Carl Shoben
@Shoben_campaign
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Strategic communications and campaigns adviser.
Charlton, London. England
Joined August 2009
The 'fit for the future' slogan may have at best a neutral impact on the public but the staff in the services where real engagement for change is required, suspect they are going to be asked to do more for less.
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I'll say this forever, and forever no one will listen. 'Fit for the future' as a slogan for a change programme in the NHS or other public services is bad comms. When people hear it, they check their pockets.
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This is simplistic, misunderstanding of political comms. It is not about 'putting out a story', it isn't about 'narrative'. The narrative and comms have to explain the policy and for whom, this Labour Government is governing for.
“The Labour government has not yet realised that it is government.”. Labour avoided putting out a story during the 2024 general election and now it is “counting the cost of that error,” says Times Columnist Trevor Philips. @TrevorPTweets | @AFNeil | #TimesRadio
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The easiest way to get a quick win polling hit is to ask people if they think there is one law for the rich and one for everyone else. Any good politician should always make sure they are seen on the correct side of the phrase.
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Labour's strategy problem now is that electorally, they would likely beat Reform if it's painted as a two horse race in the general election and Labour is the status quo option. But it's a bad political strategy for governing. Too many people not liking you is bad politics.
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This isn't even about moving to the left, it's about narrative and actions. Biden in his early days of presidency supported strikes, was pro union and painted Republican congress as the status quo. It can be done.
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Spot on. For political strategists fighting these forces, offering more status quo (eg Osborne's project fear model) is the opposite of how you go about it. For Labour, they must govern and be a rebel. Who are you governing for? .
⬇️ This is exactly right we are well and truly in the era of toll the dice politics. When people are so unhappy with the status quo it doesn’t matter if the alternative - Brexit, Corbyn, Boris, now Reform is a risk; because it can’t be worse than the hand they’ve currently got.
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And here William Hague implying repealing the 2 child cap and nationalising Thames Water is ‘fantasy politics’ isn’t a line that will resonant with voters.
Labour and the Tories need each other to pull themselves together. Starmer failing to tackle illegal migration will lead to a Reform Government, not a Tory one. Likewise, Reform damages Labour by promising fantasy policies Minister are pressured to adopt. Both mainstream.
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The 1990s ‘I’m going to be honest with you, the jobs aren’t coming back’ line sounded like honest politics but it wasn’t popular, or good politics.
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I mean this is the political (and Comms) strategy rut Labour had needlessly got itself into. A misplaced belief that doing unpopular things is actually, popular, until they realise cuts during a cost of living crisis is never, popular.
Just hard to really believe that any of the spending cuts announced today will end up happening, frankly.
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But reading the Lewis tweet again, I think ive misread what he was saying so I’m going to delete.
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I don’t really know who either of the participants are in this story but the day we get MPs trying to shape set lists at festivals is a very bad day indeed, politically and artistically.
Labour MP David Taylor who called for Glastonbury remove Kneecap from the line up says the festival "did not bother" to respond to his letter, despite him chasing the press team four times.
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But wealth taxes! Wait for the next Faragist outflanking.
Keir Starmer rejects growing Labour calls to hike taxes to pay for higher spending: ‘I don’t think you can tax yourself to growth. We have got high taxes.’.
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And as a comment on this thread has said, be positive. Absolutely. Politicians wrongly like to think ‘it is better to be respected than liked’ . No. If they don’t like you, it’s almost certain they don’t respect you either.
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RT @charliemansell: @Shoben_campaign 2. I am pretty sure t/o will b up quite a lot in 2029 just as I was always pretty sure it wd drop in 2….
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RT @ProfJaneGreen: Usually very difficult to poll non-voters, but there will be many more in 2024 given how much turnout dropped compared t….
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And as I’ve said, before you put any Comms at all, have a think, could this be said in an EY webinar? If the answer is yes, don’t sign it off.
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Blair managed to govern politically, whether you agreed with him or not. Governing is political, it’s not being a manager. You need to show whose side you’re on. Labour needs to shift its Comms and quickly. Lose the ‘milestones’ and ‘missions’.
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Labour can comfortably present itself as a safer option while making clear it believes the current economic model doesn’t work for most people and needs changing. Often forgotten now but Biden got this messaging through very well in the early phase of his presidency,.
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