Audrey recommends

Read James Delingpole's amusing take in the Telegraph on why New Labour isn't dead...

How the public sector voted

I'm just catching up with Ipsos Mori's Labour Conference briefing pack.  An interesting fact on page 12, which I had not appreciated before, is that only 34% of public sector workers voted Labour in the 2010 General Election, compared to 46% in 2001 and 52% in 1997.

Given the Conservatives' clear message about cuts, I find this surprising.  What do you think?

Communicating on the voters' priorities

The coalition wants to talk about spending cuts and reform of the public services, especially education and the NHS.  Its narrative, as many others have pointed out, is not yet clear and compelling.

However, the Economist (11th September issue) points out that for the public, the overwhelmingly most important issue facing Britain is the economy - concern about the NHS and education is at its lowest point for 25 years, having started to decline as important issues from 2002.  Their source is IPSOS Mori.  The Economist removed immigration and unemployment from their graph for clarity, but the full one is still interesting:

So, what does this mean for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the coalition government?  That as well as communicating their narrative effectively, they need 'a plan for growth' to be part of that narrative, exactly as Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have been pointing out.  The government needs to show it understands people's concerns for their jobs and the state of the economy, and that they are doing what they can to help.  Measures announced in the Emergency Budget have already been forgotten and could do with being repeated ad nauseam. What else?  Well, often, the best thing the government can do for business is to get out of its way!  So deregulation or streamlining how regulations work would help take some of the burden off business without spending much public money.  

Which reminds me of Reagan's famous quote on the government view of the economy: 'if it moves, tax it, if it still moves, regulate it, if it stops moving, subsidise it'!

Ed Miliband

Over the last couple of days I have heard Ed Miliband say 'as the leader of the party, I...' several times.  He sounds slightly unsure or incredulous at his own position and I would advise him to change his language so that he simply assumes the authority of leader without referring to it.  He would come across as a bit stronger and more confident.

Is Whitehall Listening to Business?

A couple of years ago there were mutterings that BIS might be abolished altogether should the Conservatives come to power.  Certainly pre-Mandelson it was widely viewed as not up to much.  Mandelson's political power and proximity to the PM changed that.  With its destiny so closely linked to its Secretary of State, what is Cable's anti-business stance doing for the department's role within Whitehall?

How can the department champion business while its Secretary of State criticises capitalism en masse?  How can it retain credibility with either side - business or government?  I understand that Vince Cable 'doesn't believe in sectors' when it comes to the department's work.  That is mind-boggling, and leaves civil service teams supporting particular sectors nowhere.

In this situation, the 'back-up' that BIS represents to big business' relationships with government is no longer what it once was (though many were already sceptical of its ability to influence colleagues in Whitehall).  This can present specific problems for some, where the departments they engage with are unreceptive and need encouragement to consider business issues as part of their agenda.  A more creative use of wider communications tools will be needed to open up some of those attitudes; the same messages from the same people should not be expected to change matters.

For smaller business, the BIS situation is a much bigger problem as they find access elsewhere in Whitehall much more difficult.  For them, trade bodies will be the key to such access and they should invest their time in making such collaborative efforts work.  Success may also require smaller businesses to put pressure on their trade bodies to up their game in communications and public affairs and, indeed, their general leadership.

A lesson from Eurostar

Image from the Sydney Morning Herald, who sourced it from AFP 

Last year I was badly delayed on my way to Christmas in France by the Eurostar trains debacle.  Due to travel on the Monday, we heard that weekend passengers were to travel on that day and we were to travel on the Wednesday, but getting hold of any information was like squeezing blood from a stone.  In outer space, while rubbing your tummy and patting your head for good measure.

Customer services were only open 9 'til 5, as if nothing had happened, and so were virtually uncontactable.  Eventually, it was the company's Facebook page that came to the rescue.  Hundreds of people had joined it - ironically making them 'fans' of Eurostar - and someone started to answer their queries.  As many of these were very similar, people could read previous answers and find useful information.  Users also helped each other by passing on information from staff at the main terminals (on both sides of the Channel).  Slowly confusions were cleared up and people helped.  A 15 year old girl alone in Brussels was successfully repatriated - with Eurostar's efforts in full view of hundreds of customers looking at the page.

It wasn't at all perfect (answers from Eurostar tended to come at 2 or 3 hour intervals), but a PR tool intended for no such thing had suddenly become the only responsive customer service channel available.

Ever since, I have offered this example to colleagues, employers and now potential employers in my interviews as an illustration that customer relations and corporate communications should be linked up.  Customers need to be considered part of the communications team's remit as intimate stakeholders of the organisation (I don't say 'key' stakeholders because the word is overused).

Customer relations teams may be unhappy about this and see it as a land-grab by Comms Directors.  I don't think this needs to be the case - Comms teams are well used to working in partnership with internal colleagues  and a great deal could be achieved simply by establishing relationships and working together.

An Early Christmas Song from the Lib Dems

See this Spectator post for an amusing Lib Dem song - who says Lib Dem Conference is dull?