst The Green Party had the lowest

percentage of women feeling lsquoembarrassedrsquo with just 29 The Green Party was also rankedas one of the highest parties that women felt lsquoproudrsquo to be voting for as did the Labourparty

Conversely Labour were the party which ranked highest in the percentage of women whofelt lsquoproudrsquo of voting for them though the Conservative and Green Party ranking was closebehind In terms of social status those in the same bracket as Winchester Woman ABC1would also be most lsquoembarrassedrsquo by voting UKIP and the most proud of voting for eitherthe Conservatives or Liberal Democrats

These statistics directly correlate with the voting behaviour I associate with WinchesterWoman female voters were most commonly unsure about whether or not they should beproud of their chosen political party indicating they may feel their knowledge of politics islimited The social taboo of choosing an extreme party like UKIP could potentially overridetheir vote causing them to choose a lsquonormalrsquo party like the conservatives though there isindication that the Green Party are popular with female voters

Further research supporting my profile of Winchester Woman is the YouGov WinchesterConstituency profile Crafted from information normally used to generate marketingcampaigns the profile or lsquonowcastrsquo explores the more obscure traits of people in theWinchester Constituency The voting classification for Winchester is as a Conservative area

Demographically the results also profile Winchester as an area with an ageing population ithas a higher average number of people 65 and over than the South East of Englandgenerally has

YouGov has listed various current social and politics issues allowing constituents to answerto what degree they agree with them Issues discussed were

middot Green Energy ndash 33 felt that it is a top priority for government and 49 that it wasa priority

middot Tax ndash Less than the UK average of voters in Winchester felt the tax for those earningover pound150000 should be over 50p

middot Immigration ndash 48 - the largest percentage of voters in Winchester felt that thereshould be much tighter restrictions on immigration

middot Role of government - A majority of Winchester constituents felt that a governmentwhich lsquodidnrsquot lean in either directionrsquo in terms of keeping order and letting people dowhat they want would be best

Overall idealistic views were popular in Winchester apart from those regarding theredistribution of wealth and the size of state indicating that matters involving finance andtax are treated with higher value possibly due to the affluent nature of the area

Furthermore general opinions and attitudes in Winchester were shared with what I hadfound in my own research of Winchester woman Family values were a high priority with apopular statement that lsquomy family is more important to me than my careerrsquo whilst attitudestowards spending money resonate with the evolution of a more modernized WinchesterWoman lsquoI am always on the lookout for special offersrsquo

More specifically the profile also categorised the most popular celebrities in Winchester likeStephen Fry and Queen mirroring the interests of an ageing population This trend was alsoseen in the most watched television programmes in the last 12 months Regional News andWeather Jonathan Creek and Wimbledon (Election centre nd)

Through directly speaking to the women of Winchester examining data profiling theeconomic social and political habits of Winchesters female population and through my ownassumptions I feel the creation of Winchester Woman has been successful She represents avoter wielding a valuable political opinion who has evolved from her traditionallyConservative status to sympathise with issues atypical to her affluent lifestyle Her lack ofconfidence surrounding politics and subsequent inclination to vote similarly to her friendsand family suggest she could be persuaded to vote differently if she was more informedThe potential influence Winchester Woman could have is significant she is opinionatedenough to know what she doesnrsquot agree with politically but cannot detach the stigmaassociated with voting for more extreme parties

As a caricature her potential is also promising Her self-deprecating uncertainty surroundingpolitics is endearing and humorous as are her outspoken political views As the subject ofvarious written features I have exaggerated Winchester Womanrsquos affluent lifestyle andsuperior social class in exactly the same way a caricaturist plays on the physical features ofa subject

BibliographyCenturys best cartoonist on show - BBC News (2002) 8 May [Online] AvailablehttpenwikipediaprgwikiColonel_Blimpcite_note-newsbbccouk-1 [22 Apr 2015]

Unsupported source type (DocumentFromInternetSite) for source PDF15

About Punch Magazine Punch Cartoons Cartoons History|Links to Punch related material amplinks|PUNCH Magazine Cartoon Archive [Online] Available httpwwwpunchcoukabout [22Apr 2015]

Altick R (1997) PunchThe Lively Youth of a British Institution 1841-851 Ohio State University Press

Baker L (2010) The History of British Cartoons and Caricature|Gresham College 4 october [Online]Available httpwwwgreshamacuklectures-and-eventsthe-history-of-british-cartoons-and-caricature [22 april 2015]

