Campaign cock-up of the week: The candidates who can’t stop embarrassing themselves
In this column, former No 10 advisor Giles Kenningham analyses the worst comms screw-ups of the election campaign. So what took the prize for the worst PR gaffe this week?
There are a record number of prospective politicians standing at the general election. Most of them have social media. And with the advent of camera phones, everyone else has the ability to be an amateur journalist whether that’s broadcasting their views or unearthing embarrassing clips of their opponents.
Reform and Nigel Farage offered up their annual list of candidates with unsavoury views. It didn’t take long for it to emerge that one of their candidates had claimed migrants bring in ‘diseases’. Another said Hitler was ‘brilliant’. Of course, as ever with Farage, it’s someone else’s fault, with his third party vetting service taking the blame. The other parties, though, aren’t immune.
The Tories for their part booted out their candidate in Bridgend after misogynistic comments emerged. And Labour’s had ongoing problems as it continues to try and root out candidates making antisemitic comments.
If you can’t clean up your old social media posts, what hope is there that you’ll have the foresight to plot your way out of a housing crisis or solve our low productivity problem.
Should we be more tolerant of what people said 15 years ago? It depends- sometimes. People change their minds and we want politicians who can not only adapt but admit when they are wrong. But thinking Hitler was ace is always wrong.
The news cycle might be a stream that’s here today, gone today. But some things live forever , especially online.
We live in an age where the relentless demands of social media have tricked people into thinking we need to have a view on everything. We don’t. Politicians don’t have all the answers. They don’t need to have an opinion on everything. Nor do the public expect them to. Less is more.
Giles Kenningham is founder of Trafalgar Strategy and formerly head of press at No10