Over Labour’s short period in Government, they have struggled to control the narrative and establish the facts behind events and decisions, such as the Southport riots and the inheritance tax raid on farms. It is my opinion, that Labour’s failure to control the narrative has had a significant impact on their popularity as reflected in the recent polls. I believe that Labour’s inability to control the narrative is the result of a lack of ‘spin’.
I believe that a government cannot be deemed successful if it does not master the art of spin. Spin is a political tool which attempts to change or manipulate the way in which the public perceives an event or situation.
A clear recent example of this is the grooming gang scandal. As reports of these horrific crimes swept across the UK, the Government were in the process of passing ‘The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill’. This bill set out to protect vulnerable children and provide funding for breakfast clubs. The Conservatives then tabled an amendment to the bill, calling for a national inquiry into grooming gangs. However, if this amendment were passed, the bill would die. Therefore, Labour voted against it.
The Conservatives were able to spin this situation, painting Labour as voting against protecting young people. Simultaneously, Labour spun this situation to accuse the Conservatives of failing to protect vulnerable children because they voted in favour of the amendment. I believe that the Conservatives out spun Labour in this scenario, as they were able to exploit public anger at these horrific crimes and direct it towards the Government for failing to call a national inquiry.
The Government needs to have greater clarity on their stance, as well as continuing to attack the opposition for theirs.
Another example of Labour’s failure in spin, was the decision to remove winter fuel payments for pensioners who are not receiving pension credit or other means tested benefits. The Conservatives and Reform were able to spin this decision, creating the message that Labour were willing to let pensioners suffer in the winter cold.
The Conservatives even released a video which displayed pensioners who would be affected by this decision (even though one pensioner was wearing a Rolex) Labour were unable to establish the narrative that only the highest earning pensioners would be affected. This resulted in the government being accused of not supporting the elderly and ‘raging a class war’.
My proposal would be to take a more aggressive, narrative first stance. I suggest that whenever they announce policy, or a certain event happens, they must quickly release statements on all their platforms, which establish the facts and analysis behind it. They also need to gain the backing of centre left media outlets; The Guardian, and the Daily Mirror for example, so they can use these platforms to spin the narrative into their favour. The Government needs to have greater clarity on their stance, as well as continuing to attack the opposition for theirs.
If Labour are unable to tighten their loose grip on the narrative, and improve their image, I fear that right wing populism will continue to rise as the public become increasingly polarised against the Government.