ahoneysettwatts Blogs

It’s time to act – and talk – tough

Last Tuesday, I was helping Dame Eleanor Laing – and her campaign to become Chairman of Ways & Means – when I was alerted about a stabbing close to Kennington tube station. For context, this is a stone’s throw away from where I live and where I had exited just moments earlier.

It’s one thing to learn about these stories in the news and on Twitter, and quite another to hear about them taking place in your backyard! This got me to thinking about other events and incidents in 2019; a year that was memorable for many reasons: some good, others not.

The death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria by US forces, the resignation of John Bercow as Commons Speaker and the election victories of Scott Morrison in Australia and Boris Johnson were very good outcomes. 

The same cannot be said of the fire that destroyed the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris and the bombs on Easter Day in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people, the unprecedented floods in Venice and the murders of two innocents by an Islamist terrorist on London Bridge. Sadly, they weren’t alone:

  • The number of homicides in our great capital is at its highest in a decade and most of these victims were stabbed to death with knives
  • The number of children known to have been sexually groomed in the UK reached nearly 19,000 – that is five times higher than just five years ago
  • The number of migrants attempting to enter the UK illegally by crossing the English Channel rose by 400% over 2018.

I’m no policy expert – I’ll leave that to the SW1 think tanks and others. But it’s quite clear we must do more to address these epidemics – and all opinions must be heard and all ideas should be on the dinner table, including:

  • Londoners want their streets to be safe and their communities to be secure again. This May, voters should boot out Sadiq Khan and elect Shaun Bailey
  • Sajid Javid, the former Home Secretary, launched an inquiry into the ethnic origins of members of grooming gangs. Priti Patel, the new Home Secretary, should publish that report
  • And, without criticizing, she should take a much tougher stance on immigration – like Australia and Italy – by reducing arrivals with much stricter border control and speeding up deportations.

Thousands of migrants have now drowned on European sea crossings. Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott advised EU leaders that “If you want to stop the deaths and if you want to stop the drownings you have got to stop the boats.” He argued that this is the compassionate thing to do.

As Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini certainly heeded that advice. In 2016 and 2017, the numbers of non-European illegals to have landed in Italy were 181,436 and 119,369 respectively. Under his leadership that number fell by 100k. If elected prime minister, expect that number to fall further.

Back home, what can Conservatives in Communications do? We must highlight these types of issues and promote solutions, and support politicians that promise to fix them. We’re about to take back control, by leaving the EU. Let us also take back control, with respect to law and order.

If you have ideas for this group or would like to get involved please email: info@toriesincomms.org.

This piece was written for our website.

ahoneysettwatts Blogs

The X factor?

Adam Honeysett-Watts is Director of Conservatives in Communications and works in the financial technology sector

I’d already made-up my mind – before the leadership election got underway – to back Boris Johnson. After three long years of doom and gloom, I was desperate for someone to tell the Tory story of aspiration and opportunity, and luckily – for everyone – the Party membership agreed.

Before casting my vote, I chose to speed read as much as I could about him. I did this for three reasons: personal intrigue, due diligence and ammunition, because many of my closest political friends were wavering or had chosen to support Jeremy Hunt. It’ll come as no surprise that London conservatives often differ in opinions from those of Tories in Yorkshire and Norfolk…

Among the books that I got through were ‘Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson’ by Andrew Gimson and ‘Just Boris: The Irresistible Rise of a Political Celebrity’ by Sonia Purnell. Page-turners, yet no earth-shattering revelations inside. Neither of them persuaded me otherwise. Here was a man, determined to make it and full of optimism. I was sold. I also recognise this as a quality and an attitude that several of our new MPs have. Exciting times.

One book I didn’t get to until Christmas was his very own ‘The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History’. While Gimson and Purnell shed light on his past, here Johnson exposes his admiration for the national treasure and where he may take inspiration in the future. I thoroughly recommend it to Conservatives in Communications.

