Tthe Labour government has had a spluttering start since it came into power seven months ago. Trying to explain its policies to a wary public has been an unenviable task.
Who’s been doing it? Blakeney, a communications agency, has been keeping tabs on who has been performing the broadcast round each day—especially on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme, which 6m or so Brits listen to on weekday mornings. The government has sent some 30 people out to bat, but it relies on some far more than others. Pat McFadden (pictured), a senior cabinet minister, has appeared the most, with eight interviews on “Today” and another dozen across other broadcast media. By contrast Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, and Angela Rayner, his deputy who also holds the housing and planning portfolio, have appeared on “Today” just once each (see chart).
The Economist commissioned Stack Data Strategy, a polling firm, to ask a representative sample of British adults about their recognition of, and favourability towards, many ministers. Only four—Sir Keir, Ms Rayner, Ed Miliband, the energy minister, and Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the exchequer—were familiar to at least half of respondents. Most Brits say that they do not particularly like any members of the cabinet.
We found little relationship between a minister’s number of media appearances and their likeability rating. The exceptions are Darren Jones, Ms Reeves’s deputy at the treasury, and Matthew Pennycook, Ms Rayner’s deputy. Both men are deemed more likeable than their bosses and have appeared in the media far more than their relatively junior positions might suggest.
Decisions on whom to send out each day are made in Number Ten. Sir Craig Oliver, who led communications for David Cameron when he was in Downing Street, says that “you want someone who has got fingertip control of the message.” In Mr McFadden the government has someone who will play a “straight bat” and shut down an attack. By contrast Ms Rayner, who appeared prominently on the campaign trail, may be riskier (in 2021 she memorably referred to the Conservatives as “scum”). The government seems to reckon that, as Britons munch their cornflakes, bland is best. ■