Batten S The Cartoon Museum [Online] Availablehttpwwwcartoonmuseumorgexplorehistory-of-cartoons-comics [22 April 2015]

Bignell J (1997) Media Semotics Manchester University Press [Online] Availablehttpsbooksgooglecoukbooksid=Fnm7AAAAIAAJamppg=PA157amplpg=PA157ampdq=loadsamoney+conservativeampsource=blampots=by-Napfp4campsig=92NwnnC0YidUvCiBMxLRc5UuIsAamphl=enampsa=Xampei=Ov8oVcn4MYbg7QbixYHYDQampved=0CDoQ6AEwBAv=onepageampq=loadsamoney20conservativeampf=false [22 Apr 2015]

BiographyWilliam Kerridge Haselden - The British Cartoon Archive - University of Kent [Online]Available httpwwwcartoonsacukartistswilliam-kerridgehaseldenbiography [22 Apr 2015]

Bland A (2013) Tories identify eight groups of voters as Labour look to Obama campaign forinspirationThe sophisticated tools that rivals hope will win them 2015 election 6 Nov [Online]Available httpwwwindependantcouknewsukpoliticstories-identify-eight-groups-of-voters-as-labour-look-to-obama-campaign-for-inspiration-the-sophisticated-tools-that-rivals-hope-will-win-them-2015-election-revealed-8925374html [22 Apr 2015]

Charlie Hebdo Shooting 2015 [Online] AvailablehttpenwikipediaorgwikiCharlie_Hebdo_shootingcitee_note-bbc-15550350-150 [22 Apr 2015]

Cohen C (2015) Almost 100 years on from winning the vote women shun the polling booths 9 Jan[Online] Available httpwwwtelegraphcoukwomenwomens-politics1333915British-women-general-election-voters-shun-the-polling-boothshtml [22 Apr 2015]

Election centre [Online] Available httpsyougovcoukconstituency512profileattitudes [22Apr 2015]

Emblematical Print on The South Sea Scheme (2014) 21 Feb [Online] AvailablehttpenwikipediaorgwikiEmblematical_Print_on_the_South_Sea_Scheme [22 Apr 2015]

Essex Man (2014) 10 Sep [Online] Available httpenwikipediaorgwikiEssex_man [22 Apr2015]

French Satirical Paper Charlie Hebdo attacked in Paris - BBC News (2011) 2 Nov [Online] Availablehttpwwwbbbcouknewsworld-europe-155-35- [22 Apr 2015]

Hanson VD (2010) ObamaFighting the Yuppie Factor National Review 13 Aug [Online] [22 Apr2015]

Harriet Harmans pink bus hits the campaign trail - BBC News (2015) 11 Feb [Online] Availablehttpwwwbbccouknewsuk-politics-31412425 [22 Apr 2015]

Helen Fielding (2014) 18 Mar [Online] Available httpenwikipediaorgwikiHelen_Fielding [22Apr 2015]

HogarthHogarths Modern Moral Series [Online] Available httpwwwtateorgukwhats-ontate-britainexhibitionhogarthhogarth-hogarths-modern-mural-series [22 Apr 2015]

Home|Online Resources|Online Exhibitons| Vive la difference| The view from England (2007) (2007)3 Jul [Online] Availablehttpwwwfitzmuseumcamacukgalleryviveladifferenceworksgallery1html [22 Apr 2015]

Hope C (2015) From dumping the Tampon tax to lifitng the smoking banour guideto Ukips generalelection manifesto 14 Apr [Online] Availablehttpwwwtelegraphcouknewspoliticsukip11536535From-a-tampon-tax-to-lifting-the-smoking-ban-our-guide-to-Ukips-general-election-manifestohtml [22 Apr 2015]

Lib Dems win the vote in WinchesterVote up to 26 - BBC News (1997) 21 Nov [Online] Availablehttpnewsbbccouk1hiukpolitics33477stm [22 Apr 2015]

Navasky VS (2013) The Art of Controversy [Online] Availablehttpsbookgooglecoukbooksid=NBYq8e06qEcCamppg+PA46amplpg=PA46ampdq=the+golden+age+of+caricatureampsource=blampots+BQ0TGxVAp2ampsig=Owe- [22 Apr 2015]

