In this column, former No 10 advisor Giles Kenningham analyses the worst comms screw-ups of the election campaign. So what took the prize for the worst PR gaffe of week one?
People don’t like identikit politicians who speak in perfect sanitised soundbites. Both Trump and Boris were a reaction to that. The public wants free flowing politicians and more free flowing debate, which is just as well as the first week of election campaigning has seen industrial levels of gaffes.
Take your pick. Sunak’s gift to headline writers as he launches his campaign in a torrential downpour or an impromptu visit to the shipyard that built the titanic. Ed Davey falls into the water three times while paddle boarding on Lake Windermere. Seriously? Who thought that was a good idea? The Lib Dems clearly believe the Oscar Wilde mantra that the one thing in the world worse than being talked about is not being talked about – which, in politics to be fair, sometimes is the case.
WINDERMERE, ENGLAND – MAY 28: Liberal Democrats Leader Ed Davey enjoys some paddle boarding on Lake Windermere during a campaign visit, on May 28, 2024 in Windermere, England. The UK general election will be held July 4th. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Some of these gaffes are a result of the chaos a snap election brings forcing plans to be expedited and corners to be cut. The question is how many of these blunders are cosmetic and how many reinforce an existing perception?
Personally, my pick of the bunch goes to Rachel Reeves’ supposed big business endorsement earlier this week.
Labour have tried to outfox the Conservatives on what is traditionally their strongest calling card – the economy. Their big ticket and potentially consequential announcement of securing the support of 121 business leaders looked like they had made the political weather. Yet on closer inspection the list had no FTSE 100 executives. Some of the companies appeared to be dormant. One was run by a labour candidate. A massive own goal and the biggest gaffe so far.
The economy has been Labour’s longstanding achilles heel and they need to neutralise the issue. Ed Balls famously said “Bill somebody” when asked as shadow chancellor to name a prominent businessman backing labour. David Cameron retorted: “Bill somebody is not a person but Labour’s policy.”
Why is this latest gaffe so damaging? The infamous Liam Byrne note that there was no money left when Labour left government in 2010 still comes up in focus groups. This announcement does more to undermine their credibility on the economy.
Whilst not fatal, Labour has been able to operate with little scrutiny up to now. The Tories will seek to weaponise this gaffe. Expect to see this cock up magnified in Conservative attack ads.