Labour’s waning brand is a boost for the Lib Dems, not the Tories
Labour has followed the Tories in embroiling itself in a crisis of trust, and it’s the Lib Dems who stand to gain, writes Reed CEO James Reed in today’s Notebook
Over the course of my business career, I like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes a good brand.
Political parties, like companies, are brands as much as anything else. For a century or so, we’ve had two market leaders, Labour and the Conservatives, who have dominated. But there are challenger brands as well – perhaps now more than ever before.
The most obvious are Reform and the Liberal Democrats. When a brand starts losing the trust of its customers, they look elsewhere. That’s just what’s happening at the moment, with both of our main political parties suffering a crisis of trust.
I’ve always argued that trust is built on two things. One is competence and the other is integrity. Labour and the Conservatives are struggling with both.
This creates a huge opportunity for the challengers. We could be approaching a very interesting moment where British politics changes fundamentally, and one or both of our brand leaders is eclipsed.
The Conservatives lost the last election because their vote collapsed, and they show little or no sign of learning the lessons that would enable them to rebuild effectively. With the way things are going, it’s not unreasonable to think that Labour may lose the next election on the same basis.
Labour has bet the farm on stronger economic growth, but shuns the two most obvious things it should be doing to promote it – rejoining the EU single market and customs union, and reversing the tax on jobs in the form of the rise in employers’ National Insurance. Both of these things are Lib Dem policy and look certain to win them votes from centrists and businesspeople. If, on the other hand, you think Brexit and managing borders haven’t been done properly by the Conservatives, you will be looking at Reform.
The Lib Dems and Reform each made big advances at the last election. If they can now establish themselves as credible parties of government, it’s not inconceivable that as the Conservatives and Labour decline, we end up with a left/right split led by both.
Cheering on Heathrow from the flight path
It’s absurd that we have been discussing a third runway at Heathrow since the turn of the century. The Chinese have built 200 airports in this time. They have also added 10,000km of high speed rail to their network in the time we have taken to start, then cut short HS2. Heathrow is clearly at capacity, so let’s get on with it, as Rachel Reeves suggests. And I say this as someone whose family comes from Hounslow!
Margate is a seaside treat
I recently spent an off-season weekend away with my family in Margate in Kent, and highly recommend it. There’s a vibrant arts scene, and I particularly enjoyed the Turner gallery close to where we were staying, the excellent Fort Road Hotel. It’s right on the seafront, perfectly placed to enjoy some bracing sea air. We had two incredible meals, one at a seafood restaurant called Dory’s, and the second at a French place called Sète. If you can make it there this week, it’s Margate Restaurant Week and you can enjoy a three course meal at Sète for £20.25 with a glass of wine for £5 – incredible value.
The joy of podcasting
Last autumn, I launched a podcast, James Reed: All About Business, and I’m delighted with the response. It’s regularly at number one in the entrepreneurship podcast charts, and we’re attracting some fascinating guests. It’s aimed at people who do stuff and people who get things done. My guest this week is Reggie Heyworth, owner and managing director of Cotswold Wildlife Park, who has kept alive the vision established by his father and founder of the park, John Heyworth. Coming up we have comedian Ruby Wax, sharing stories from her extraordinary life and career, and Jan Gerber, founder and CEO of mental health and addiction clinic Paracelsus Recovery, who speaks about the important topic of mental health in the boardroom.
Get yourself to The Kiln
I enjoyed a play called The Lonely Londoners at The Kiln theatre in Kilburn, about the arrival of young migrants in London from the Caribbean as part of the Windrush generation. It’s adapted from a book by Sam Selvon and manages to be both funny and sad. It conveys a powerful message about the power of sticking together as a community. It thoroughly deserved the standing ovation it received.