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Hello and welcome to the TCC Weekly – the Friday bulletin for people who know their Think Tanks from their Tsar Tanks.
This week we look at the phenomenon of ‘Deano’, who one journalist recently wrote held the answer to British politics. Is this another way of describing Prospectors, we wondered? And what are they looking for from the politicians?
And of course, there’s the part of the bulletin that’s more Beano than Deano, Charlie’s Attic. This week’s attic includes a Medieval chart used to categorise the colour of urine . . . for health purposes obviously not fun.
The Values Lab is based on the Values Modes segmentation tool – created by Cultural Dynamics and used by TCC– which divides the population into ethics-driven Pioneers, aspirational Prospectors, and threat-wary Settlers. Take the test here to see which you are.
Understanding Deano
This week we were drawn to an article by Tom McTague, about the political power of ‘Deano’. Used pejoratively on social media, the notional figure of Deano is, McTague explains, “an everyday man; a middle manager with a new-build home and a car on finance, a large TV and a PS4… There are black Deanos and Asian Deanos. There are also plenty of female Deanos. And while they might not read the Guardian, that doesn’t make them some kind of Jim Davidson parody. Their views are likely to be run of the mill, in line with the majority opinion of the country.”
Deano is snobbishly disparaged by cosmopolitan critics, McTague says, as “a low-brow, low-status provincial man with bad taste.” But at another level his life is respectable and perhaps enviable: “Deano owns his home, gets back from work early, and has enough disposable income for new furniture and nice food. He is doing well and is a responsible, decent citizen. He isn’t rich enough to dodge his taxes and is more likely to be found in the gym than in the pub or the bookies.”
So, using Values Modes, what do we know about Deano? If the overlay is exact as we suspect, then the concept of Deano represents an embodiment of Prospector values – the aspirational second set of values in our typology. The central characteristics of this group are that they are upwardly mobile, practical, optimistic, individualistic, competitive, and motivated by the esteem of others. They are often younger and have high personal efficacy.
By way of illustration, the two heat maps above show statements about health and exercise and about career progression respectively – both of which ‘light up’ the Prospector corner of the values map. Those who love to the gym or thrive on recognition at work will often be Prospectors (or Deanos), with status and affirmation mattering more than for the other values tribes.
In political terms Prospectors will often vote on the basis of economic pragmatism – on retail policy as much as identity – and as such they may be disengaged or may leave it late to decide. Indeed, the 2015 Cruddas Review, which TCC worked on, found that Prospectors shifted to the Conservatives at the eleventh hour in 2015, giving David Cameron his unexpected victory (see pages 14-16). Their motivation here was around economic competence and the deficit.
There are socially liberal and socially conservative hues of Prospector, meanwhile, but this group are not activated by social issues and identity politics in the same way as some groups. Whereas Pioneers are stridently pro-Remain and Settlers heavily pro-Leave, Prospectors are more evenly split. Political debates centred on Brexit and the culture wars may have bypassed them.
Ultimately, as McTague’s analysis concludes, the political class dismiss this group at their peril: “Where there is economic life, there are Deanos,” McTague writes. The squeeze on living standards and the lack of economic growth means that both main parties are now struggling to provide answers for Prospectors.
What is it that Deano is really looking for from politics, then? The statements above give a clue – the first showing personal optimism, the second showing anxiety about the future. While the statements may seem to contradict each other, what they have in common is the importance they place on a clear path into the future. Prospectors want to climb the ladder and want to know that the ladder is in front of them. If they feel that it is then they will be particularly optimistic, as the first map shows. If they do not then they will be particularly worried, as the second shows.
The politicians best able to win over Deano, this suggests, will be those offering a practical route-map into the future; one which creates the conditions for aspirational voters to enjoy their lives and succeed.
And finally, Charlie’s Attic, the broken rung on the TCC Weekly ladder:
Ponder whether Brexit or the housing crisis is causing London to age at such a rate.
Develop these five key elements of authentic leadership.
Then follow these five tips for saving money on a packed lunch.
Nod along to this article on the future of music journalism.
