Five Things: Leveson II, Klout, This is America, Martin Sorrell and #FuturePRoof

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This week’s Five Things includes the demise of Leveson II and Klout, Childish Gambino’s This is America, the return of Sorrell and the launch #FuturePRoof.

1. Leveson II – the sequel that refuses to start

Lord Leveson
Leveson II, the second part of the Leveson Inquiry, was already stopped by culture secretary Matt Hancock (“Are you on Matt Hancock?”), at the beginning of March. Now the Government has won a narrow victory against a Labour move to force it to start. Ed Miliband tabled the amendment to the Government’s data protection bill but it was narrowly defeated by 304 votes to 295.

Ed Miliband’s impassioned speech highlighted David Cameron’s previous promise for Leveson II to be carried out. Refusing to give way to other MPs, he also said it was a matter of honour for all politicians and asked the Government, ‘How dare you?’. Hancock responded: ‘The choice isn’t between doing something, and nothing. It is between doing something, and something better.’

Following the defeat, Tom Watson chose not to push for a vote on section 40, which in part would have required publishers to pay legal costs of both parties in disputes no matter what the outcome. This is clearly flawed as both Leveson-backed IMPRESS and press-made IPSO already allow for low-cost resolution.

There’s already suggestions the Lords will push the amendment back to the Commons for a second vote as the first was so close. We might not have seen the last of Leveson yet.

 

2. Out of Klout

Klout ends

What’s your Klout?* Is a question that many people working in social media asked each other seven years ago, but recently your Klout score has gone the way of your follower count on Google Plus. One of the most popular ways of measuring influence online, Klout was founded in 2009 by Joe Fernandez, who apparently built it to get a job at Twitter. It was bought by a private company, Lithium, in 2014 for $200m and on 25 May it will be no more.

25 May, I hear you say, isn’t that date significant for another reason? Why, yes. But amazingly, Lithium failed to mention the GDPR as a factor in Klout’s demise in the official statement. Apparently, Klout no longer meets Lithium’s long-term strategy.

Incidentally, Klout has been used as one of the many metrics that makes up the Vuelio Influencer Score, but thankfully we use such a broad range of complex tools that the loss of Klout will not have a detrimental effect on our unique measurement. You can read more about our influencer rating here.

Klout, on its own, has been criticised over the years for its algorithm which has, on occasion, rewarded questionable people with more influence than others. The secrets of the algorithm may have been forced into the open by the GDPR, but now we’ll never know.

 

3. This is America

This is America

It’s hard to know where to begin with Childish Gambino’s (aka Donald Glover) latest release, This is America. To call it a song is insufficient; the music and lyrics are powerful but that power pales into insignificance when compared to the video:

Articles and essays have already been written on this overnight cultural phenomenon (it’s on 75 million views in under a week). Discussions about the video’s ‘hidden meanings’, from his confederate trousers and Jim Crow references to the Charleston church shooting and ‘Death’ riding a pale horse, have filled social media and the digital press. It’s particularly pertinent following Kanye West’s recent comments that slavery was ‘a choice’.

It also follows Black Panther, which itself was itself a cultural shift but in a Hollywood/Marvel superhero kind of way. What Childish Gambino has done means so much more. It’s a violent, compelling piece of art, that continues to produce meaning with every watch, and it will fuel sections of the commentariat for weeks to come.

 

4. Martin Sorrell to ‘start again’

Martin Sorrell

If only Klout would stick around, we’d be able to measure Sir Martin Sorrell’s when he ‘starts again’. That’s his vow this week, after abruptly leaving WPP. As reported by the FT, Sorrell was speaking at the technology conference in New York and said: ‘I’m not going into voluntary or involuntary retirement.’

As he never had a non-compete clause with WPP, Sorrell is free to set up a competitive ad company and target some of the $16bn business he helped build up over the last 33 years. He already has an idea for a new ad agency model, he said it would be: ‘more agile, more responsive, less layered, less bureaucratic, less heavy’. This is particularly surprising considering WPP’s hugely complex set up has been credited to Sorrell, and he was described as the only person capable of keeping it all together.

Sorrell said he would not wait long until he made his next move, so expect the new agency launch to appear in a future Five Things.

