Thread 12 Starmer: From Prescott to Rayner, working class grit

[DuncinToffee]

Previous thread

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5203242-thread-11-starmer-will-that-phone-call-be-to-harris-or-to-trump-the-decidedly-superior-looking-cats-thread?page=40&reply=139989436

It’s infuriating. I get that a hostile press is a given for a Labour government, but isn’t there some way a good comms team could get this sort of stuff out there?

Of course there is. My biggest criticism of this government is its apparent inability to do the most basic of comms. It IS infuriating, the radio silence on numerous successes is making me really angry.

I guess it’s tough if nobody wants to publish/discuss them…

There doesn’t appear to be any attempt to work with the media. I have no idea what’s going on with the Downing Street press office but whatever it is it appears to be incompetent at best.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdd01jr6122o
They also need to to pull their fingers out over this sort of running down the clock hoping claimants will die before they need to pay out.

£100 million to Reform from Musk....

At what point is this interference from foreigners in UK politics

UK politics live: calls for tighter donation laws amid reports Musk could give Reform UK $100m

That report says it’s ‘frustrating’ that Starmer hasn’t done anything about foreign donations. More frustrating the Tories didn’t no account of them tak8ng the donations…
Labour can’t do everything all at once. This and Leveson 2 should move up the priority list though.

To be frank the narrative is bad. But what is a lot worse is the migration figures. Those are insane. Labour need to drive that figure down and down, because otherwise all their promises about housing, public services will be lost. I know this is all on Johnson and his terrible government but literally legal migration is a political disaster. The Tories are finished on that. Reform will take over, particularly with Musk’s money.

We had something that looked like race riots in this country a few months ago. The boat focus is a fig leaf. Legal migration is totally out of control. If Labour don’t get a grip on it then they will be out next time around.

Even The Sun is against him!

£100mill for Reform is a poison chalice, and I am amused at the fact that a lot of Farage bandwidth now has to be devoted to finding reasons to explain why he "can't" (i.e. won't) take it.

In fact, in a way Musk could not have done more to torpedo his "mate". (Which makes you wonder).

We already know that zero oversight has gone into vetting anyone in Reform.

We already know Reform is the party for grifters who are tired of the Tory insistence on probity.

Add those facts together and we - and Farage - know that a donation of £100 million would eventually emerge as a one-day half page advert in the Rutland Echo on a bank holiday.

A much better use of "£100 million" is to pretend it can't be donated to Reform "because Keir Starmer" (which reads like "But Jeremy Corbyn" in media speak) and make political capital out of it that way.

All of which being said, I suspect Musk's shelf life is limited. I really can't see him and Trump continuing to 69 each other in public come 2025.

I reckon they have lots of dirt on Gregg and want to keep this running.

I think so too. Couldn’t happen to a nicer man.

I agree Blossom that the Labour comms is poor and it's riled me up quite a bit!

Mainly because any slight hiccup or chink in the armour or a unpopular decision and the RW media run with it like they've murdered babies in the street.

Labour need to get better with comms when the opposition do exactly what they handed them a barrage of abuse for and also about what has been acheived - and also about the no boats for 2 weeks.

All I heard today on the way to work was stories about figures between dates and red days.

@SerendipityJane Good points made.
That BBC piece about 20,000 boat crossings under Labour is a disgraceful way of reporting it.
On the Labour comms issue I am less "vexed" about it . I think because Keir kind of said he does not want the constant engagement with the media after they get elected in, he is fully aware of how every thing said in any engagement with them is likely to be turned on its head.
I have been really impressed with everything they have been working on in such a short space of time. They are in power for the next 5 years , barring any calamity, so he has got a lot of time yet.
I think some new legislation could be coming along soon regarding interference from individuals who are based overseas .
In my
" Northern speak"

• what a showing up Sir Keir has given the last crop of ineffectual Tories! No wonder they are cross .

I was at the Albert Hall Newsagents show yesterday and there were a few Greg Wallace jibes.

Its hilarious he is apologising for his "apology" . Winning the hearts and minds of "middle aged women of a certain age" everywhere.

"I think some new legislation could be coming along soon regarding interference from individuals who are based overseas ."
@Elodie09 This legislation cant come fast enough.

Isn't it Sun Tzu who said something about you need to go where your enemies aren't ?

There's also the matter of sunk costs.

My take on the Labour comms "issue" is that it shows someone somewhere with more smarts that is good for them has worked out there is zero point in putting any real effort into comms, as it will simply be outshouted by a pliant right wing press. Couple that with the proven non-attention span of the Great British Public, and money and resources are much more effective elsewhere away from the press.

Some of us can recall the last Labour governments were forever accused of "spin" because their comms was too good.

Really, the time for comms is when you need real votes. Not fickle public approval. And let's not even think about public understanding ....

As someone who worked in public sector comms for over 30 years I can assure you that leaving it until you need votes is really not the way to go. Public attitudes are formed over time with a constant drip, not with an avalanche at election time. And. positive stories are needed to balance the constant flow of negativity. Remember Blair won three elections.

There are so many success stories currently that nobody has heard. The small boats one is an example - the Tories would be shouting it from the roof tops. I discovered from Andy Burnham on Any Questions that the railways have been renationalised - the audience cheered heartily, it’s clearly popular but not a peep in the media. Obviously this is now an embarrassment having got rid of the woman who achieved it.

It must be so frustrating to be a minister achieving now with no publicity for those achievements. If this is a deliberate policy on Starmer’s part I can only conclude that he wants to be a one term wonder. He must be the least media savvy PM of my life time.

Solid experienced appointment for new Cabinet Secretary, Chris Wormald taking over from Simon Case at the end of the year.

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/sir-chris-wormald-named-new-cabinet-secretary-7pcc8jz6t

Just my musings 😀

The small boats one is an example - the Tories would be shouting it from the roof tops.

Which is why keeping it quiet makes sense. Any suggestion of it would merely allow the client media to claim it's all because of Rishi Sunak and "stop the boats".

The public aren't interested in the truth. They like nice simple stories they can understand.

I agree. Starmer is doing good things. But this beaky headteacher style is easily manipulated by someone with charisma and a good story. Look at Johnson who was exactly that. He won. Labour can’t appease a right wing press but no narrative of hope or improvement is no good. It needs work.

Politics is about narrative and delivery. Delivery alone is not enough.

This in spades.

I see the Tory response in that BBC article about small boats is to reinstate the Rwanda plan

Just in today

https://bsky.app/profile/lizziedearden.bsky.social/post/3lcdnd662ss27

In July, I FOI'd the Home Office for the full breakdown of spending on the Rwanda scheme I was refused because the government planned to publish the data in future, and today is the day.

These numbers are in millions

Of the £715m spent, which does not include wider costs to the asylum system include decisions slowing and hotels rocketing: 💷£270m was to Rwanda's Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (unrelated to people being sent) and £20m was for operational spending by Rwanda

💷£95m was went on "investment to optimise capacity within the existing detention estate" and "options to increase detention capacity",which I first reported last November
There wasn't enough room to hold the asylum seekers who were supposedly going to be forced to Rwanda

As I recall, he had overall responsibility for communications when he was at DCLG so hopefully some of that will kick in.

Facts don't play a part with many people.

It's the emotions and the stories - how someone feels about news / events etc

Facts won't change minds or persuade people.

However - people also generally take into account recent behaviours when it comes to forming opinions.