Spin won’t save the economy: Rachel Reeves’ Brexit budget excuse exposes a leadership void
It was inevitable, wasn’t it? When the economic narrative starts to wobble, call in the spin doctor.
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Enter Tim Allan - former Blair adviser, ‘Remain’ stalwart, and now the man apparently steering the Government’s message machine.
His fingerprints are all over the latest line from Rachel Reeves and her team: that the country’s economic woes are, in large part, still the fault of Brexit.
This is a convenient story, certainly. It provides a tidy scapegoat for disappointing forecasts, tough choices and faltering confidence.
But it is also a cynical and short-sighted strategy. Reeves’ problem isn’t Brexit: it’s credibility. And bringing in a PR man to sell excuses instead of solutions only underlines that weakness.
Blaming Brexit in 2025 is like blaming the Kaiser for the cost of living. The British people are weary of the argument.
They want growth, investment, and competence - not another round of what-ifs about a democratic decision made nearly a decade ago. Reeves’ attempt to reheat the Remain campaign’s greatest hits may play well in the liberal salons of north London, but it won’t wash in the Red Wall or among the entrepreneurs who actually create the jobs she claims to champion.
The appointment of Allan speaks volumes about the Government’s mindset. This isn’t about communicating better policy, it’s about dressing up poor policy in better language.
When you need a PR operator to ‘reframe’ your Budget, it’s because the economics don’t stand up on their own. The spin is the strategy.
But here’s the real danger: once you start playing the blame game, there’s no end to it. If Brexit is the villain today, who’s next tomorrow? The pandemic, the previous government, Napoleon?
It’s an approach that might work for a few news cycles, but it corrodes trust. The public can smell it when they’re being managed, and they resent it.
Reeves promised seriousness, discipline, and responsibility. What we’re seeing instead is a return to the old political reflex - when in doubt, blame someone else and hire a fixer. But you can’t PR your way to prosperity. Growth requires hard decisions, not headlines.
Tim Allan may yet succeed in spinning a few sympathetic column inches, but he can’t spin away economic reality. The country doesn’t need another campaign. It needs leadership. And no amount of slick messaging can disguise the absence of that.
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Richard Merrin is CEO of independent PR agency Spreckley Partners
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