In the wake of the "partygate" revelations published in the Sue Gray report, one anonymous public sector comms pro shares their feelings on what it means to them.
by an anonymous public sector comms pro
I was going to begin with an apology for my negative tone in this piece but to be honest, the Prime Minister has repeatedly rendered the word "sorry" meaningless, and frankly I'm so bloody angry with the whole "partygate" revelations that I haven't the energy to attempt similar disingenuous gestures of remorse.
My heart sinks with every word I hear from bereaved family members and survivors' groups who speak with honour, sadness and anger about the sacrifices they made to protect the lives of others by following the rules and not being with their loved ones in their final hours. The tragic irony that most people couldn't attend respectful funerals while a select few were callously holding boozy leaving parties in No 10 isn't lost on me.
These stupid, selfish actions of the arrogant few have trashed the hard-earned reputation of the many others of us who were staying home to help protect the NHS and save lives.
As a comms professional supporting other hardworking public sector colleagues on the front line, I took immense pride in being part of the Covid-19 response by sharing the powerful comms messages with the public. Amidst the tsunami of fear caused by this invisible killer, it felt like the comms profession was proving its worth (and hopefully shedding negative public perceptions of PR based on past connotations with Max Clifford, Ab Fab and Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It).
But the disgusting details of "partygate" have now cast another shadow over the reputation of comms and PR - particularly with the No 10 press office being heavily associated with organised events such as "Wine Time Friday" and the subsequent cover ups alluded to in emails and messages. Incidentally, for most of us in public sector comms, 4pm on a Friday has never been "wine time". Sadly it's more like "whine time" as we pick up the phone to learn of an unfolding situation; and we reach for another coffee to help us through the crisis comms which usually breaks late on a Friday afternoon.
Unlike the PM (Party Minister), I've never considered any leaving party to be part of the normal working day (it's not gone down in my timesheet, for example). And like every other sensible person following the rules we were communicating, when it came to unwinding with family, friends and colleagues I did it with the widely available video conferencing technology - not in person. In much the same way, those of us outside of No 10 have made a great success of working and collaborating remotely through technology - we talked the talk and walked the walk (not necessarily to the fridge for cheese).
Part of our responsibility as comms professionals is to listen to and empathise with the prevailing mood of the public, and speak truth to power, even if that means having difficult conversations. As much as there is ongoing debate about the failures of the political leadership, I can't help feeling that the comms "professionals" at the centre of this mess have let the rest of us down. Whether that's through mealy-mouthed memos referring to comms risks or the PM's heavily-scripted apology, which seems to have been wheeled out more than Chris Whitty (and is far less believable).
I genuinely hope that the vast majority of us can "move on" from this and continue to hold our heads up high at the good work and ethics we implement, which moves and inspires others. Please keep doing great things - I'll be nodding respectively in appreciation (I reckon you'll know why, unlike the PM, I won't be raising a glass).
An anonymous public sector comms pro
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