The PR News Review: Starmer's local election troubles, while Nigel, predicably, loves it!

Welcome to the News Review on the PRmoment podcast. In this weekly show I’m joined by Mark Borkowski and Angie Moxham. Here's the agenda for PR Masterclass: AI in PR.

In the PR News Review we look at the biggest news stories of the week from a PR perspective and this week we're talking about the UK local elections results.

We discuss the predictably huge gains for Reform and the huge losses for Labour.

We also talk about the likely comms strategies now for Farage & Reform and Starmer & Labour.

The discussion centres on the shifting political landscape and the starkly different PR challenges facing the parties and their leaders.

Podcast Summary Highlights

Keir Starmer and the Labour Party
The panel offers a blunt assessment of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. Despite Labour's significant majority, the speakers argue that Starmer suffers from a fundamental "charisma deficit" and a "robotic" communication style that fails to resonate with the electorate. 

Mark Borkowski describes Starmer as having a "barrister mind" better suited for the High Court than the public stage, noting that his messaging has been overwhelmed by poor decisions and controversies, particularly the "Mandelson stain." Angie Moxham predicts a potential leadership challenge, suggesting a "straight-out shooting" between Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband may be on the
horizon. The consensus is that Labour needs a leader who can project authenticity and positivity to maintain public trust in a volatile environment.

Nigel Farage and the Reform Party
The rise of Reform UK is characterized as a significant disruption to the traditional
two-and-a-half-party system. While Farage is praised for his "fearless communication" and ability to connect with his base, the panel identifies a major PR "own goal": the inclusion of "Tory party failures" like Robert Jenrick. 

Borkowski argues that bringing "old circus acts into a new
tent" undermines Reform's image as a fresh alternative. Farage’s strategy is described as headline-driven and opportunistic, effectively exploiting the "malaise" of current politics to gain momentum, even if his long-term viability remains a question of whether the electorate feels genuinely "more affluent" under his influence.

The Changing Face of Leadership
Beyond the main parties, the Borkowski and Moxham speakers touch on the other party leaders.

Kemi Badenoch is highlighted as an increasingly competent and "safe pair of hands," showing improved focus and delivery.

In contrast, Zack Polanski’s leadership is criticised for being "unpicked" by ego and a lack of maturity, particularly following unprofessional social media conduct. 

The overarching theme of the episode is that in the "age of authenticity," leaders have "nowhere to hide."
Success requires not just policy, but the "spiritual quotient" (SQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) to lead a nation that is increasingly fatigued by "dystopian" news narratives and systemic stress.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Ben Smith: Welcome to this week's PR news review on the PRmoment podcast.
And on this show as ever, I'm joined by the dream team, which is Mark Borkowski and Angie
Moxham. And in this week's PR news view, I think there's really only one story in town, in the
UK anyway, which is the result of the local elections. We're recording this on the Friday, so we're
getting the local election results come through this morning, and they happened yesterday. And
we're going to be talking about, not the results of the local elections because that has been
widely discussed elsewhere, but we're going to be talking about it from a comms perspective:
what the main parties do next, and I guess specifically the leadership of those parties. Before I
start, do check out our next PR Masterclass: AI in PR. It’s an amazing line-up we’ve got this
year. Thanks so much to everyone who’s been in touch to feedback on that, massively
appreciate it. If you haven’t got your ticket yet, do check out the full agenda on
prmasterclasses.com. Angie, Mark, welcome to the show.
[00:01:10] Mark Borkowski / Angie Moxham: Greetings, Ben. Hi Ben.
[00:01:13] Ben Smith: So local election results... it was an odd one, wasn't it? We sort of knew
what was coming. Keir knew what was coming, Nigel knew what was coming. Where do we all
stand this morning?
[00:01:25] Angie Moxham: It was expected. I think Keir now, he’s said he’s coming out and
saying he’s not going anywhere. We’ll see about that because obviously we’ve got Rayner
ready to pounce. And you know, I don’t think he’ll last personally. I think what he has to do is do
something and quick—make, do something for the nation that proves that he’s a doer and be a
strong leader through the results of this. So, stand up, mea culpa. Politicians never mea culpa. If
he did that... and then Farage, well he’s just dog with a bone. He’s gotta carry on and he will do,
won’t he? He’s gonna milk this for all he can.
[00:02:17] Mark Borkowski: Yeah, I think it’s interesting looking—I mean it’s still early days,
we’re recording this at 10:30 in the morning and there’s still a lot of results that are going to land
yet in terms of getting a fuller picture, so I’ll be guarded in what I say on that. But I mean clearly
the messaging on the key radio and TV this morning has been about "I’m not going anywhere"
or his inner circle of support. The bottom line is if you dissect some of the positivity that
supposedly Labour has delivered—curbing landlords, keeping interest rates down, throw more

