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The cost of Labour's media training for ministers - despite series of gaffes

By Dominic Penna
From Yahoo News UK

The cost of Labour's media training for ministers - despite series of gaffes

Labour has spent almost £17,000 of taxpayer cash on media training for ministers since gaining power, despite a series of high-profile gaffes.

Frontbenchers in three Government departments took part in coaching sessions to prepare them for broadcast appearances across their first few months in their roles.

A total of £16,964.25 was allocated to ministerial media training across the Treasury, the Foreign Office and the Scotland Office in the months after Labour won the election.

In answers to parliamentary questions, the Treasury said £9,700 had been spent "on media training for members of the ministerial team" since July 5.

The Foreign Office spent £1,848 "on media or voice training for junior ministers" in the same period, while the Scotland Office said it incurred £5,416.25, excluding VAT.

Sir Keir Starmer was mocked in September after accidentally calling for "the return of the sausages" from Gaza in his first Labour conference speech as Prime Minister.

Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister, came under fire during a GB News interview the following month in which he claimed Labour's first 100 days in charge had been "a success".

The following month, Louise Haigh, then the transport secretary, almost scuppered £1 billion in investment from P&O Ferries owner DP World after she described it as a "rogue operator".

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, mistakenly claimed that Syria was "next door" to Libya as he gave an update on the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime at the start of December.

Labour's general election campaign had been largely gaffe-free, especially compared to a Tory effort that involved scandals over bets placed on the date of the general election and Rishi Sunak leaving D-Day commemorations early.

During the election campaign, speech and body language experts said neither Sir Keir nor Mr Sunak were "blessed with natural charisma".

Paul Boross, a body language expert, said Sir Keir appeared "over-cautious" and "overly formal... [while] lacking in spontaneity and emotional engagement".

But the party has endured a torrid start to its time in government, which has seen Sir Keir Starmer's popularity fall to a historic low during his first five months in charge.

The Prime Minister has faced a backlash against tax raids on small businesses and farmers in a Budget that saw taxes rise by £40 billion, as well as the decision to strip winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners.

It prompted him to attempt to reset his premiership earlier this month by setting out a number of new "milestones", although critics claimed the relaunch was confusing and served to further complicate existing objectives.

In 2022, the SNP Government in Scotland revealed that it offers all new ministers introductory or refresher media training, saying that "effective communication is essential" to their work. However, it said the 10 ministers who had taken part in such courses that year did so at no cost to Scottish taxpayers.

Prof Sir John Curtice, Britain's foremost polling guru, argued this month that Sir Keir was struggling to sell his "vision" to voters. Describing him as "a technocrat, not a politician", Sir John added: "You have to persuade people that you are actually delivering. That's the bit Starmer doesn't seem to quite get."

Around 100 Labour parliamentary candidates took part in an awayday in Stratford-upon-Avon last year for a crash course in media training and how to campaign.

A Government spokesman said: "It is perfectly routine for ministers to receive media training, and this has occurred extensively under previous administrations."

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