Want to be heard by a Labour government? Start talking the language of security

Rishi Sunak surprised Westminster – and the country - recently when he announced a general election for July 4th. With polls currently pointing to a Labour victory, many people are now turning their attention to the prospect of a future Labour government. 

What does Keir Starmer’s Labour party think, what will it do if it wins the election, and importantly, how can you engage with it?

One word provides a clue to all three of these questions: security.

If you follow politics, you may recently have heard one or several of Labour’s frontbench team mention the word “security”. Taken alone, this is obviously unremarkable. However, taken together, the concept of security (or insecurity) as used by Labour is how the party and its leader Keir Starmer diagnose and explain the issues Britain faces – and also how they plan to fix these issues.

In the white paper, From Security Comes Hope published by Starmerite think tank Labour Together, the author explains how insecurity defines our world and people’s lives within it:

“Insecurity begins at home, with family finances stretched to breaking point. It reaches into...[the]  local community, where crime goes unpunished and shuttered shops line the high street. It extends to a failing British state, with school ceilings collapsing and our healthcare system on its knees. It reaches our borders, where our asylum system has failed and…[i]t lurks beyond our borders, where global tensions and temperatures rise.”

The paper then goes on to suggest five outcomes that will deliver this much-needed security for voters: a secure job and a decent wage; bills that are predictable and under control; a decent home you can grow old in; everyday services that you can depend on; and safe streets and strong communities. From this foundation, people have “the opportunity to pursue their own hopes and ambitions”.

 This diagnosis – and the proposed solutions for delivering security – runs through almost everything the Labour leadership says and does – from housing to foreign policy.

Perhaps most notably, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has built her economic plan around this security analysis, naming it “securonomics”. Reeves foresees a more active state working in partnership with business to implement an industrial strategy that will drive broad-based and sustainable economic growth. Summing up her speech at Washington’s Peterson Institute last year, Reeves said that the promise of securonomics was “security that provides the foundations on which we can find hope… because, from security, comes hope”.

Along with the Five Missions, which represent the Labour Party’s plan for government, it’s important to understand and work within this concept of security if you want to engage with Labour now or with a Labour government if the party wins the upcoming general election. Any policy asks you make should ladder up to Labour’s Five Missions and demonstrate clearly how you will help the party achieve these missions - but your language, analysis and presentation of the asks should be rooted in security.

How can you go about doing that?

·      Frame your policy asks using the language of security.

Before beginning your outreach, understand this security analysis and use it to develop and frame your policy asks, finding the common ground between what you want and Labour’s vision.

When engaging directly, mirror the language of to ensure you get a hearing. This for example could be in letters to stakeholders, whitepapers and policy papers, and in face-to-face meetings. This will not only mean that your asks don’t fall on deaf ears but will also help the party adopt and present these asks to its stakeholders, like voters, unions and the wider party. 

·      Demonstrate the net benefit of a more “secure” Britain when engaging.

How does what you are asking for contribute to greater security for voters and the country? If you’re in the construction sector, how can you contribute to secure jobs, decent homes or safe streets? Or in the energy sector, how does your project contribute to the UK’s broader energy security?

Wherever possible, presenting modelling and data points that underline the socio-economic impact of your policy asks which will strengthen the case for your proposed ideas and proposals. This is especially important given that any future Labour government will face severe spending constraints.

In order to stand a better chance of your policy asks being heard, understood -- and actioned - by a future Labour government, start talking the language of security.

If you want to know more about how to ensure your policy asks are heard by a future Labour government, get in touch with us directly.

Neil Thomas , Associate Director, Fourtold