Wow. What a day to be posting my monthly blog post. Yesterday, we voted in a Labour government on a landslide election victory. It was the worst election result for the Conservatives in history. How glad I am, as so many others are, that we’ve got rid of that lying, uncaring, unsparing bunch of Tories from power. It feels like 1997 all over again. Truly, a momentous moment for Britain.
There’s a lot for the new Labour administration to live up to. Let’s hope that Sir Keir Starmer can be radical in power. We need a socialist government to repair British society and institutions, and to support individuals to experience a better life.
One of my daughters takes issue with Labour’s stance on Gaza and on trans rights in particular. She’s right. No party is perfect. But we’re heading in a better direction than we have for the past 14 years. Things can get better. We’ve voted for change, and we’re expecting change.
Twitter was a glorious place to be yesterday, with posts about dogs at polling stations and lots of comedians giving their take on the election campaign and, of course, everyone with influence encouraging people to vote.
One contribution that stood out was Last Leg presenter Adam Last pointing out that, for some, voting in an election is like hailing a cab. They expect to be taken exactly where they want to go. Instead, he suggests, it’s more like catching a bus in the general direction you want to travel. We’ll never find a political party that does exactly and everything that we would like it to. It’s more about the direction of travel that feels most right to you.
I’m delighted we’ve voted for change and got rid of that heinous Tory government. Let’s hope we all travel towards a more equal, better off society where people are valued and supported.
In work news
This month I’ve helped communicate a new five-year strategy for the Warm Welcome Campaign, now that is it maturing from a rapid response to the cost-of-living crisis in winter of 2022, into a year round campaign, providing warm welcomes for everyone in places near where they live.
On a personal note, one of the things I love about national media, particularly radio, podcasts and the paper I read (The Guardian) is the sense that we’re all in this together… whether it’s the lack of sunshine we had in June, or enduring the electioneering, or watching the Euros, or Glastonbury or Wimbledon. I love having all this reflected back to me through what I read and listen to.
In other news
My colleague James Herring shared this RSPB TikTok last month and I enjoyed it hugely.
This story about claims of freshly baked bread was an interesting read.
This cheered me up hugely, about the benefits of hybrid working.
This piece from the Chartered Institute of PR chief executive Alastair McCapra about the lessons for PR from the Post Office Horizon scandal is worth a read. Among the lessons Alastair draws from the scandal, is a crucial one about it being too late to bring PR people into decision-making once a crisis has hit.
He writes: “Addressing poor governance and weak practices is an essential step before you can begin focusing on your reputation through external communication. Attempts to do the opposite are not just ineffective but also unethical and liable to be nothing more than planned deception, rightly labelled as reputation washing.”
That’s it for this month. I’ll be back next month with a summer update. Happy New Government day!
Lucy Rouse PR Blog 