They have an uphill struggle. Every tax rise will be portrayed as bad news by a largely hostile media. Can Rachel Reeves outgun that with the limited supply of good news - more money for the NHS and changing her "non-negotiable" fiscal rules, which she has renegotiated in talks with herself, to permit an eventual £50bn a year of extra borrowing for investment projects?
Yet I think Reeves can win round many of the voters Labour needs to reassure. I wouldn't have written that a few weeks ago, when the government's communications were poor. The threemonth vacuum since Reeves's July Commons statement, announcing the means-testing of the pensioners' winter fuel allowance, was filled gleefully by the media with the freebies' controversy. An unhappy, mutinous Downing Street crew poured fuel on the fire by doing their infighting in public.
No 10 failed to use the power at its disposal to change the music. At one point, its feeble attempt at diversion was a picture of the Starmers' new cat. Starmer seemed naively unaware of the need for a 24/7 effort to control the agenda rather than relying on damage limitation after most of the media had done its worst.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin October 26, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin October 26, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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