Coalition label is false, says Ed’s comms chief

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

According to the Evening Standard, Ed Miliband’s new Director of Strategy and Communications – former Times journalist Tom Baldwin – has written to broadcasters urging them to refer to the government as “Tory-led” rather than a “Coalition”. The Standard has also published extracts of the letter, which you can see below:

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“As you may have noticed, we have changed our language in recent weeks to avoid describing the Government as a coalition or a partnership of equals. We believe a more accurate description is that this is a Conservative-led government.

I understand that the phrase a “Tory-led government” is two words too long to be repeated on every occasion. But I also think that you are making a choice whenever you call it “the coalition”. When we were in power, no one was left in any doubt that our most unpopular decisions were those of a “Labour government”. The word “Coalition” is one that avoids party labels while also suggesting a degree of inter-party harmony and co-operation which is, day-by-day and split-by-split, being shown as false.

Unless Nick Boles gets his way, “the Coalition” will not be standing for election.

Can I suggest you at least vary your description of this Tory-led government. On some occasions, you might call it a Conservative-Liberal Democrat government. On others it might be just “the government”.

When you are talking about this government in a political context, I think it would be fairer to refer to it by reference to party labels.”

With best wishes, Tom Baldwin,
Director of Strategy and Communications