Tories break with Saatchi & Saatchi

COLIN BROWN

Chief Political Correspondent

The Conservative Party yesterday announced that it was parting company with Saatchi & Saatchi after paying a reputed pounds 500,000 to clear its debts with the advertising agency.

The break-up between the party and the high-flying agency started by the Saatchi brothers brings an era to an end. It began with the "Labour isn't Working" poster campaign, which helped to bring Margaret Thatcher to power in 1979.

The Tories stuck with Saatchi & Saatchi in spite of power struggles behind the scenes between Conservative Central Office and No 10 involving Lord Tebbit and Lord Young over election campaign advertising.

A bitter boardroom battle for the agency later led to Maurice Saatchi's breaking away to found his own advertising company. It is likely that his agency will benefit from the decision to end the contract with Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, which was due to run through the next general election, though the contract could be shared by several agencies.

The move marks the last stage in the decisive reorganisation of Central Office by the party chairman, Brian Mawhinney. The contract for the general election will be worth millions of pounds and he insisted on breaking the exclusive account with the agency.

A statement by Dr Mawhinney and Jennifer Laing, Saat-chi's chairman, said the parting was because of the change to "non-exclusivity" for the party's advertising advice. The planned change would have resulted in Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising's working alongside other agencies in future Tory campaigns.

Dr Mawhinney said: "We have been very happy with the quality of work. Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising have chosen not to be part of this larger grouping we want to put together but we understand the reasons for their decision."

Ms Laing said: "This is a professional decision . . . As an agency we do not work in a co-operative with other agencies." Dr Mawhinney is considering following Labour and the US Republican Party in creating a campaign team of advisers.

It will take campaigning out of the hands of the new communications director, Charles Lewington, who will concentrate on press and broadcasting. He was appointed after a series of propaganda gaffes, as the party tried to seize the initiative from Labour.

Dr Mawhinney has also moved his office to be "at the heart of the action" at Central Office. He has vacated a large office, known as the "Baker wing" after the former chairman, Ken Baker, and moved back into the smaller office traditionally occupied by the party chairmen until the late 1980s.

"It's next to the stairs, where people can drop in. The Baker room was a bit cut off. But Brian wants to roll his sleeves up and get involved," one source said.