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News & Opinions
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Rishi’s Year in Review: Results, Revolts, and Rwanda
December 18, 2023
Rishi Sunak’s 2023 has undoubtedly been filled with challenges. Indeed, at points it has seemed as though every new week has presented a new hurdle for his premiership. But given the current economic situation, the Prime Minister may feel resentment not to be enjoying more success. Inflation is down, borrowing is down, and the economy is seemingly growing – all things which under normal circumstances would contribute towards electoral popularity. Yet the Labour Party continue...
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2023 Autumn Statement: does it ‘get the job done’ or is it ‘too little too late’?
November 22, 2023
Today (22.11.23), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt MP delivered the Government’s Autumn Statement to Parliament, saying he wanted to unlock investment, reward work and grow the economy. Containing over a hundred measures, the Chancellor felt he had reason to be positive: inflation is down, borrowing is down, and economic growth was better than expected. As a result, he had greater freedom to pursue the economic policies he believes in. Hunt currently looks set...
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Big pharma gets a big brand boost
November 20, 2023
Many pharmaceutical companies are choosing this moment to rebrand, and the results signal a welcome new creative direction for the industry. Until a year ago, pharma was the one of the last bastions of safe, characterless branding. The only thing distinguishing most companies was the name. And why not? Pharmaceutical companies barely needed to promote or differentiate themselves from their competitors. Most industries live and die by how they respond to changing times, but people...
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Rishi’s Reshuffle: Suella’s Sacking and Cameron’s Comeback
November 15, 2023
After an underwhelming Party Conference season and a tense few days over former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s unauthorised column in The Times, Monday’s reshuffle was a chance for the Conservative Party to turn around its fortunes ahead of the General Election next year. And to some extent, it has delivered. Many in the Party welcomed the return of former Prime Minister David Cameron to the Cabinet and the removal of Braverman, and by some accounts...
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Accessible communications: Why it matters
October 25, 2023
You may have heard the term ‘accessibility’ recently, but what does it really mean? When talking about the accessibility of a building, we often think of the barriers wheelchair-users face. When we think of the accessibility of a website, we think about how someone that is blind may navigate it. These highlight only one small part of what accessibility really means. In a broader sense, accessibility is the means to ensure that individuals are not...
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Will gen AI change the game? Understanding the hopes, fears and ambitions of communications and marketing decision-makers
October 23, 2023
It’s almost a year since generative AI exploded into our newsfeeds and onto the agendas of organisations from all sectors. Since then, we’ve been told that these tools could affect up to 300 million jobs, and even that AI technology could one day pose an existential threat to humanity. The news cycle is moving so quickly and keeps throwing up compelling new developments – earlier this month, for example, the BBC said it was looking...
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Public sector or for-profit: protecting your reputation in a crisis
October 20, 2023
Having worked both in-house in the public sector and for agencies representing for-profit companies, there are some very real, important differences to consider when it comes to managing reputation – and some key principles that apply to both too. Crises across both for-profit companies and the public sector are responded to best when you have senior representation from all relevant functions of the organisation, led by someone at the top who can be held...
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Sunak, Starmer and Sparkles: Who succeeded this Party Conference season?
October 12, 2023
A difference in atmospheres After much anticipation, party conference season for 2023 has now come to a close. With a smattering of policies and a touch of glitter, here is my take on what may well be the final conferences before the next General Election. After attending Labour’s conference this week, it is clear that the party now firmly belongs to Keir Starmer. The atmosphere in Liverpool was full of hope, optimism and urgency...
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Rishi’s Reset: On Track or De-Railed?
October 5, 2023
An overview of Conservative Party Conference 2023 The mood going into this year’s Conservative Party Conference was by no means buoyant and, sitting at a sizeable 20 points behind the Labour Party in the polls, Sunak would have hoped for a conference which he could use to demonstrate to the public that his Conservative Party is worth their trust, and their vote. Instead, the first few days of this year’s conference were shaped by in-fighting...
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Why you should stop asking “how can we win on the trans inclusion debate?”
September 29, 2023
Lots of clients and contacts say something like “we won’t have an opinion on the trans inclusion debate because there is no way to win.” Normally followed by “it’s just so toxic”. I get it, but my gentle challenge to you is perhaps the problem is your starting point. To help, here are some things you may want to ask yourself. Why do you want to have a point of view? Perhaps you’re committed to...