BRITAIN’S “SECOND-GENERATION-YUPPIE” GOVERNMENT: WORK HARDER ON OVER-50S BUSINESS CRED.

EMMA SOAMES
EDITOR-AT-LARGE, SAGA MAGAZINE
PRESS RELEASE
 
May 24, 2010.

 

BRITAIN’S “SECOND-GENERATION-YUPPIE” GOVERNMENT: WORK HARDER ON OVER-50S BUSINESS CRED.

Britain’s “second-generation-yuppie” government needs to grow up fast and gain some battle scars if it is to establish credibility with over-50s-dominated big business, says Emma Soames, editor-at-large of Saga Magazine.

The new government has been put in charge of the £1,500 billion business that is UK plc – but the country’s new chief executive, David Cameron, is ten years younger than the average FTSE 350 CEO, and “finance director” George Osborne, at 38, is nine years younger than the average FTSE 100 FD.

“To establish credibility with senior business people and the 21 million over-50s in the UK, the key for the new PM is to spend more time speaking with – and being seen to speak with - Ken Clarke or Vince Cable rather than looking like part of a tribe of yuppies scoping out champagne bars,” said Emma Soames.

“The young govs might be having some fun in the new Parliament, but if we stack up and compare the age and experience stats, then the average age of the country’s ‘board of directors’ is 52 versus 58 for FTSE 350 company directors,” said Emma Soames.

“The average age of a FTSE 350 chief executive is 53, new PM David Cameron is 43; but the frontline directors of UK plc are Cameron, 43, Nick Clegg, 43, George Osborne, 38, and David Laws, 44 – an average age of 42.

“It’s older than me, but the saying ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’ needs to become the yuppie front-bencher’s iPad, iPhone or BlackBerry screensaver.

“The enduring early images so far are of the opening press conference double-act laughs between Cameron and Clegg, and some comedic opening scenes of Cameron being ‘reminded’ he was PM at the start of the new Parliament.

“They need to be seen to be having fun in the eyes of the younger elements of the population, but they also need to know when to avoid the laughs and flippancy to establish credibility with a generation who have far more experience of tougher times, and know how seriously the state of the nation should be taken.”

Ends

Further information:
Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800
www.saga.co.uk

Emma Soames, editor-at-large, was editor of Saga Magazine from 2002-2008. Previously she edited the Telegraph Magazine for seven years and before that was editor of ES Magazine, Tatler and the Literary Review.