 

5. #FuturePRoof 3

3

Sarah Hall, agency owner and CIPR President, has released the third edition of her hugely popular #FuturePRoof series this week, a special edition marking the 70th anniversary of the NHS. Titled The NHS at 70 with Lessons for the Wider PR Community, the book features 25 chapters from 25 contributors, all of whom either work in or around comms at the NHS.

The health service is one of the UK’s most-loved institutions but is currently facing huge problems in terms of service delivery, funding and staff shortages. The book puts communications at the heart of the solution, championing best practice and excellent innovations to inspire the NHS to carry on fighting the good fight.

#FuturePRoof is also hugely inspirational to the wider communications industry with lessons across every communications discipline from internal comms and employee engagement to using new technology and measuring campaign results.

Find out more about #FuturePRoof online.

 

What did we miss? Let us know on Twitter @Vuelio.

*Me? My Klout score is 46 and I’m an expert in Blogging, Public Relations and Communications. And Buzzfeed, apparently.

NHS

#FuturePRoof: a journalist’s perspective of NHS comms

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Following the launch of the third edition of #FuturePRoof, a special edition focusing on healthcare comms to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS, we are discussing what wider lessons can be learned by the comms industry. In this post, we look at Denis Campbell’s contribution – A Journalist’s Perspective: The Good and Bad of NHS Comms.

Denis Campbell is the health policy editor of the Guardian and the Observer, so he spends a lot of his time writing about the NHS and working with the comms professionals within it. Campbell starts his chapter by pointing out the dilemma of writing such a piece in his position: ‘Why would I say anything at all, lest even a smidgeon of criticism alienates those whose goodwill, determination and professionalism I routinely rely upon?’

He goes on to explain that while most comms officers are ‘superb’, some are ‘unhelpful, unbecoming of their profession and… ultimately damaging to the NHS’. The chapter is important to #FuturePRoof because it’s an honest external opinion given for all the right reasons – to help improve the practices of the NHS.

Campbell breaks down his views, which are clearly lessons for anyone working in communications in any industry:

Be honest and accessible
For Campbell, the NHS needs to be honest about its troubles and not just follow ‘the Government’s fantasy version of events’. This is a broader lesson for comms – honesty builds trust and trust builds relationships, which is the foundation of good PR. When working with the media, if you lie, there’s a good chance they’ll find out the truth and that story will then be much harder to manage.

Campbell’s experience of NHS comms is clearly hit and miss. He writes: ‘I marvel at the effort senior managers and clever PRs put into coming up with entirely irrelevant answers. Do they think that will stop the story appearing?’

If a journalist is asking for information, chances are they have discovered there may be a story in that information. If you block them, it doesn’t mean the story goes away, it just means the journalist has to dig deeper. When presented with tricky media questions, finding out what the journalist is doing and why they want to know certain things, should be a priority, because you’re still allowed to form your answers in the most appropriate way to make your business look as good as it can in the circumstance.

But even if the journalist gives you nothing, don’t stonewall investigations; if it’s delaying the inevitable, be honest and make it part of the story you want to tell.

Have guiding principles
The NHS Constitution has seven principles that guide the NHS in all it does. Campbell is most interested in the last one: ‘The NHS is accountable to the public, communities and patients that it serves… The system of responsibility and accountability for taking decisions in the NHS should be transparent and clear to the public, patients and staff.’

He believes NHS PR practitioners should be bound by this principle – but what about organisations without principles? Many have cultures, objectives and aims – lots of offices display these proudly for all to see. But do we consider them when we’re doing comms? Comms is the voice of the company and should be key in developing company culture, ensuring it informs the way all communications is carried out.

If internal culture doesn’t match external culture, neither will survive for long and ultimately, you’re the bridge between the two.

Working together
Campbell is clearly in favour of the NHS and is keen to see it working in the best way it possibly can. But as PRs and comms, we often think of journalists as the enemy and we suspect they’re out to trip us up. Campbell acknowledges this but is reassuring: ‘NHS PRs’ background and talents lie in communicating. So why not spend more time and put more creative energy into communicating what their bit of the NHS does and who the staff are that make that possible?

‘Why not trust journalists much more to do a decent job and not be so suspicious all the time?’

If we all worked together, were honest and transparent, wouldn’t our industry be a better place, communications run more smoothly and improve the quality of public conversation for all parties?

