UK General Elections: a view from the unseen communicators of No10

General elections provide a unique experience in the comms industry for the professional communicators in government. 

It’s behind the scenes of Number 10 where the looming change of government shows itself most keenly.

I was Head of News at 10 Downing Street in 2010, when, after weeks of waiting, things happened very quickly on Tuesday 11 May, a little after 7pm.

There were only 45 minutes between the departure of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s team and the arrival of David Cameron’s new guard.

The emotion of saying goodbye to the outgoing political team one minute and the excitement of a whole new chapter starting immediately is a unique experience in any communications job.

What happens is that half the team you’ve been working with throughout the term of the incumbent government stays… the other half goes. 

The half that stays is the team of civil servants. The ones that go are the political appointees. I wonder how many people know there is a difference? 

Day-to-day a core team of professional communicators who are civil servants support the Prime Minister and the political comms team in government. Tasks include co-ordinating the strategic news flow across government, briefing the lobby of political correspondents and arranging the PM’s programme of visits which have to be arranged secretly until they happen, for security reasons, obviously. 

They work professionally, impartially and very hard to routinely tight deadlines. In my view they are the best-trained message writers in the PR business. They routinely re-draft waffly ‘lines to take’ written by committee from Whitehall departments into clear messages for the PM or PM’s spokesman. And they can judge what is the question that will be asked by the media from the 75 in the Q&A handily provided by the Department for X.

Trust is imperative: it’s the only way this time-limited marriage of the political elect and civil servants can ever work.

And that’s why the UK’s civil service is special and remains so. 

General Election outcomes usually see less brutal divorces than in 2010. The calling of the election sees the political staff join their campaigning team away from No10 for the few weeks of the campaign so there is a more low-key separation. But 2010 was unusual and harsher as the changeover took place in such a short space of time.

As Gordon Brown, his family and his team left Downing St, the scenes behind the famous black door were far from tranquil. 

It was bedlam, clearing the decks of dirty cups, papers and stuff left behind. And everyone was involved, even the UK’s most senior civil servant was juggling cups and plates out the main office. 

Prepping for the arrival speech and famous doorstep shot for the new Prime Minister was my job to get right. You are guaranteed a global audience of millions and you only get one go. 

The same evening, David Cameron's political media team arrived, led by Andy Coulson. We worked through the night to prepare for the famous press conference in the garden of No10. 

Whatever the outcome of this General Election, it will be the professional team of government communicators who’ll be there to ensure the new government has the best start possible in the public’s eye: helping the new team settle into the strange new world of government or picking things up with the returners and getting straight to work on delivering the new agenda. 

To me, the outcome of any General Election is fascinating. It’s not just about who wins the majority vote – I’ll also thinking about the invisible comms team behind the famous black door as they adapt and adjust like the proverbial ducks sitting on water.