Nick Clegg targets female votes as Lib Dems launch election campaign (2015) 29 Mar [Online]Available httpwwwtheguardiancompolitics2015mar29nick-clegg-targets-female-vote-election-campaign [22 Apr 2015]

On the trail of Londons Sloane Rangers (1984) 25 Mar [Online] Availablehttpwwwnytimescom19840325travelon-the-trail-of-london-s-sloane-rangershtml [22 Apr2015]

Oxford Art BenezitSubject guide in Oxford Art Online [Online] AvailablehttpwwwoxfordartonlinecompublicpagebenzthemesBritishSatire [22 April 2015]

Postwar Britain [Online] Available httpenwikipediaorgwikiPostwar_BritainCrisis_of_1970s[22 Apr 2015]

Quinn T (2015) MagforumNot Private Eye 28 Jan [Online] Availablehttpwwwmagforumcomnotprivateeyehtm20httpenwikipediaorgwikiIan_Hislop [22 Apr2015]

Rath K (2012) Political Cartoons Britains Revolutionaries - BBC News [Online] Availablehttpwwwbbccouknewsuk-politics-20462098 [22 april 2015]

Riddell M (2014) Worcester Woman lives - and she could settle Ed Milibands fate 5 Nov [Online]Available httpwwwtelegraphcouknewspoliticsed-miliband11208812Worcester-Woman-lives-and-she-could-settle-Ed-Milibands-fatehtml [22 Apr 2015]

Rowson M (2007) The Grandfather of Satire 1 January [Online] Availablehttpwwwtateorgukcontext-commentarticlesgrandfather-satire [22 april 2015]

Simkin J (1997) David Low Sep [Online] Available httpspartacus-educationalcomJlowhtm [22Apr 2015]

Simkin J (1997) George Cruickshank Aug [Online] Available httpspartacus-educationalcomPRcruikshankhtm [22 Apr 2015]

Simkin J (1997) James Gillray Sep [Online] Available httpspartacus-educationalcomPRgillrayhtm [22 Apr 2015]

Simkin J (1997) John Tenniel Sep [Online] Available httpspartacus-educationalcomJtennielhtm [22 Apr 2015]

Six Acts (2014) 5 Dec [Online] Available httpenwikipediaorgwikiSix_Acts [22 Apr 2015]

Sommors J (2015) Incest SNP cartoon triggers Twitter meltdown in Scotland 9 Mar [Online]Available httpwwwhuffington[pstcouk20150309snp-steve-bell-if-guardian_n_6831028_html [22 May 2015]

Spillett SCampR (2014) Russell Brand is the epitome of a champagne socialist 6 Nov [Online]Available httpwwwdailymailcouknewsarticle-2823470Russell-Brand-hobnobs-celebrities-freebie-theatre-joining-protestorshtml [22 Apr 2015]

Spitting Image (2015) 22 Apr [Online] Available httpenwikipediaorgwikiSpitting_Image

Stonehouse C (2013) Samantha Cameron the secret weapon 30 Mar [Online] Availablehttpwwwexpresscouknewsuk388024Samantha-Cameron-the-secret-weapon [22 Apr 2015]

Styles R (2015) The Duke and Duchess get a puppet makeover 8 Apr [Online] Availablehttpdailymailcoukfemailarticle-3030671William-Kate-s-puppet-makeover-Duke-Duchess-Cambridge-royals-set-lampooned-ITV-s-newest-comedy-sketch-showhtml [22 Apr 2015]

Styles R (2015) The Duke and Duchess get a puppet makeover 8 Apr [Online] Availablehttpwwwdailymailcoukfemailarticle-3030671William-Kate-s-puppet-makeover-Duke-Duchess-Cambridge-royals-set-lampooned-ITV-s-newest-comedy-sketch-showhtml [22 Apr 2015]

The Gentlemans Magazine and Historical Chronicle

Turvill W (2015) Guardian rejects complaints form 300 readers who found Steve Bell incest andScottish country dancing cartoon racist 16 Mar [Online] Availablehttpwwwpressgazettecoukcontentguardian-rejects-complaints-300-readers-who-found-steve-bell-incest-and-scottish-country [22 Apr 2015]

Vogler RA (2014) The Graphic Works of George Cruickshank 1979 5 Dec [Online] Availablehttpspartacus-educationalcomPRcruickshankhtm [22 Apr 2015]