What do you think about Campbell’s chapter? Can we do more to work together with the media, or do we risk losing control of the story? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @Vuelio.

#FuturePRoof: The NHS at 70 with Lessons for the Wider PR Community, is highly recommended for both NHS comms pros and anyone else working in comms. It is available online.

Schooling

Political Headlines – grammar school, Brexit, Ministry of Defence and Leave.EU’s breach of election law

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Today’s Political Headlines include grammar school expansion, May’s two Brexit groups, Ministry of Defence spending plans and Leave.EU’s breach of election law. 

Government announces funding for grammar school expansion
The Daily Telegraph reports that Damian Hinds, the Education Secretary, will announce today a £50m Selective Schools Expansion Fund, allowing grammar schools to create up to 16,000 extra places over the next four years. He told the paper that grammar schools will be allowed to set lower pass marks in their entrance exams for disadvantaged children and that he was making money available to create new Voluntary Aided faith schools.

May divides Brexit sub-committee into two customs working groups
The Times reports that Theresa May has divided her Brexit cabinet sub-committee into two groups: one working on her favoured customs partnership plans, and one working on the ‘max-fac’ plan favoured by Brexiteers. The Financial Times adds that the Prime Minister has postponed Brexit legislation over fears that she could be defeated and does not expect a breakthrough on customs and border issues next week. The Guardian says that Labour backbenchers are keeping up their fight for Jeremy Corbyn to reconsider his opposition to EEA membership, as new polling shows majority support for a vote on the deal.

Ministry of Defence spending plans criticised by MPs
The BBC says that the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has criticised the Ministry of Defence’s spending plans for being unrealistic, warning that they could be more than £20bn over budget. The Ministry of Defence claimed that MPs were highlighting an ‘unlikely worst-case scenario’. According to the Financial Times, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to call for foreign companies to be blocked from a £1bn Royal Navy contract, which the paper warns ‘could push up costs for the stretched Ministry of Defence’.

Leave.EU fined for breaching election law
The BBC reports that Leave.EU has been fined £70,000 for breaching election law during the referendum on EU membership. The group failed to report at least £77,380 it spent and a senior figure has been referred to the police. Co-founder Arron Banks has claimed that this is a ‘politically motivated attack’.

Blair called on to apologise for rendition of dissident to Libya
The Times says that Tony Blair is being called on to apologise for the rendition to Libya of Abdul Hakim Belhaj, an opponent of the Gaddafi regime, and Fatima Boudchar, his pregnant wife, in 2014. Yesterday, Theresa May formally apologised to the couple as part of an out-of-court settlement.

MPs to debate votes at 16
The Daily Mail reports that MPs will debate a bill put forward by Labour MP Peter Kyle this morning, which would lower the voting age to 16 and put a polling station in every school. The paper reports that a growing number of Conservative MPs support the measure, with British Youth Council figures showing it has the backing of at least 314 out of 650 MPs.

Hunt and Hammond arguing about NHS budget increase
According to The Guardian, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Chancellor Philip Hammond are in dispute over a funding increase for the NHS. Hunt wants the NHS budget to grow by at least £5.2bn a year but Hammond favours an increase of around £3.25bn. The Prime Minister is expected to announce an increase around 7 July, the NHS’s 70th birthday.

Prime Minister ‘blasted’ by Grenfell families
The Daily Mirror says that families of those who died in the fire at Grenfell Tower have ‘blasted’ the Prime Minister following a meeting. The relatives want new members to be added to the panel leading the public inquiry, with a petition on the topic to be debated by MPs on Monday. However, Theresa May refused to commit herself either way in the meeting.

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Brexit

Political Headlines – Brexit deadline, NHS data sharing, Leveson II defeated and BoJo’s commitment to Iran deal

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Today’s Political Headlines include extending the Brexit deadline, NHS data sharing, Leveson II defeated and Johnson commits to Iran deal. 

Brexiteers suggest extending transition to break customs deadlock
The Sun claims that Brexiteers, including Theresa May’s former special adviser Nick Timothy and allies of Michael Gove, are suggesting extending the Brexit transition period to break deadlock over customs plans. This would give more time for their preferred ‘maximum facilitation’ plan to be implemented. May was reportedly planning to use a meeting of the Cabinet’s Brexit subcommittee on Tuesday to adopt an amended version of her plans for a customs partnership, but the paper claims that signs of a compromise are emerging.

