Dodging the media won’t bode well for a new prime minister looking for unity
For broadcasters, it has become a familiar phrase: “We approached the government for comment, but no one was available.” Journalists such as Emily Maitlis, Kirsty Wark, Cathy Newman and Jon Snow have all intoned it until it hardly means anything – but it has been a hallmark of the Boris Johnson years. Ministers have, to all intents and purposes, withdrawn from appearances on major news programmes – both television and radio. They’ve instead left the field to compliant or obstreperous backbenchers, select committee chairs and the opposition.
This media strategy was originally the hallmark of Johnson’s leadership campaign in 2019. He preferred to avoid set-piece media events, declining invitations from Sky and the BBC. His team had, it seemed, taken the decision that any short-term embarrassment from failing to attend would be outweighed by avoiding potential gaffes or setbacks.
A dismal, reductive, lowest-common-denominator approach, it was carried over into government. Major news programmes like Radio 4’s Today and BBC Newsnight were effectively blacklisted, and the prime minister ducked a climate change debate only for Channel 4 to replace him with an ice sculpture.
Whether it is Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to come out of the leadership race as the winner, the next prime minister must take a fresh approach to the media. No political leader likes the fourth estate uncritically, but, as Enoch Powell observed, a politician who complains about the media is like a sailor who complains about the sea. We are in a fractured, embattled and embittered world, and we have to arrest our descent.
Voters are cynical and disenfranchised. They feel that politicians are distant from their needs, only in it for their own ends and, worst, are all of the same stamp. This kind of disillusionment is corrosive, and exacerbated by slick presentation and evasive answers. Spin is nothing new, but when it is perceived as all-encompassing then there is a real sickness in the body politic.
The remedy, however, is not so difficult. The new prime minister’s director of communications should set the tone, telling the broadcasters on day one that ministers will be fielded to represent the government when possible. Departments from Downing Street down should try to answer press inquiries quickly and courteously, and the administration should cooperate to organise set-piece interviews for major events like the Budget and, before too long, the next general election. Perhaps we might even revive Boris Johnson’s plans for televised press conferences.
The culture must change too. It will not happen overnight, but ministers must stop regarding success by the metric of least information given away or most questions deflected. Viewing figures for traditional news programming may be in decline but it still represents a huge opportunity to communicate with a mass audience. Honesty and approachability can transform the tenor of politics from division—them and us, Westminster and the electorate—to inclusion.
The new government must speak not only to the electorate at large, but also to those grimly called “stakeholders”. The Downing Street business council which Johnson launched in February must develop a meaningful dialogue between government and commerce. As the economy teeters on the edge of recession, wealth creators must know they will be heard at the top of government and their opinions minded.
This is not some panglossian delusion. As Boris Johnson, a political comet which strikes once in a lifetime, departs the scene, his successor can draw a line under the past and start afresh. Openness with the media is a way to generate goodwill and straightforward dealing, as it reframes the whole relationship.
Sunak or Truss should learn from the extraordinary sense of community which emerged during the pandemic and be inclusive and accommodating. We are all here to do a job as best we can. A willingness to talk openly and frankly with the media would be a first step in making a fresh start.