Speaking ahead of elections for mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Farage saw a chance to grab the attention of local voters and announce “our plan”, while rival politicians railed that Reform had previously shown little interest in the facility but had, once again, stolen the headlines.
When the temperature of British politics is taken in the local elections throughout England on 1 May, challenger parties anticipate gains at the expense of Labour and the Conservatives. Yet news coverage of the campaign feels like the Nigel Farage show.
The Green Party’s “invisibility”, as Robinson termed it, is partly a consequence of the news industry’s obsession with personality. But the Greens don’t help themselves with their lack of media nous. When it attempted a photo opp with its MPs outside the Treasury in March, it used clunky wooden scales to highlight wealth inequality.
Thus a 60-something in a waxed jacket has 1.2 million followers on a pivotal platform for young voters, while the Greens have 63,000 followers and the Liberal Democrats 48,000.
The Liberal Democrats are learning from Farage’s media-friendly playbook. Their leader, Sir Ed Davey, helped the party to election success by creating photo opportunities with stunts that give him a platform to discuss policy. That continues – he recently slid down a ski slope in Gloucester on a rubber ring.
A recent TikTok features Davey looking aghast at hearing loud music on a train, something the party wishes to ban. It generated tumbleweed.
“Sometimes that culture comes into contrast with being opportunistic and framing something in a certain way to grab a headline.”
square IAN BURRELL
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Greens Organise is campaigning to “take the fight to Reform” in the local elections. “We need to be more savvy to play the media game and we can learn that from Farage,” adds Jackson, who dismisses Reform’s leader as a “grifter”.
Extensive work on the doorsteps by Green activists has helped achieve seven years’ growth in council seats, despite the lack of media coverage. “The numbers speak for themselves,” says Chris Williams, the party’s head of elections.
Media coverage of green issues is becoming more complicated. Witness the BBC’s timid decision to stop presenter Evan Davis from presenting the Happy Heat Pump Podcast, an endorsement of smart energy use.
Ultimately, populist political alternatives demand popular leaders. Which is why Davey will continue with his photo-friendly stunts and the Greens might need to look for a single leader model, headed by someone whom the media does not regard as invisible.
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