Government stops forcing NHS to share data with Home Office
The Guardian reports that the Government has suspended arrangements under which the NHS shared patients’ data with the Home Office so that it could identify people breaking immigration rules. Opponents had warned that the policy was scaring some people away from seeking NHS care. The change was announced during a debate on the Data Protection Bill, with the Government accepting an amendment tabled by Conservative Dr Sarah Wollaston (Chair of the Health Committee) and Labour’s Dr Paul Williams.

Labour attempt to launch part two of Leveson defeated
The Guardian reports that the Government managed to narrowly defeat a Labour attempt to start the second phase of the Leveson inquiry in a House of Commons vote yesterday. Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Matt Hancock hailed ‘a great day for a free and fair press’ but Ed Miliband accused the Conservatives of breaking a pledge to phone-hacking victims and of giving the DUP what it has called ‘a Leveson for Northern Ireland’.

Johnson pledges UK commitment to Iran deal
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told the House of Commons yesterday that the UK has ‘no intention of walking away’ from the Iran nuclear deal, despite the USA having pulled out. As the BBC reports, Sir Michael Fallon, Defence Secretary when the deal was signed, said that President Trump’s criticism of the ‘rather flimsy agreement’ was justified.

Tory MPs call for House of Lords to be overhauled
The Daily Mail says that ‘leading Tory MPs’ including Iain Duncan Smith, Bernard Jenkin, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Daniel Kawczynski have called for reform of the House of Lords after it amended the EU (Withdrawal) Bill 14 times. Duncan Smith called for a ‘complete and total overhaul’ while Rees-Mogg said that peers ‘are completely obsessed by the European Union.’

Williamson criticised over leak
According to The Times, ‘senior Conservatives’ and Number 10 have criticised Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson accusing him of playing politics with the Northern Irish peace process and leaking plans to set up a historical murders unit. The Daily Mail reports that service records of troops who served in the province are to be handed over to police.

May to face criticism over Erdoğan visit
The Financial Times says that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will start a three-day visit to the UK on Sunday, meeting both the Queen and Theresa May. The paper says the Prime Minister is likely to face criticism as the visit will be during snap elections which have been criticised by opposition and human rights groups.

Grayling announces digital railway overhaul
The BBC reports that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is to announce a digital overhaul of the rail network. Network Rail will aim for 70% of journeys to benefit from digital technology by 2033, with new signalling improving frequency and capacity and reducing failures.

Find out more about Vuelio political services and how they can help you. 

FuturePRoof

#FuturePRoof: Cultural Graffiti and Sanctioned Dissent

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The third edition of Sarah Hall’s #FuturePRoof, which focuses on communications within the NHS, launched yesterday. The 25 chapters, from 25 authors, provide key insight to both the inner workings of the NHS and to best practice in the communications industry. In this post, we’ll be looking at the chapter by social leadership consultant Julian Stodd, and what comms can learn from cultural graffiti and sanctioned dissent.

Stodd argues that in society, graffiti is ‘a voice that is claimed, not granted’. In our organisations there is ‘cultural graffiti’, which is when opinions and views are shared without fear of consequence. This ‘graffiti’ resides solely on social.

For the NHS, this is perhaps a more obvious phenomenon – sometimes anonymous, often critical but generally constructive doctors, nurses and patients discuss the NHS on social, outside their ‘formal’ space. Sometimes this grabs national headlines, the #ImInWorkJeremy hashtag was used widely when the health secretary criticised doctors for ‘not working seven-day weeks’.

Cultural graffiti is also apparent in other organisations; social has become the platform for office grumbles, unfiltered company news and customer complaints.

Stodd says that formal power doesn’t reach social spaces, ‘where cultural graffiti is scrawled and shared’. As such, organisations cannot control them and instead need to understand ‘social leadership’ and its fuel: reputation.

Social status is based on reputation, which on social is granted by communities. What’s significant is that social leaders don’t necessarily have formal power or any authority in traditional societal structures, so social leaders are easily overlooked or, worse still, underestimated.

