With the dust settling on the local elections, colleagues are adjusting to their council’s new political complexions following one of the most fascinating protest votes of recent times.
All of us in government communications will have taken note of the results, especially with the likelihood of European elections a few weeks away. In febrile political times, none of us can take anything for granted any more.
I pointed to a variety of challenges just before LGcomms own elections, to our Executive Committee, last week in London. (Those elections, incidentally, passed off without major incident in stark contrast to 2 May events).
The question I posed was, how do we keep our offer relevant to communicators across public services?
The status and standing of elected members is at a low ebb and the electorate has definitely seized the opportunity to register its dissatisfaction with national politics, with local politicians taking the hit. More fall-out to follow, that’s for sure.
So, how we as communicators work effectively with elected members in these times is now a key issue for the year ahead. In turn, LGcomms must make sure that the support we provide to communicators in this key aspect of what we do is of the highest quality.
There’s help at hand in the form of the excellent #futurecomms content, available on this website and via the Local Government Association (LGA).
And if what you are seeking isn’t there, and you need advice, or support, you know where we and our excellent partners at the LGA and the PRCA are.
We’re all looking forward to working with you.