The news that Number 10 has appointed yet another new communications supremo has been greeted with a certain amount of derision. And not just because it’s the fourth shake-up of Gordon Brown’s media operation in two years.
The new director of communications, Simon Lewis, has previous form as the man brought in to make over a deeply unpopular monarchy, after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Clearly the hope in the Downing Street bunker is that he can perform his PR voodoo this time too.
The new media chief will be tasked with telling a convincing story about leading Britain out of recession: a tall order with unemployment at a 12-year high, and green shoots barely visible.
But with recent polls suggesting that protecting public services is the only area where Labour has a slight lead on the Conservatives, it makes sense for ministers to play to their one remaining strength.
This, of course, is the backdrop to the vitriolic row over future spending plans – an issue at the forefront of CIPFA’s ‘Hard times’ conference in Manchester next week.
The government insists it is investing to protect services and get the country out of recession, while the Opposition accuses it of hiding the need for deep cuts.
However, as MPs trade insults about ‘Mr 10%’ and political dishonesty, neither side is being entirely candid.
The new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne, claimed this week (see news on page 6) that the government would ‘plot a course back to fiscal harmony’ by halving the deficit within five years – but refused to spell out how.
Meanwhile his Conservative counterpart, Philip Hammond, was no more forthcoming, preferring to talk instead about new financial management arrangements to improve transparency.
All the major parties have an interest in glossing over the detail of their austerity plans, and engaging (see cover story on pages 18–21) in a flurry of ‘renewal’ activities – the political equivalent of Botox.
But the public, and in particular the public sector, needs to know what lies beneath. What, for example, does the PM’s pledge to increase annual real-terms spending up to 2013/14 really mean? And what exactly are the Tories’ tax plans?
We need to be told – and well ahead of the general election. That, more than any amount of makeovers would help restore some confidence in the political process.
