Inside the Labour-Reform spin wars – as Farage and Starmer follow Blair’s playbook ...Middle East

Reform UK’s rebuttal to a Cabinet minister saying Nigel Farage was “on the side of” serial child molester Jimmy Savile was swift and slick.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle had apparently veered off the Government script as he criticised Farage’s opposition to online safety regulations.

But the Reform leader’s demand for an apology was broadcast in record time from the party’s new TV studio in its upgraded offices this week.

Played out on TV channels and social media, national broadcast-quality footage meant the Reform leader did not need to spend an hour touring Westminster’s studios.

It is the most recent instance of how political parties are changing their communications strategies in an evolving media environment, where trust in traditional news brands is diminishing, a variety of platforms are emerging, and news avoidance is on the rise.

This week’s Ofcom report revealed YouTube is the second most-watched UK media service, after the BBC. Meanwhile, the free magazine from Tesco boasts the greatest distribution nationwide. It is no wonder the parties are changing their strategies.

Even though it is not so visible to the public, there has been a communications overhaul in Keir Starmer’s Downing Street, less than a mile from Reform HQ.

Number 10 strategists think interviews with non-news media help reach engaged audiences in non-political arenas. Its New Media Unit has been experimenting with new communications styles, including launching the Government’s own Reddit channel earlier this year, which now reaches one million online.

Now Downing Street wants to expand this outreach. Announced this week, a key hire is David Dinsmore, the austere Scottish former editor of The Sun newspaper and News UK executive, as Government communications chief in the Cabinet Office, starting in November.

The position, reduced in status by previous administrations, is now again a permanent secretary role, empowering Dinsmore, a clean-living fan of cycling, to modernise civil servants’ digital communication skills, rather than relying on traditional media.

Whitehall sources say a largely unnoticed shake-up has already taken place, with holders of half a dozen Government department director of communications roles pushed sideways to other jobs. A Number 10 source denied it was part of a deliberate strategy, blaming the “natural churn” of a new Government.

“Missions” are central to Starmer’s strategy. Government departments are now urged to collaborate, rather than focus on their individual announcement goals. “Taking Back Our Streets” needs input from the Home Office and Department for Transport, not just one department alone. The Treasury is reviewing how to better communicate its “growth” mission, unlike its past focus on handling two-yearly fiscal events.

Push to reach new audiences

“Hero content” with good production values and storytelling is the new byword in Government, which No 10’s head of strategic communications, James Lyons, wants to promote.

This material can take an esoteric turn. Starmer’s interview with theme park TikToker “Phil” boosted an announcement about the revitalisation of Bedford with investment by Universal Studios Bedford. It garnered 177,000 views.

A push is also underway to reconnect with audiences outside of traditional political media, a policy that was common in Sir Tony Blair’s communications but later faded. Angela Rayner, the deputy Prime Minister, recently spoke with Grazia, and Good Housekeeping interviewed Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister.

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For professional political communicators, Facebook retains its status as where most engagement takes place, with TikTok, Instagram and other online platforms as runners-up. Between 70 and 90 content creators were invited to Downing Street on Thursday afternoon, including influencers such as Abi Foster and Gabriel Nussbaum, who both create personal finance content alongside so-called ‘mumfluencers’ who post about childcare and other topics.

Even though it is still used, Elon Musk’s X platform is not crucial for engagement anymore. The Government has now adopted that hoary phrase that used to only be used by MPs, that “X does not reflect the views of the country”.

X held 70 per cent of government digital communications recently, versus a minuscule amount of use by the public. Those interactions are now much more likely to be distributed across other platforms.

The government has faced frequent attacks, notably from its own Labour MPs, for its failure to communicate its policies and overall narrative effectively. This is a criticism No 10 is taking seriously.

The i Paper understands that Tom Price is moving back to London from California to work on strategic communications after being recruited by Downing Street, where he worked as Google’s Director of Policy Communications.

Price, an ex-spokesman for Gordon Brown, is a well-liked Labour figure who can blend modern communications with keeping difficult party members happy.

And all these communication changes come against a wider political backdrop.

Reform’s new secret weapon: hairspray

Starmer views Farage as the primary opposition leader, even though the Conservatives have a larger presence in Parliament. The battle for who wins the communications war at the next election is already underway.

It is a view shared on the 24th floor of Millbank Tower. There, Reform staffers happily showed off the views of the London Eye and Parliament as they unveiled their new media briefing room last week, which sits in the refurbished suite of offices that now make up the party’s HQ.

Politically, the party is blending traditional and modern. Farage used the press room to unveil the party’s latest recruit, former Metropolitan Police detective Colin Sutton, who led the investigation into serial killer Levi Bellfield. So far, so on brand for Reform.

But, meanwhile, watching Farage in the audience were the online influencers, Cambridge philosopher Dr James Orr and American right-wing media pundit Ann Coulter, who can spread the party’s messaging further afield.

Reform plans a blitz of announcements throughout Parliament’s summer recess, borrowing from the strategy employed by Blair’s Labour Party in opposition in the mid-1990s to own the news agenda while other parties are on holiday. “It worked for Blair in opposition, it can work for us,” a source said.

But with a new in-house TV studio comes other, perhaps unexpected, requirements. In the ladies’ toilet at Reform HQ, there are allegedy two cans of VO5 “ultimate hold” hairspray.

A forward-thinking aide has worked out what Reform’s growing band of women needs to achieve the big-haired MAGA look favoured by Republicans. They can be TV-ready in a matter of minutes.

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