It was a moment of classic Nigel Farage media opportunism. The Reform UK leader stood outside British Steel in Scunthorpe and stated “there has to be an immediate nationalisation of this plant”.
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.
“It was a massive missed opportunity for us,” complains one Green Party insider. “Nationalising British industry has been our policy for decades but we have been quiet about it and Farage swoops in and gets this amazing photo opp and is now making inroads in the union movement.”
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 Greens, especially, are struggling for media oxygen. When co-leader Adrian Ramsay was invited on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last week, he was eviscerated. “Does it matter that no one knows who you are?” asked presenter Nick Robinson, before grilling Ramsay à la Jeremy Paxman with repeat questions on his definition of a woman (which Ramsay ducked).
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.
The result was cringe, to use the parlance of social media, where Reform wins by deploying Farage’s personal brand. On TikTok, his polished broadcasting skills generate hundreds of thousands of views with “happy St George’s Day” messages or attacks on “gone woke” Hertfordshire Tories.
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.
Both parties lack the finances of billionaire-backed Reform and their media operations reflect that.
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.
TikTok content shows Davey in a Union flag apron endorsing a “Buy local – buy British” message that sideswipes Farage’s fondness for President Donald Trump. Yet the Liberal Democrats’ attempts to cut through on socials must fit their plan to be the party of Middle England.
A recent TikTok features Davey looking aghast at hearing loud music on a train, something the party wishes to ban. It generated tumbleweed.
The Greens can be similarly inhibited. Steve Jackson, of the activist group Greens Organise, says: “The culture of the Green Party, which is to be celebrated in isolation, is to be very nice, sensible and community-rooted. It’s about coming to consensus.
“Sometimes that culture comes into contrast with being opportunistic and framing something in a certain way to grab a headline.”
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Read MoreGreens 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”.
The Greens do not have a videographer and realise the need to improve their social media game. Yet they have had success in reaching young women on TikTok, where Farage appeals more to young men.
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.
Farage benefits from his close relationship with GB News, while the press sees him as great copy. “A lot of [reporters] have come up from London… we’ve got the front page of The Sun,” he told followers on arriving in County Durham for a press conference.
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.
Local elections should really be fought on local issues but the UK’s hollowed-out regional press increasingly operates in the shadows of the national media and social platforms.
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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