“The government needs to pick the right opponents and the right fights where we know we can win,” said Labour MP Graeme Downie. “That allows progress to be made but also shows the public the values we hold, the issues that matter the most to us and the priorities we have to improve the country.”
Wading into political fights is one of the prongs to the new media approach No.10 communications boss and former tabloid editor David Dinsmore set out during a Starmer Cabinet meeting this week.
Three people with knowledge of the strategy, not authorized to speak publicly, said it’s about using battles to craft stories and show voters who the government is fighting for. The plan also includes better use of video on a wider range of social media channels, and showing how government policies are directly impacting the public. It sits alongside a drive to get influencers outside the Westminster bubble plugged into the government comms plan.
In his most high-stakes fight so far, Starmer used his setpiece House of Commons platform on Wednesday to reveal the government has issued a license to transfer a £2.5 billion pot from the 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club to a humanitarian organization for Ukraine. The cash has been frozen and held in a U.K. bank account since the sale, although in legal terms it still belongs to Abramovich, a Russian oligarch. Ministers have been sitting on the dispute for three years, despite MPs pushing the government to get on and seize the cash. Wednesday saw Starmer take the issue front and center — even if the legal fine-points leave plenty to be ironed out.
In another soccer-related row, Starmer went studs-up on FIFA over its high World Cup ticket prices.
The prime minister framed the fight in personal terms, saying “as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special.”