Churchill and Johnson share more than a few similarities. Both have American ties: one was half American by birth, one was born in New York. Both went to top public schools: one Harrow, one Eton. Both became journalists, writers and politicians; often multi-tasking between all three and using colourful language while doing so! Both developed as orators, having already perfected the written word. Indeed, Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 for his many published works. Both represented multiple constituencies and served in two great offices of state: one as Chancellor of the Exchequer, one as Foreign Secretary. Both refined their images and appealed beyond traditional Conservative voters; championing the working class or blue-collar workers. Both would deploy their good-humoured, self-depricating formula to cheer-up the nation during two turbulent periods: the Second World War and us leaving the European Union.

As I have said before, optimism isn’t everything. A detailed vision must be articulated and executed by a sound team. That happened during the recent campaign and the result provided a mandate. After we’ve left the EU later this month, expect there to be a reshuffle of ministers (hopefully this includes promotions from the 2019 intake) and of others too, if Dominic Cummings gets his way:

“With no election for years and huge changes in the digital world, there is a chance and a need to do things very differently… We do not care about trying to ‘control the narrative’ and all that New Labour junk and this government will not be run by ‘comms grid’.”

I’m glad Cummings recognises “We have some extremely able people [in communications]” and is willing to take risks i.e. “we also must upgrade skills across the SpAd network.” If you’ve got the X factor and want to help shape history throughout – what the US Ambassador to the UK calls – the roaring twenties, find out more and apply here!

If you have ideas for this group or would like to get involved please email: info@toriesincomms.org.

This piece was written for our website.

ahoneysettwatts Blogs

BoJo will give Britain back its mojo

Adam Honeysett-Watts is Director of Conservatives in Communications and works in the financial technology sector

After celebrating last week’s success, I’ve started to think about what we can expect to see in the new year.

On Thursday, the people spoke loud and clear. They chose to place their trust in the Prime Minister, the Conservative & Unionist Party and its parliamentary spokespeople throughout the UK – to deliver Brexit and move forward, so that we can focus on other priorities. In short, a sense of pride and identity was restored.

Boris Johnson’s government, or ‘The People’s Government’ as he now labels it, won exactly 365 seats – an MP for every day of the year and a stonking majority of 80 at that – making this the best result for the centre-right party in over thirty years. In fact, the gain of 47 is the highest of any Tory administration ever, including Margaret Thatcher’s win in 1983. Since 2010, the Conservatives have increased their share of the popular vote from 36% to 44%. They have a legitimate mandate to govern and, thankfully, the ability to break the log-jam in Parliament.

Personally, I’m encouraged to see so much talent – many of them Conservatives in Communications in former lives – take their seats on the green benches: Alex Stafford (Rother Valley), Nickie Aiken (Cities of London & Westminster), Paul Bristow (Peterborough), Paul Holmes (Eastleigh), Richard Holden (North West Durham) and Theo Clarke (Stafford). I hope, and expect, to see more talent re-/join in the future, specifically in Scotland and the capital.

Put it another way, the electorate let the loony left – led by the Hamas and Hezbollah supporting socialist Jeremy Corbyn – know exactly what they thought of their policies. Momentum’s most stunning achievement? Getting Northern ex-miners to trudge through winter rain to vote Conservative. Working class Britons have firmly taken back control; Blue Collar Conservatism is steaming ahead. 

The Tories ran a disciplined campaign. As expected, polling analysis, social media and audiovisuals took centre stage again. Credit to the folks at Hanbury Strategy, Topham Guerin and Westminster Digital for playing their part. In terms of messaging, ‘Long Term Economic Plan’ was replaced with ‘Get Brexit Done’. But unlike in 2017, when Theresa May misread the mood, Mr Johnson stood outside Number 10 and urged the 100% – Leavers and Remainers alike – “to find closure and let the healing begin”. Congratulations to the national campaign team, including Isaac Levido, Lee Cain and Rob Oxley. 

On Saturday, the Prime Minister travelled to Tony Blair’s former constituency, Sedgefield, and gleefully declared “We’re going to recover our national self-confidence, our mojo, our self-belief, and we’re going to do things differently and better as a country”. On Sunday, Lord Heseltine admitted he and others – including People’s Vote campaigners – had lost and dismissed the prospect of them fighting on. 

