As someone who has researched British political communications quite a bit over the past five years, I say this with all respect. Whoever is advising @Keir_Starmer’s communication strategy behind the scenes is really poor at their job...

I get why it seems at first glance like a good idea to embrace neopopulism and the right wing press. I’ve even talked about why in my book Blair’s press strategy haunts the party (below). But this isn’t 1997 and this policy will self sabotage. Here’s why...

The only path to Labour victory is to peel away centrists who voted Tory while maintaining and building on under 45 and vote of BAME Brits. The vast majority of these people are not readers of the right wing press. Hell they rarely buy a newspaper. What they want is...

An alternative narrative of kindness. What Starmer needs is Obama style social media (then picked up by press) displays of kindness and humility. What people want is to feel good about their political decisions. There’s lots of people who feel a bit a bit manky for voting Tory.

Starmer’s image isn’t beyond repair. But I know a lot of working class white folks & isn’t winning over those who voted Johnson-it is legitimising neopopulism. Also isn’t appealing to Labour voters amongst my leftie ‘Indie kids grown up’ mates in Sunderland. They’re cross.

Anyway, @Keir_Starmer I’m hoping that someone in your comms team has a slide that says ‘path to victory’ in terms of who you’re appealing there. And that it isn’t idiotic enough to think that you can build that path while forgetting about the beliefs the Labour base. What we’ve.

Learned from Biden’s victory and how he embraced Bernie supporters is he set up an alternative narrative to Trump which made them included. He didn’t go for the neopopulist base who once voted Democrat. They’re gone already.

One more thing. If I was writing a speech for @Keir_Starmer addressing this point (which he needs to), I’d have something in it like. ‘I am patriotic. But my belief in what Britain is, is very different to the Conservatives. I’m patriotic about our kindness, our acceptance,

fights for equality. When I look for the best of British I think not just of the amazing Capt Sir Tom Moore but people like (insert a group here. I’d include Bowie, Mercury and Stormzy but that’s me. Ha) Patriotism doesn’t mean harking..

back to glories of the past but looking for heroes who exemplify what being British means in 21st century. This flag needs to be reclaimed as a symbol of hope and kindness. We need to come together as a community and put divisions stoked by the Govt over last 5 years behind us’