The No. 10 media operation has become notorious for releasing announcements late on a Friday night when most hacks have already filed their stories.
Now it seems Labour is learning from the masters of the dark arts, having finally pulled off a successful media strategy – revealing the resignation of its most senior communications official just an hour before the England v Scotland kick off.
Ben Nunn, Keir Starmer’s longtime aide and current Labour director of communications, is out after months of criticism from MPs and journalists about the lack of a coherent message from the leader’s office. Nunn, who was described on his appointment as ‘a genuinely nice guy’ ‘striving to do good’ lasted just 14 months in the role, and would have been involved in such initiatives as the Piers Morgan ITV interview and Keir’s Hartlepool wallpaper trip. Paul Ovenden, Nunn’s deputy, has also left for personal reasons.
Steerpike understands further moves are in the offing, following last night’s disappointing by-election result in which the party lost its deposit. While Nunn’s supporters will likely feel aggrieved at the axing of the messenger rather than the message, it is thought someone from a journalistic rather than PR background could solve some of Labour’s communications problems.
Who is next to face the daily politics grind? Rumours have been circulating for some time that other candidates were being lined up – including senior broadcast journalists. Mr S awaits with interest to see which brave soul is next to take on Labour’s Herculean task of a winning comms campaign.
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