Thread 20 Starmer - Spring Statement

[DuncinToffee]

Previous thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5286167-thread-19-starmer-a-coalition-of-the-willing?page=40&reply=142981585

You are misreading the tone of this thread

I saw that and my first thought was good, communcations have been dire.

Same here communication has been utterly woeful.

Agreed. It’s a drum I’ve been banging on these threads ad nauseum ever since the election. I really wish they’d do the sensible thing and offer Alastair Campbell a six month contract to reset their whole comms operation. Their communications have been mind blowingly poor.

Oh Blossom so wish that would happen, I live in hope that they will.

No not at all I'm not misreading @DuncinToffee I think I've got the tone of the thread towards newbies spot on...

You thought I was some sort of "numpty" you could bully! now you've been called out and trying to deflect...classic bully behaviour.

No, you still got it wrong. Stick around and you can see for yourself.

And nice of you to call me a bully.

And thanks for the laughing emoji reaction

I'll leave you to it ...you know best it seems @DuncinToffee and no one can say differently.

I've better things to do with my time than argue the toss with you...you have been seen for what you are I'll leave it at that.

I agree Alastair Campbell was good at the time. But he is 67 and this is the social media age. It’s a completely different ball game altogether. Don’t they actually need some really switched on young person in? It’s an interesting question. Does Campbell have a big online presence? (Haven’t checked)
The way I see it is that Starmer has his head firmly screwed on and what I want them to do above all else is stop us going bankrupt and position us optimally on the world stage. Sometimes doing less there is more. The fact Starmer isn’t some big character given the megalomaniacs out there, is a good thing.

I am another who used to love WH Smith. Not any more. If I want books, I'll go to a bookshop - my nearest decent town has a fabulous independent one. If I want stationery, I'll got to a specialist shop. WH Smith doesn't know what it wants to be and hasn't for a long time.

What a ridiculous suggestion to say that 67 is too old @Araminta1003! And yes, he has a big online presence. He always has, what with it having been his job to deal with communications.

James Lyons will take over surely?
I assumed that was why they brought him in.
Ex NHS, TikTok, Mirror and Sunday Times.

@ilovebrie8 I think you need to look up the meaning of bullying. You do a great disservice to those of us who have been genuinely bullied.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using AS - that’s what it’s there for. It can be very revealing to see the kind of posts posters are making and/or where they’re spending most of their time on MN.

I think AC understands that communication is not just about providing information, it's also about listening and using that to engage. But in his day, social media wasn't the force it is now. It can be a force for good but more and more needs to be approached with extreme caution. So hopefully the guy from Tiktok will be able to incorporate that into his strategy.

Campbell was on Twitter in its early days. Not everyone over the age of 50 is struggling with a Doro dumb phone and printing off their funny chain emails from a desktop PC.

Alastair Campbell has been an active presence on social media for years. He also has a podcast (with Rory Stewart) wherein they talk about/analyse UK and global politics, so he very much has his finger on the pulse.

No idea what you mean by ‘in his day’!!!

By 'in his day' I meant when he was a driving force in government and worked closely with the then PM. He's not that much older than I am so not implying he's past it.

So FUN FACT - the WH Smith who introduced the family business to selling at railway stations was a Tory MP, First Lord of the Admiralty AND EVEN BETTER was the inspiration for the G&S song "When I was a lad"
https://bsky.app/profile/joxley.jmoxley.co.uk/post/3llgjuy456k2y

i love it when random nuggets of info - trivia really - pop up. What an amazing life.

Talent and skills have no age @Araminta1003. On the other hand experience does. Campbell is the most talented comms expert any government has ever had. In any case, his role would be to set strategy, not formulate tweets.

Oh wow!

Massive assumptions here...I know only too well what bullying feels like as I've been bullied in real life and it was hellish to put it mildly.

I know what bullying is and feels like and there is bullying behaviour on this thread....name if what you like am well versed on the topic.

What is more surprising is you are straight on the attack saying I was doing a great disservice when you know nothing, absolutely zero about me and what I have encountered... making sweeping assumptions again about people's lives does them a great disservice not the other way around.

Jumping to conclusion again, the gift that just keeps giving...🙄

The AS was being used in this instance to make dig at me...they posted "Haha" the gist of those particular posts were as if to say stay in your lane on the tame Telly Addicts threads...this isn't for you....it was used to have a go at me, it was not positive.

Campbell has very interesting thoughts on comms and how to make a message cut through when he talks about it on The Rest Is Politics.

@ilovebrie8 I joined these threads relatively recently and nobody has ever made me anything but welcome. I think it’s because I did what I do when I join a new group in real life: looked around at the way people interact and ‘cultural norms’ for want of a better phrase. Then I made my contributions (not always in agreement with other posters) using the same tone I observed. Maybe try that - there are a couple of regular posters on here who seem to share your views (though I’m not sure what they are really - you’ve wasted most of your contributions so far an personal comments) and they are debated with perfectly nicely.

I rarely, if ever, listen to The Rest Is Politics.
Might try it out as I have a few long drives ahead. I think it would be fair to say both Lab and Cons would benefit from better comms.

The RIP is excellent. So is The News Agents. Both are very balanced.