I’ve been conversing with @graemearcher and @betapolitics (also known as Nick Denys) about the next head of communications for the government.
This post is not about Andy Coulson, who I never worked for and who I think we all should feel some sympathy for this evening.
It is about what kind of communications the government should do.
I’ve occasionally been critical over the years of how the Conservatives have presented their policies. I’ve been critical also of how badly prepared they seem to have been once in government. Those reasons again: firstly, there was a disconnect between the substance of policies and how they were presented (that did improve somewhat with time, but was replaced instead by swift rowing back from agreed proposals at the slightest hint of criticism).
Secondly, there doesn’t appear to have been a serious attempt to make a coherent case for government policy.
Thirdly, even when there has been outrage and riots, what comms there were were not strong enough, nor positive enough, and always seemed to be about defence not attack.
And finally, there is no overall narrative for what the government is doing – no attempt to hang everything together based on devolving power and control.
So what should the Prime Minister look for in his next comms chief? Obviously, he needs someone he personally feels comfortable with and trusts.
Crucially, though, he needs someone who is sufficiently in tune with and understanding of his agenda to go out and really sell it to the media and thence to the public, but is also strong enough to point out flaws, inconsistencies and potential bear-traps.
I don’t pretend that the job is easy, nor that the person chosen will necessarily get it right all the time – we’re all human. And that person will – as Fraser Nelson points out – have a hideous time of it. But it has to be done. Because while – of course – the most important part of being in government is indeed governing in the national interest, it is also vitally important that voters understand and support what is being done.
Related posts:
New blogpost: Defining the future http://bit.ly/fndo9m #fb
Fiona on the criteria that should be used to pick next head of Comms “@PlatformTen Defining the future http://bit.ly/fndo9m"
Oh and – Graeme is absolutely right that No 10 has been (relatively) good at resisting the temptation to over-respond to every headline. But that doesn’t mean that they can stop thinking about them until April 2015.