The role of Public Relations in Labour’s Landslide Victory

In the midst of a political campaign, public relations is a major player throughout the campaign. In this blog, we explore the role of PR. Is it 'spin' or manipulation?

While there have been various perspectives to the Labour party’s victory, such as political, economy, foreign policies, EU, and migration, there is also a Public Relations perspective when an x-ray assessment is done on the party’s campaign.

For example, The Guardian Political Editor, Pipa Crerar reported that Labour’s campaign was a huge success, with the party’s laser-like focus on winning votes where they mattered, taking dozens of swing seats, rather than piling up support in its safest constituencies.

However, former Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a surprised early date for the election, to the accident-prone photo opportunities, the controversial national service announcement, his early return from D-day and the betting scandal gave Labour party an advantage at the polls.

A closer look at Labour party’s campaign strategies as outlined on its website, emphasis was laid on the economy and the people, areas mostly neglected by the Tories for 14 years.

One of the key functions of PR is effective relationship building and maintaining a positive image of the company with its various publics. Tories public image hasn’t been well managed following various failures to maintain trust and accountability with public.

As a result, one of the Labour party campaign strategy was? focused on sustained economic growth as the only route to improving the prosperity of the country and the living standards of working people.

That is why it is Labour’s first mission for government. It means being pro-business and pro-worker. “We are the party of wealth creation”.

Labour party strengthened it campaign by stating “This election follows the chaos of the Conservatives” ‘mini-budget’ and an unprecedented fall in living standards. Their miserable economic record over the past 14 years has seen productivity and wages flatlining, leaving British families significantly poorer than those in France or Germany.’

Realistically, wages has been up by ￡1 but bills, mortgages, and other household spending has tripled, leaving household living from pay checks to pay checks.

The drivers of the Labour party campaign, Morgan McSweeney and the veteran Labour MP Pat McFadden have been described as having ?‘that ability to think clearly about where we are, rather than getting caught up in the moment’ and they mastered the art of creating the narrative they want and forcing the Tories to be on the defensive.

This strategy in public relations is often missed out by organisations, celebrities and public office holders in crisis management. Obviously, the Tories were in crisis and it wasn’t properly managed. Flip flopping was inevitable even when Labour party had its own challenges that could have been capitalised on by the Tories and were either missed or not properly used.

“We just weren’t giving the Tory party the type of Labour party they can beat. When school kids play football, everybody chases the ball. We didn’t want to do it like that. We wanted to decide which turf we would be on,” they said.

Some of the Labour party’s downside during the election campaign was the selection rows, including that of the veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott.

Starmer also managed to anger Britain’s Bangladeshi community when he singled out the community during a debate on immigration. These points weren’t taken up by the Tories against the Labour party.

Instead, the Tories attacked Labour on tax, with Sunak dominating the first television head-to-head attacking line being that Starmer would put up tax by ￡2,000 every year.

Labour party response? “Tax is one of the things most worry people about Labour. But we didn’t want to spend time talking about every single nonsense suggestion”

The Guardian Political Editor, Pipa Crerar ?observed that Starmer spent most of the campaign out on the road, with a small handful of his closest advisers, sticking rigidly to his lines and making the most of set piece moments like the manifesto launch.

A deliberate decision was taken not to announce radical new policies in the document, both because of public scepticism and also to avoid Tory attacks.

When Starmer did pop in, he would spend his time talking to staff in the modern, open-plan space, rather than tucked away in his own tiny office, with the desk of his chief-of-staff, Sue Gray, placed outside. Pure act of Public Relations by the Labour party!

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Written by Kunley Kalejaye who's an Accounts Manager for Shiloh PR. Shiloh PR is a specialist boutique PR agency with expertise in reaching Britain's African and Caribbean communities.