Motion #14
It has been an important year for the Green Party, as we have established our presence in every corner of the country. We have tried to reflect this in our communications, as well as seeking to establish authority across a wider range of issues.
The party has begun a process of using polling and focus groups to ascertain who and where are likely voters are. What has become clear from this process is that having something to say about all the key issues of government is crucial to our electoral success. The role of the External Communications Coordinator is crucial to sharing our radical and inspiring ideas with the wider public. When it works well this brings us votes but also helps to shift the political climate.
The focus of our communications has shifted over the past year and is now fully focused towards the next general election and aligning with the objectives of our agreed political strategy. I believe the work I have done together with the comms staff has meant that we have been able to put in place some key foundations for this over the past couple of years.
I have set up a process for selecting spokespeople and we now have 15 spokespeople who are developing expertise and contacts across a range of policy areas. We know from polling that not being perceived as a party with policies for government is holding us back electorally. So the success of this team is vital to further our electoral ambitions.
My deepest regret during my time in office is that I was not able to prevent a spokesperson from taking legal action against the party. I have supported the party in our defence of this case and I believe that, working with SSMG, I did everything I could to prevent the case being taken. None the less, I regret it deeply.
We have made some steps towards increasing the diversity of those who speak on behalf of the party but we have much further to go. This is a key priority for me over the next two years, building on the progress we have made over the past two years.
I have developed good working relationships with the media staff and set up systems so that we can successfully agree our media lines with the leadership, our parliamentarians, our councillors and our spokespeople. Political communications is always high risk, but we have found ways to minimise crises and embarrassment. It is vital that we continue to run a tight ship in the time between now and the next general election if we are to achieve our strategic targets.
Although the political framing we use cannot possibly please everybody all of the time, we have done our best to be responsive to our membership while also keeping an eye on potential voters. The revitalisation of the Political Committee I have effected together with the leadership team is important to keep this balance right.
I have also established and co-convene the Campaigns and Communications Committee (XCom) to ensure liaison between the comms function and our campaigning activity and the Spokespeople Support and Monitoring Group to coordinate training and support for spokespeople while also ensuring that they still to party lines and the code of conduct. The comms team are performing miracles daily and I believe we are in the strongest position we could be – given limited resources – as we approach our next electoral test.