What Starmer does next

I have never wanted to work in the area of personal crisis communication particularly when it involves celebrities and politicians but something about the election results in the UK earlier this month and the public discussion has got me thinking. Is there any way back for Prime Minister Keir Starmer or is he cooked?

I’ve written before about about the possibility of recovering from extremely challenging situations where trust has been lost. Unless what you have done is criminal or leads to moral outrage there is always a way back but it relies on actions that are often seen as unpalatable. Unpalatable particularly where people are surrounded by those involved in group think or have lost a grasp on reality.

So what could be done? I am no political strategist but listening to the reasons why people voted in the way they did is essential. This means not making snap judgements or slapping labels on people and their actions. 

Some years ago, I wanted my communication team to sit in on public meetings so that they could understand the mood and sentiment by hearing it first hand. This is priceless, and yes, it involves time that many people can struggle to find, but if you want to develop effective communication you must try to understand people. That means people from all communities.

Details, details, details

I heard Starmer criticise the communication. I have heard that thousands of times. An organisation has a lack of vision, confused approaches and weak governance but it is much easier to blame communication than to look at the root of the problem. This is where Starmer needs to go. Stop trying to find a communication plan and look at the details you are sharing. Get that right or improved and the communication will follow.

Then there is the tone that is used. Starmer is not a convincing speaker. He lacks passion and includes too many “ers” and “ums” in the speeches that I have seen. If his reset is going to have an impact, then he needs to find some passion in his delivery. He needs to be able to show people the grit and determination to make changes and the contrition that he is listening to voters. There is also no room for bullishness, but I need to accept that things are not working and that there is change going to happen.

In crisis responses change communication is an important part of the work and will be the legacy once the crisis and recovery are concluded. It is often overlooked and forgotten which can mean either the situation repeats itself because required changes are not made, or the trust in the organisation continues to drop. When reputation is damaged there is a way back but it is long, difficult and needs an acceptance that something needs to change. Let’s see what Starmer does next.

Chartered PR practitioner Amanda Coleman is a crisis communication expert and consultant, founder of Amanda Coleman Communication - where this blog was first published - and the author of Strategic Reputation Management. She is also a Fellow of the CIPR.

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