Voter SegmentationHow Worcester Woman votes today - BBC News (2014) 24 Mar [Online]Available httpwwwbbccouknewsuk-politics-27=6716111 [22 Apr 2015]

Watts J (2015) Samantha Cameron tops polls as best election asset in the battle of the leaderswives - Politics-London Evening Standard 9 Apr [Online] Availablehttpwwwstandardcouknewspoliticssamantha-cameron-tops-vote-as-best-election-asset-in-battle-of-the-leaders-wives-10164948html [22 Apr 2015]

Whiteman B The Age of Caricature Satirical Prints in the Reign of George III by Diana DonaldTheEnglish Print (1688-1802) by Timothy Clayton [Online] Availablehttpwwwjstororgdiscover10230730053326sid=21106367654323ampuid=2129ampuid=3738032ampuid=2ampuid=70ampuid=4 [22 April 2015]

Wikipedia (2015) Caricature [Online] Available httpenwikipediaorgwikiCaricature [22 April2015]

Wilde R (no date ) A Beginners Guide to the Enlightenment [Online] Availablehttpeuropeanhistoryaboutcomodthenineteenthcenturyaenlightenmenthtm [22 April 2015]

William Hogarth|Studio International (2006) 8 Oct [Online] Availablehttpwwwstudiointernationalcomindexphpwilliam-hogarth [22 Apr 2015]

Winchester (UK Parliament Constituency) [Online] AvailablehttpenwikipediaorgwikiWinchester_(UK_Parliament_constituency) [22 Apr 2015]

Worcester Woman (2014) 8 Nov [Online] Availablehttpenwikipediaorgwikiworcester_woman [22 Apr 2015]

Bibliography

of Prime Minister Robert Walpole straddling the treasury with his rear exposed ready foraffluent men to kiss lsquoEveryone knew who it was because they knew you had to kissWalpolersquos bottom if you were to get anywherersquo (Rath 2012)

Similarly Gillray the principal figure of the Golden era produced a cartoon of William Pittthe younger a politician and later Prime minister dividing up the world with Napoleon Pittshalf being considerably larger It was voted the most famous political cartoon in the UK

William Hogarth an English painter engraver and artist is often described one of thefounders of political satire (Rowson 2007) He began his artistic career as an engraverproducing coats of arms and designing plates before progressing into print work Anexample of his early satire was Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme a cartoonsurrounding the crash of the stock market and national economy in relation to the SouthSea Stock Company It shows a merry-go-round representing the scheme which is beingridden by various members of society who have been taken in by it (Emblematical Print onThe South Sea Scheme 2014)

Ever the polemicist Hogarthrsquos controversial work became popular in 1732 when hepublished engravings of his first lsquoModern Moral Subjectsrsquo It was a style of art thatattempted to journalistically portray daily life as a form of high art (HogarthHogarthsModern Moral Series nd) The first painting in the series A Harlots Progress follows aninnocent young girls decline into prostitution

Hogarthrsquos popularity allowed him to create cartoons that directly addressed his audienceand attempted to change their outlook ndash a sort of mass media lsquoGin Lanersquo his mostrecognized work advised readers against the dangers of spirit drinking whilst promotingthe consumption of ale and beer

His illustration of national stereotypes the British as ldquobeer-swilling roast-beef-guzzlingfour-square Englishmenrdquo and French as ldquostarveling bare-foot onion-nibbling Frenchpeasantsrdquo were popular he was the master of caricature (William Hogarth|StudioInternational 2006) Hogarthrsquos intense patriotism was evident in his illustration the simianway he drew the French demonstrated his depiction of them as babbling and primal(Home|Online Resources|Online Exhibitons| Vive la difference| The view from England(2007) 2007)

This type of radical caricature also became popular through the works of ThomasRowlandson and James Gillray Rowlandson in particular gained much of his inspiration fromthe behaviour of the public inspired by Sketches by Boz a collection of short stories writtenby Charles Dickens which explored early Victorian life The book contains 4 sections entitledlsquoOur parishrsquo lsquoCharactersrsquo lsquoScenesrsquo and lsquoTalesrsquo each which held the 56 stories andaccompanying illustrations by George Cruickshank The accuracy of the illustrations was ofparticular importance to Dickens who was careful to ensure they emphasised specific









































































Winchester Woman




































































































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Winchester Woman




































































































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Bibliography

A History of Political Caricature - WordPress.com · A History of Political Caricature The use of...

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