Andy Burnham’s opening of No10 North is a flagship statement.
And that statement is that while politics and the media have become nationalised, people’s lives remain stubbornly local. Great communicators, whether they are based in London or outside it, know this instinctively. One-size-fits-all comms in a country as diverse as the UK is simply bad comms.
For PR and comms agencies – especially those on frameworks who win and deliver the vast majority of Government marketing, PR and advertising, mainly from their offices in London, they will be scrambling to keep up with the direction of travel – north. When Gordon Brown left No10 that framework was worth £1bn. There are some great agencies already in the regions who are truly connected and delivering great work as well. It will be interesting to see if regionalism extends to those agencies financially.
The reality is people experience government through the lens of their local transport network, their town centre, how safe they feel, local job opportunities for them and their children, housing, healthcare and whether their community feels like it has a future.
Successive governments have recognised the problem but fallen short with solutions. Policy has been designed in rooms in Westminster and visited upon communities. The grip of Treasury green book makes sense on spreadsheets but less so in the real world. Policy should be shaped by places, not simply implemented within them. The value of good communicators is speaking this truth to power; otherwise they’re doomed to manage the consequences and the costs.
John Major created Government Offices for the English Regions. Tony Blair added Regional Development Agencies. These structures were based on an important principle: good government requires local intelligence as well as national direction.
The Coalition Government dismantled these initiatives, communications were centralised and new digital channels were expected to narrow the distance between government and citizens. The theory that technology and direct communication could replace local relationships and regional networks was found to be flawed.
Governing is not simply about broadcasting information. It is about listening.
When institutions lose their connection with place, they become less able to understand how policy is landing on the ground. They become less able to spot emerging concerns, less able to build trust and less able to respond before frustrations become entrenched.
Brexit revealed a gap between national assumptions and local realities.
Today, England has a second chance. Combined Authorities, Mayors and devolved powers are beginning to create a new relationship between communities and the state.
Local leaders, civic institutions, universities, businesses and community organisations are closer to public sentiment than any Whitehall department can ever be. They provide the eyes and ears that national government needs if it is to remain responsive and relevant.
The next phase of devolution should be about more than powers, budgets and governance structures. It should be about rebuilding the conversation between government and citizens.
England’s new regionalism offers the opportunity to reconnect politics with place, strengthen democratic participation and rebuild public trust.
But regionalism will be judged not by whether it helps government listen better, act smarter and bring citizens back into the democratic conversation but whether it delivers real change to peoples’ lives.
Stuart Baird was director of government communications for the East Midlands between 2006 – 2012, lead director for MHCLG regional campaigns, and was seconded into No10’s strategic comms unit three times in six years. In Government he worked with the King, multiple Secretaries of State, Ministers leading on national campaigns for multiple departments over 16 years as a civil servant. He co-founded BakerBaird Communications in 2016 delivering a dozen industry award winning campaigns in that time.