Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, comes across as something of a political nerd, determined to bankrupt the country with his distinctive brand of net zero zealotry. Miliband has devised the answer to this image problem. He is looking to hire a vanity photographer – at considerable public expense – despite previously criticising politicians who did the same thing. In 2010, Miliband condemned David Cameron, then prime minister, for hiring a ‘personal photographer’ at a time when the government was asking everyone in the country to ‘tighten their belts’. Some might think it a touch hypocritical to do the same now that he’s in government – but clearly not our Ed.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), headed by the former Labour leader, is advertising for a photographer to produce images that ‘grab headlines and stand out on social
media’. Should that really be the priority for this or any government department?
Is there no end to this hypocrisy and vanity? Are there really no more important things to focus on?
The lucky applicant will receive a salary of £41,000 and a £5,000 ‘communications allowance’ (what for, exactly?). The role allows for ‘flexible working’. It’s certainly good work if you can get it. The job description reveals other gems. The successful candidate can expect to accompany a minister on visits or attend international conferences. It says applicants must have experience with ‘high-profile’ figures and be prepared to travel at short notice. Perhaps the advert should have added that all travel is by foot to help meet Miliband’s net zero targets?
A DESNZ spokesman tried to put a brave face on this nonsense, saying that the department was recruiting for a photographer to replace an existing role that it inherited from the Conservative government. ‘This is not a personal photographer for Ed Miliband,’ the spokesman said. Yes, but why not simply get rid of the role? Isn’t the government constantly telling the public that money is short, that there’s an enormous ‘black hole’ in the finances, and that no stone will be left unturned in the quest for savings? Vanity photographers would be a good place to start, no?
Perhaps Miliband is seen as a special case given his well-documented problems he has had managing his public image. During his time as Labour leader, he was subject to unflattering newspaper caricatures, comparing him to lead character from the cartoon Wallace and Gromit. In 2014, he made the mistake of allowing photographers to capture him tucking into his breakfast. The now famous image of Miliband attempting to eat a bacon sandwich in a way that made him appear down to earth had precisely the opposite effect. The Sun newspaper used it on its front page before polling day in 2015 with the headline: ‘Save our bacon’. The images were so calamitous that some political commentators speculated that it lost him the election.
Miliband is not alone in the vanity stakes. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, hired a photographer last year on a reported salary of £68,000-a-year. It is not immediately obvious why Rayner’a photographer earns so much more than Miliband’s. Surely Miliband’s snapper has the harder job, or maybe not?
Rayner too is no stranger to political hypocrisy. She was very critical of Boris Johnson, when, as prime minister, he used photographers in this way. She was blunt enough to decry: ‘The public will be rightly questioning why there is apparently no limit on the money that can be found to pay for a coterie of vanity photographers for the prime minister.’
Well, indeed. Just as the public will be asking why money from the public purse is now being wasted on photographers for Labour ministers. Is there no end to this hypocrisy and vanity? Are there really no more important things to focus on?
It is easy enough to mock Miliband and Rayner. They deserve it. But the issue highlights a broader problem. In-house vanity photographers for ministers are becoming the norm. Such employees of the state can be relied upon to produce wholesome images – political propaganda in effect – of ministers going about their daily work. Any images that do not fit the prevailing narrative of the day can be deleted, and any awkward public encounter that does not go to plan can be expunged from the official record. It is not unheard of for government departments to block independent news photographers from attending certain events, preferring to use and distribute images taken by in-house photographers. This amounts to a dangerous curtailing of press freedom. Labour, in opposition, committed itself to transparency in government. Yet another promise broken.
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