And how did Corbyn and his allies react to all of this? Faiza Shaheen, who stood against Iain Duncan Smith, looked distraught at the count in Chingford and Wood Green. Owen Jones (the commentator and activist), who dominated Labour’s narrative, had a meltdown on TV – again! Lily Allen even deleted her account on Twitter. Many of them joined the violent and extremist, some say terrorist, group, Antifa, in protesting outside Downing Street – like they did outside Buckingham Palace during President Trump’s most recent visit – before revealing their support for Angela Rayner, Dawn Butler, Diane Abbott, Emily Thornberry, Keir Starmer and Richard Burgon as potential future leaders.

Meanwhile, its current leader – who refuses to go or take responsibility for the outcome – wrote a rather misguided piece for The Observer: ‘We won the argument, but I regret we didn’t convert that into a majority for change.’ Let me be clear. 1. No you didn’t. 2. You don’t say. Caroline Flint, had she not lost her seat, Lisa Nandy or Yvette Cooper would be more effective at the helm. However, if I had to place a bet on it right now, I reckon members will back Rebecca Wrong-Daily. Sorry, Rebecca Long-Bailey.

Regarding press, I want to revisit a theme that I’ve previously highlighted. That, people are quickly losing faith in the mainstream media. Is it any wonder when the BBC mismanaged the TV leadership debates, Channel 4 showed its bias and Sky chose to pay John Bercow £60,000 to be its guest despite only mustering an audience of 45,700? Yes, it was somewhat amusing to watch him squirm as the results were announced but get a grip! Expect the new Culture Secretary to make the BBC licence fee a top issue. If Channel 4 doesn’t return to the old days and if Sky fails to see the error of its ways, then also expect the electorate to turn towards alternative media.  

A while back I argued that we need to redefine our purpose, move forward with our global partners, unite the UK – and defeat Corbynism. I believe we have achieved that. World and party leaders, including Scott Morrison and Matteo Salvini, were queueing round the block to congratulate Mr Johnson on his achievement.

This week, he should focus on delivering the Queen’s Speech and bringing back the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB). Get that out of the way and deliver the January 31 promise. After Christmas, he can concentrate on lowering taxes and investing in public services while at the same time launching debates about controlling immigration and more besides.

Before the campaign got underway, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: “The Tories thought calling a winter election would stop us campaigning. They were wrong.” I responded: “No, they thought the people deserved a Parliament that would represent them. Londoners deserve a mayor who will champion them. Next year, they get their say.” 2020 is going to be a year like no other. Fasten your seatbelts, folks – you’re in for a wild ride.

If you have ideas for the group or would like to get involved please email: info@toriesincomms.org.

This piece was written for our website and has been republished by Politicalite (‘BoJo will give Britain back its mojo’ – December 16, 2019).

ahoneysettwatts Blogs

Red wall, blue sea

Lionel Zetter is Patron of Conservatives in Communications

In the end, it wasn’t even close. The polls had showed Labour closing the gap in the final few days of the campaign, but there was no surge. Soufflés really don’t rise twice, and the ‘magic grandpa’ had lost his sparkle.

The CCHQ team had always wanted this to be an election focused on Brexit, and they largely got their way. But it was not just about the principle of Brexit itself. Most people wanted Brexit out of the headlines and off of the front pages, but they also wanted the normal functioning of government to resume. 

But perhaps even more important was the issue of trust. If you promise not to raise tuition fees and then treble them, as the Liberal Democrats did in 2010, then you get hammered. If you stand on a manifesto to respect the result of the EU referendum, as both Labour and the Lib Dems did in 2017, and then you constantly seek to block Brexit, then you get hammered.

The fact that much of the discontent with the non-delivery of Brexit was concentrated in the neglected Labour heartlands of the Midlands and the North acted as a double whammy. People in those regions wanted Brexit delivered, but they had originally voted for Brexit because they felt neglected by Westminster, and ignored by the Labour Party. So like Trump supporters in the ’fly over’ states of the US they refused to change their minds, and they demanded to be heard.

There was also poor targeting on the part of Labour. Both the party machine and the parallel Momentum organisation concentrated their resources on Corbynista candidates, rather than on those who most needed support. This cost them unity, and it cost them votes, and it cost them seats. The fall-out from this will rumble on for months, if not years.