money at health, taking on board very seriously the security of the nation—those are all great,
but it comes down to one huge problem: Keir Starmer is not a communicator. He has zero
charisma.
[00:03:15] Mark Borkowski: And of course, what you are looking at is one of four Labour
leaders who've won an election over the last 20, 30... well, half a century, perhaps longer. And
he’s got a big majority. But of course, that allows him to carry on because there’s not going to be
an election tomorrow. They’ve got two and a half, three years to actually prove themselves. You
don’t win or lose an election on what you do through campaigning; it's what you do in terms of
government. But they have a real fundamental problem in an age of communicators. If you take
what Zack Polanski’s been doing—doesn’t even bother with the traditional channels of media,
doesn’t look at the broadsheets, doesn’t look at TV. He’s deep inside other channels where he’s
getting his message across. But even if Keir Starmer did that, he doesn’t have the charisma. I’m
sure he’s a very decent guy, I’m sure his heart is in the right place, but he’s made some
appalling decisions. Those decisions have completely overwhelmed his ability to talk about
positivity and make the country feel better. And that’s the only way you’re going to turn these
things around from what is inevitably going to be a hung parliament when we have the next
election.
[00:04:44] Angie Moxham: Do you reckon though, Mark? Do you think any amount of... I was
wondering this—I mean I think he should ditch the Brylcreem—but I wondered whether, you
know, if you and I had him in a media training room for a week, could we... is it impossible to
inject charisma into a robotic-type personality? I don't know, what do you think?
[00:05:12] Mark Borkowski: I think, you know, "the clay can be molded" as we often say. But
you’re telling me that the hierarchy of the Labour Party do not... have not been trying to work
extremely hard on getting his communication skills up to speed? If they haven’t been doing that,
then they should take a pearl-handled revolver and go into a room and think about their lives.
The bottom line is they are probably trying to do that for him. And of course, he’s dealing with all
the back-biting and the plotting that’s going on as well, which is very difficult. But he was handed
a poison chalice—you know, from the last government—Brexit, COVID, whatever the list you
want to give. You do have the Ukraine war, you do have the badness of "The Donald." So
you’ve got all those sort of things, and they’re trying to convey that, but he is what I call a
"barrister mind." He has a different type of performance in the High Court that molded him, and
he’s lost that belief. People look at him and think "you’re of that political class."
[00:06:17] Ben Smith: If it was going to work, it would have worked by now, wouldn't it? He'd
have started coming across better. I mean I always think with those sorts—as you sort of
alluded to there Mark, there's a lot going on in the world, right? So... in that sense it played to
his advantage. He hasn't been able to find an issue that he can dominate or look or build profile
around, or find success with, has he? He has tried, but it just hasn't worked.
[00:07:04] Mark Borkowski: And he's been overwhelmed by some pretty big scandals. I mean
the Mandelson thing above all came at the worst possible time, and you can’t spin your way out

of that one. And he’s tried to throw people under the bus instead of owning it as well, which
goes back to this very archaic way of holding on. I heard his speech this morning and I turned to
my missus and I said, "That sounds like a Poundland Winston Churchill speech." "Here we are
on the beaches," you know, and it just didn’t convey anything of any authority, no matter how
much the words were written for him to deliver in such a way to try and build some sort of
foundation to move off from. He cannot communicate—whether it’s a look or whatever he
does—the events, events, events that have surrounded him have dragged him down.
[00:08:21] Ben Smith: So Angie, what happens next? Because on the face of it, the last 10
minutes have illustrated none of us quite think he can plot a way out of this particular hole
medium-term anyway. So that basically means the Labour Party have got to find somebody who
has at least a chance going up against Farage, don't they?
[00:08:51] Angie Moxham: Yeah, absolutely. And is it Ange? Who knows... I mean Angela, I’ve
met her a few times, she’s great.
[00:09:05] Ben Smith: I thought you were putting yourself forward there, Ange, for a moment,
an investment opportunity?
[00:09:11] Angie Moxham: Well I’m available for that, and baptisms and weddings! I’d be in
Number 10 if I’d gone into politics, without any shadow! But yeah no, I mean I think she’s the
most likely from what we hear and see. And then it’s an interesting—for me, from a
communications point of view—because she’s very northern, Farage is not, but she’s a very
direct communicator. And she is probably their best bet. It can’t be Miliband—I mean god
forsake us if Miliband becomes the leader again! I think Ange is in the most likely position. And I
think that will happen. I think anybody after this disaster, despite what Keir says... he does
remind me of that 1970s Smash ad with all those robots! Anyway, so I think there’ll be a
leadership challenge, and yeah, it has to happen soon, doesn’t it?
[00:09:59] Angie Moxham: I mean as you say, Ben, playing to Keir's advantage is the world
global issues that we're facing. And in a way, I mean what he needs to do, given all of the issues
he has, is play to that international human rights lawyer capability. So if I was advising him I'd
say, "Look let's dial that up, given the fact that you’re not... you’ve got no charisma. Let’s dial up
this stuff and communicate in a way that presents him in that way," which is no bad thing
because he’s actually done okay on the international stage, hasn’t he? He’s been a good
ambassador and done some good things. He’s just shit in his own backyard.
[00:10:48] Ben Smith: Which makes it all the more frustrating, really, doesn't it? Because you
sort of think and believe there's a good guy in there somewhere but he doesn't give anyone a
chance to see it. If you're Farage, Mark, what do you do next? More of the same?
[00:11:08] Mark Borkowski: Uh, yeah, more of the same. I mean that sort of populism, you
know, we’ll see more of that sort of dog-whistle. There’ll be—now, worryingly—there’ll be a lot
more money coming into his coffers to fight the next election, support you know more people to
stand. But you know, he’s on the crest of a wave. Still well off getting that 30% that you need, as
I said, but yeah... and I think it's quite interesting of how many defectors he's going to pick up.

