How PR still defines UK politics

When the British Labour Party recently elected Jeremy Corbyn as their leader it came as a great surprise. Here was a man who had been a 200/1 outsider with the bookmakers at the start of the leadership race. However, he won by a huge margin. He won the campaign on what was seen by many as anti- spin.


A quote summarising the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

Straight-talking, calm, wearing ordinary clothes, he is a world away from the current Prime Minister, David Cameron, who has expensive suits and attended the most prestigious academic institutions and, crucially, surrounds himself by a cohort of PR agents. Unbelievably, in this era of politics, Jeremy Corbyn does not have a spin doctor or PR team.

His political policies are different compared to the previous Labour leaders Ed Milliband, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. As a result, the mainstream media have very often written about him with extreme hostility. This man believes in substance over spin and whilst this is extremely admirable it highlights a serious problem for him: PR is still extremely important in UK politics today. PR has received many critics and spin doctors for the Labour Party have been involved in this criticism. Corbyn needs to realise that PR should not be denounced as an evil tool used by nasty politicians. On the contrary, at its best, PR is about forthright advocacy.

The mainstream media has urged Corbyn to use PR.

Let's take the example of his policy of re-nationalisation of the railways. This particular policy enjoys overwhelming public support in the UK. However, without building relationships with editors or similar journalists and without realising how the media works and what needs to be said, he is going to find it very difficult to present his policies in any way other than looking out of his depth. Jeremy Corbyn has shown that PR is still an important factor in today's political arena.

Without a true appreciation for his profession, it is unlikely that Corbyn will be able to overcome the hostility of the mainstream media which he currently experiences. It is also perhaps more concerning for him that this shows that there is still value in having an excellent PR team at one's disposal, giving one both substance and style in UK politics today.

Andrei Rydzkowski