By contrast CCHQ did a great job. When it came to strategy Isaac Levido provided calm, whilst Dominic Cummings – as ever – provided inspiration. The cyber war was master-minded by two young kiwis, Sean Topham and Ben Guerin. Meantime the mainstream media was effectively marshalled by Lee Cain and Rob Oxley and a team of experienced press officers, many of whom had worked for Boris on and off over the years since his first mayoral bid.

But the main reason Labour lost and we won was because of the respective leaders. Boris came across as a dynamic leader with a strong focus and clear priorities – including, of course, getting Brexit done. Of course there were mis-steps, including pocketing a journalists phone and escaping in to a walk-in fridge. But generally Boris came across well, with his trademark good humour and with his bright young politically-engaged partner by his side. Parading Dilyn the rescue dog also worked well – an estimated 9.9 million households in the UK own a dog.

By contrast Jeremy Corbyn came across as old, tired, testy, petulant – and (more importantly) nasty. He may not be an anti-semite himself, but he certainly seems to enjoy the company of people who are. This cost him votes not just in the handful of seats with large Jewish populations, but also amongst the wider electorate, who hate discrimination and loathe bullies.

So, the fabled ‘red wall’ has crumbled, and it has been replaced by a ‘blue sea’. And let’s face it, seas are stronger and more durable than walls. Now the task – fully recognised by CCHQ and Number Ten – is to justify the faith placed in us by all those former Labour supporters who loaned us their votes in order to ‘get Brexit done’, and to keep Corbyn out of Number Ten.

If you have ideas for the group or would like to get involved please email: info@toriesincomms.org. 

This piece was written for our website.

ahoneysettwatts Blogs

Beyond Brexit: unleashing Britain’s potential

  • Dozens of Tories in Comms are standing at general election

Adam Honeysett-Watts is Director of Conservatives in Communications and works in the financial technology sector

Not my words but those of The Spectator’s editor a month after party conference in Manchester.

Despite it taking longer than anticipated, Parliament was eventually dissolved, the Prime Minister met with the Queen and the Conservatives launched their election campaign in Birmingham. The rationale for this was clear: we need to break the impasse so that the government of the day can deliver on the will of the British people. Failure to do so will result in understandable outrage and irreparable damage to trust in politics.

While some people will vote on Brexit alone (Vote for the Tories to get Brexit done; Vote for the Liberal Democrats to stop Brexit one way or another – how democratic!; or Vote for Labour to negotiate yet another deal, hold yet another vote and yet campaign against said deal?), others are looking beyond our relationship with the EU. They are looking for policies which will benefit them and their families as well as businesses, with those priorities based on what matters most to them. 

As demonstrated in their party political broadcast aired last night, the Conservatives understand those priorities to be: strengthening the economy in order to invest in better hospitals, safer streets and improved schools. They have put their weight behind this ambition and in doing so built upon the slogan, packaging it as ‘unleashing Britain’s potential’.

The question becomes – how do you achieve this? I believe the answer lies in a stronger national identity and a common purpose, and that Blue Collar Conservatism offers us a way forward. It is a cause supported by current and former MPs, councillors and activists, the length and breadth of the UK – including poster boys Johnny Mercer (South West), Lee Rowley (Midlands) and Ross Thomson (Scotland). If you missed it on TV, you can – and should – read Lee’s witty yet serious response to the Queen’s Speech on Hansard. Also, if you haven’t seen Simon Jones’ Hansard at the National Theatre starring Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan – do; it’s both genius and devastating.

Blue Collar Conservatism is about championing working people and developing an aspirational agenda to benefit the communities that really feel left behind. Working people stand to benefit most from Conservative policies designed to maximise opportunity and empower them to live their lives; better, together. So much is at stake in this election: don’t be tribal – examine the manifestos when published. 

If – OK, when – the Tories win a majority, now that The Brexit Party isn’t challenging the seats they won back in 2017, I expect we’ll hear much more from Mercer et al. Before then, candidates – including no less than 12 supporters of Conservatives in Communications – should be selling this bold plan on doorsteps while warning voters about the alternative: chaos with Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan pushing for a repeat of two referenda on leaving the EU and breaking up the United Kingdom. No thanks!

If you have ideas for the group or would like to get involved please email: info@toriesincomms.org. 