And ultimately, I guess—crystal ball gazing—there will have to be a deal with the Tories at some
point if it's going to power up. Will he ever become Prime Minister? Who knows. But I mean I
just think that it’s a sign now that there is disruption, significant disruption in our whole sort of
what was a two-and-a-half party system.
[00:11:57] Angie Moxham: I think you’re right, you know when we were talking earlier Mark
about when the general election comes round and your prediction—I think you’re absolutely
right that it’s going to be a hung parliament, hung between the Tories and the Reform Party,
which is a nightmare on Downing Street as far as I’m concerned! Can you imagine?
[00:12:44] Mark Borkowski: People want to feel something good again. Look, it’s a dangerous
world. Thatcher had the Falklands, that saved her popularity. She came across as the "Iron
Lady" through all of that. You don’t know—I mean prediction is an impossible game these days
because the world is so absolutely crazy. But I think what we’re seeing is... let’s talk about Kemi
Badenoch for a second.
[00:13:15] Ben Smith: Well, we haven't got long left. Let's talk about Kemi and the Greens
because that's so interesting, isn't it? That conversation.
[00:13:25] Mark Borkowski: Number one, Kemi Badenoch—the polling around the Tory party
itself is lower, obviously, I think 20% if I'm not much mistaken—but there's great belief in her.
And she’s just getting on with her knitting, you know? And she’s done a pretty good job
considering it is an odd place to be, leader of a party with no power. And then you’ve got Zack
Polanski who is, I think, unpicking his own cult. He found a huge audience because he wasn’t
looking to the traditional channels. He’s very, very adept at using social, but then gets lost in his
own ego, and particularly the outpourings of that terrible incident in Golders Green when he
starts criticizing the police. Everything about it was wrong—to not just re-tweet that tweet, but
also after making an apology, not apologizing. An "apology but no apology." And I think that he’s
doing a great disservice to what has been a phenomenon with a younger generation who see
that party as being different.
[00:14:24] Angie Moxham: Where do you see the Zack Polanski thing—media stitch-up or
self-inflicted wounds? I mean it’s a bit of both, isn’t it? It’s such a shame, you know—I had high
hopes—but I think his ego and his immaturity has got in the way, shot himself in the foot. I think
it is interesting that Kemi now, if you look across the leaders, is rapidly becoming the most
competent and safe pair of hands of all of them. So, go Kemi!
[00:15:07] Ben Smith: Yeah, it’s interesting. And you wouldn’t have thought that 12 months
ago, would you? Extraordinary.
[00:15:20] Angie Moxham: No, I think she’s got into a stride. I mean I wasn’t really into her and
then I’ve gradually warmed to her... her "Desert Island Discs" and all that stuff. She’s a great
woman, she’s very bright, and as you said earlier she works her butt off, and she’s like a dog
with a bone. So for me, if I look across the board, yeah she’s the most impressive leader at the
moment.
[00:15:49] Ben Smith: Yeah, interesting to see. We shall watch with interest. Mark and Angie,

thanks so much for coming on this week's PRmoment News Review.
[00:16:16] Angie Moxham / Mark Borkowski: Cheers Ben. Thanks Ben.