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Explaining myself
Posted Colin Byrne on July 11th, 2008 | Filed under Current Affairs, Personal, Politics, Public Relations, The Media
My comments this week about what are perceived as communications hiccups by the PMs comms team as an attack on a Government and party I have supported through thick and thin. They are not. They were a comms guy with a deep interest in comms commenting on a comms story that is dominating the media and journalists’ conversations with comms people like me. End of.
This Government continues to come up with innovative ideas. Take Hazel Blears this week. Her ideas to turn the tide of political apathy and the opt-out from democracy that is becoming more widespread are imaginative, important and deserve to be heard.
They were also well communicated, even though some sections of the media tried to trivialise them, or stoke rumours that they were watered down by No10.
Just as much gang and gun crime is being connected to disaffected young people withdrawing from family structures – or having them withdrawn from them – we have to make sure that people feel empowered and that they see politicis as relevant to their lives. (The seemingly self-serving vote on MPs own expenses simply provoked more cynicism at a time when MPs should be helping ministers and opposition leaders to tackle it.)
I remember three big things when I hit eighteen. First, my birthday party where someone who had been drinking Cherry B threw up on the front doorstep leaving a red stain for years to come. Second my first legal drink in a pub. Third, my first vote.
So, two out of three significant memories of being 18 may have been alcohol related but the voting bit felt pretty good and important to.
We need to create a bit more excitement and interest about democratic freedoms that people are losing limbs for in Zimbabwe, and Hazel has made an important contribution this week. So less sniggers about iPod bribes and more positive debate is needed.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I’m sure that Hazel’s adopted idea of entering voters into a prize draw will create “excitement and interest about democratic freedoms” in the same way that the national lottery sparks fervour about an opt-in tax with profit creamed off the top by Camelot.
Take your indubitable comparison between amputations and iPods though.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Getting people re-engaged is THE biggest challenge of our generation. Until we do that we won’t ever have meaningful debate about the big issues and therefore never really solve the big issues.
Solutions that feel like they have been imposed upon people never really work.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
People are outspoken about things they care about. A lot of people in the public relations industry aren’t outspoken about anything – even public relations.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Perhaps you did mean that the incompetents were the comms people rather than Brown or his political aides, but when Brown says those things when they’re so obviously made in such bad context and in such a bad way, then the “comms or Brown” aspect is a mute one.
By saying that what the comms people advised Brown to do was stupid, you’re also saying that Brown was stupid to follow the advice.
And if he did it off his own back rather than being told to do it by the comms people then you’re saying he’s even more stupid.
Either way, what you’ve said implies that Brown is a non-thinking moron; hats off to you on that one even if you didn’t mean it because it’s self-evident to most people.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:59 am
“Her ideas to turn the tide of political apathy and the opt-out from democracy that is becoming more widespread are imaginative, important and deserve to be heard.”
The political apathy is only in your head. People are as interested in politics as they always were, it’s just that the elites are in an echo chamber and have no idea what concerns real people.
There is no opt-out from democracy, there’s only an opt-out from the type of politics that Westminster wants to pursue. If anything democracy, in the sense of demos and krator – people power – is stronger than ever before.
Since you’re one of the the UK’s top PR practitioners, how come you don’t get it?
Try reading Clay Shirky, Jeff Jarvis, or even David Cameron’s recent speech about political participation and loss of control – they will explain what is going on.
Hoover.
July 13th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
“Empowerment”. And you’re someone interested in “comms”.
Yeh, right.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Just wondering what the ’seemingly’ bit is of the “seemingly self-serving vote on MPs own expenses”?
If it wasn’t actually self-serving, what was it?