This piece was written for our website and has been republished by Politicalite (‘Beyond Brexit: Unleashing Britain’s Potential – November 14, 2019).

ahoneysettwatts Blogs

Priti decent turn of events

Adam Honeysett-Watts is Director of Conservatives in Communications and works in the financial technology sector. 

Last week, the BBC issued an apology after Andrew Marr accused Home Secretary Priti Patel of laughing during an interview about Brexit. Quite rightly so – because she wasn’t. Shortly after the statement was released, the Conservatives in Communications (CiC) network welcomed the Home Secretary to our autumn reception, which took place at the Ellwood Atfield Gallery in Westminster and was kindly sponsored by Built Environment Communications Group (BECG).

Before she was elected as an MP – and promoted to several roles within Number 10, HM Treasury, DWP and DfID – Patel worked in the communications sector. Her analysis of the current state of play and her advice to the PR industry were therefore of relevance, interest and well-received by the many professionals in the room. As you might expect, much of her fireside chat with Kulveer Ranger, patron and a former advisor to Boris Johnson, focused on delivering Brexit, and the dynamics between the party and Parliament.

Unsurprisingly, these issues continue to dominate the agenda this week. What begun as just a slogan in Manchester – ‘Get Brexit Done’ or ‘Get Brexit Sorted’ to our friends north of the border – has become a shared common purpose that most Tories are united behind. In fact, Patel was keen to point out that the whole of the parliamentary party backed both the second reading and the programme motion on Tuesday. That was some whipping, but also representative of the public’s general angst, clear and disciplined messaging and a determination to move on and forward.

Sadly, while the second reading did – the programme motion didn’t pass in the House, so we are back in limbo; exactly what businesses wanted to avoid. Extra time to debate the deal won’t really change anything. As I’ve written in the past: One constant throughout these past four years has been the failure of the remain and remoan camp to run an effective operation and win enough support. Has anything changed? No. But Johnson is willing to compromise. Opposition parties should vote for the election motion this afternoon. Failing that, MPs should back the election bill on Tuesday.

ahoneysettwatts Blogs

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

[UPDATED 08.01.20] Dame Eleanor Laing was subsequently elected principle Deputy Speaker and the first woman Chairman of Ways & Means with 54% in the first round.

[UPDATED 04.11.19] Dame Eleanor Laing made the final three candidates (out of 11 originally), and was the last Conservative and woman standing.

Adam Honeysett-Watts is Director of Conservatives in Communications and works in the financial technology sector. He is a former Board Member of UN Women UK and is campaigning for Dame Eleanor Laing MP to become the first woman Conservative Commons Speaker.

You’ve seen the 1970s Saatchi & Saatchi advertisement. “It was a Conservative – Mrs. Pankhurst – who first led the fight for votes for women. It was the Conservatives who first gave all women the vote 50 years ago. It was a Conservative who was the first woman to sit in Parliament. It was the Conservatives who elected the first party leader…”

We can add to that. It was a Conservative who became the first and second woman prime ministers.

Contrary to popular myth, there’s no convention that the Speakership passes from one side of the House to the other. Therefore, another Conservative milestone is achievable: on 4 November, MPs can – and should – elect Dame Eleanor Laing MP as the first woman Conservative Commons Speaker in 650 years.

@eleanor4epping Early start as it’s the #StateOpening of @UKParliament later today! MPs will spend several sitting days debating the content of the #QueensSpeech. Before that gets underway, I recorded this video about my #Speakher campaign. Let me know if you agree. #Eleanor4Speaker🙋🏼‍♀️

The Mother of Parliaments is facing one of her biggest challenges in a century. Brexit is arguably the biggest issue to impact the UK since the Second World War, Suez crisis and invasion of the Falklands. What we need now is an experienced and impartial person in the chair to restore confidence in politics.

Dame Eleanor has an impressive record – as a lawyer, MP and Deputy Speaker for six years – and she has set out a clear vision for the role that will resonate: “We must show respect for each other in Parliament, respect for Parliamentary proceedings and scrutiny, and respect for democracy and the people.”

If you have ideas for the group or would like to get involved please email: info@toriesincomms.org.

This piece was written for our website and has been republished by Politicalite (‘Another Conservative milestone is achievable this November’ – October 14, 2019).