So, election fever has driven Gordon to call people bigots in public. Ok, not quite the real story, but a PR nightmare nonetheless. Here, for your reading pleasure, is our very own Account Exec and Politics grad, Eamonn Moore, with his thoughts on how to handle the whole affair.
“That was a disaster – they should have never put me with that woman. Whose idea was that? It’s just ridiculous… She’s just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour.”
Gordon Brown made the above comments earlier today about Gillian Duffy, an ordinary member of the public from Rochdale who had been speaking to him in front of the press and media about several political issues, not realising that his microphone was still broadcasting.
His remarks may have been made in private, but right now they are being broadcast and discussed everywhere, from news channels to Twitter (indeed, #BigotGate was trending within the hour).
So in the wake of the crisis, how could Labour handle Gordon Brown’s PR?
Here are five actions that could be taken to try to minimise the impact of his comments, and salvage the rest of the election campaign.
1. Issue a public apology
Whilst Gordon has now apologised both publically and privately to Gillian Duffy, his public apology (as featured in a radio interview with Jeremy Vine this afternoon) did not go far enough, I feel. He apologised “if” he had caused offence, when it is quite clear that there is no “if” about it.
At this point, I’m disregarding the issue of whether Gillian is actually a bigot or not because it would be unwise for Labour to attack her for being so in an attempt to salvage Gordon’s reputation – the press & public would likely be unimpressed by a sustained attack on ‘a defenceless pensioner’. Furthermore, she’s actually a Labour voter (or was until today!), so to attack her could be seen as further attacking Labour voters.
Instead, it’s time for Gordon to be human. He could apologise unreservedly for his comments and the offence caused both to Gillian and Labour voters (five minutes is a very short amount of time to make your mind up that someone is a ‘bigot’ after all). We now understand he’s visited Gillian in person, so perhaps he’s done just that.
2. Talk about the pressures of an election campaign
Whilst Gordon should offer no excuses for what he said, the situation does present him with an ideal opportunity to talk about the pressure of an election campaign and getting caught in ‘the heat of the moment’. This may lead to some sympathy being generated for him – a man who has struggled to perceived as genuine at times.
3. Fight fire with fire
It wouldn’t be an election campaign without some good old-fashioned points scoring between the parties, would it? The Tories are likely to lambast Gordon for his comments, but Gordon could fight fire with fire and attack the comments made by Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling regarding the rights of gays and lesbians, broadening the debate to one of ill-advised comments in general.
4. Tackle the issue of immigration head on
The news channels are reporting that Gordon’s “bigot” comment came after speaking to Gillian about Eastern European immigration. Whilst today’s incident looks bad right now, it could provide the ideal catalyst for Gordon to tackle the issue of immigration head on, by talking about how he recognises that immigration is a major issue and what he plans to do about it.
5. Implement checklists for all media events
Leaving your microphone on really is a school-boy error, especially when you’re so used to appearing in the press and media. Gordon’s PR team now need to sit down and draw up checklists for all media occasions to ensure that no further mistakes are made. Sounds simple, but obviously no one said, “Hey, Gordon. Have you taken your microphone off?” at the crucial moment.
Those are my five suggestions, and I don’t claim that they’d get Gordon out of the pickle he’s in, just help address the issue.
How would you handle Gordon’s PR right now?
(Hat tip to @MarketingDonut for posing the original question).