Jack Monroe is a prime example – the budget food writer who won her Twitter libel case against Katie Hopkins, often has to explain on Twitter how, despite her social reputation (she has 126K followers), she still struggles to make ends meet. Her social fame and influence obviously does not translate to formal structures, but her social status is unquestionable.

So how does an organisation manage cultural graffiti?

Stodd says organisations need to listen and learn, which is simple enough. But more than that, he says as with real graffiti, organisations should sanction dissent. Graffiti artists know there are places they’re allowed to work, certain shops or spaces where graffiti has been allowed. For Stodd, organisations need to sanction cultural graffiti and understand the stories being told, wherever they’re being told.

We all know that social is the dominant force of storytelling in our society and it should be part of every comms professional’s strategy. Just because Wetherspoons closed all of its social accounts, that doesn’t mean it is exempt from cultural graffiti. The fact it no longer seems to care what’s happening on social could be a big mistake, as staff, customers and suppliers are free to discuss the company and tell their own stories.

Communications is all about telling the story you want to tell and if you lose control of the storytelling process, you lose control of the story. If we take the time to understand cultural graffiti, and how others tell our story, we can regain control of the conversation.

Do you listen to and understand cultural graffiti in your organisation? Or do you think it’s better to ignore the dissent? Let us know on our social space: @Vuelio.

#FuturePRoof: The NHS at 70 with Lessons for the Wider PR Community, comes highly recommended and is available online.

Curiously Conscious

Kindness, convenience and joy: Curiously Conscious

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Besma Whayeb is the author of Curiously Conscious, the ethical lifestyle blog that was recently named in the Top 10 UK Green Blogs. Focusing on sacrifice-free ethical living, Besma writes about everything from natural make up to renting clothes. We caught up with Besma to talk about sustainability, working with brands in a beneficial way and technology connecting the green community.

What makes your blog unique?
My blog focuses on ways to live kinder that are convenient and add joy. It’s about being ethical and eco-friendly without making sacrifices!

Will we ever live in a fully sustainable world?
I don’t believe it’s possible to be 100% sustainable, however, there are so many ways we can get close to that. Renewable energy, electric cars, and better distribution of resources will accelerate us to a more sustainable world.

What are the biggest eco/green trends that we should all be aware of?
With Fashion Revolution Week just finished, there was a lot of talk about plant-based leather alternatives, and demanding transparency from fashion brands. Food-wise, more brands are moving towards sustainability rather than vegan/plant-based niches. And beauty is all about harnessing the power of plants to produce makeup that looks good and nourishes skin.

How is technology helping us be more environmentally aware?
Technology has been a brilliant way to connect the green community – no matter where our specific interests lie – and has seen ethical and eco blogging really grow.

Who do you think has the most responsibility when it comes to the environment (individuals/industry/media/government etc)?
Industry can make the biggest, and quickest change, but it’s hard to encourage whole businesses to move away from a focus on profit to also consider people and the planet. It’s why I write to inspire individual changes, and call on brands to take note – our demand for ethics will encourage the supply of better business practices.

How do you like to work with PRs and brands?
I’m particular about the brands I work with, as I’d like them to really benefit from featuring on my blog or social channels. In this way, I like to form relationships with PRs or Brand Reps, and work on a series of posts or sponsored content that is created specifically to achieve a campaign’s aims. I respect they understand their brand’s strengths, and they respect that I understand my audience’s preferences.

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What are your favourite campaigns or collaborations that you’ve been part of?
I enjoyed being a Brand Ambassador for Yushoi last year; my posts were centred around finding balance, which is something I really encourage. I also found working with Fat Face was incredibly popular, especially with their organic cotton ranges, which shows how much demand is out there for ethical high street brands. And a personal favourite has to be visiting MacDonald Hotels’ Monchique Hotel & Spa in the Algarve – a truly five-star experience all round.

What do you call yourself (blogger/content creator/influencer etc)?
I’m a blogger first, but I think the term influencer is better considering the amount of work that goes into my social channels is equal to the time spent writing.

What other blogs do you read?
Other than my fellow bloggers in the Top 10 Green Blogs list, I love The Good Trade, Make It Last and Simply Liv & Co.

Besma and Curiously Conscious are both listings on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, vloggers, journalists, editors and opportunities. 

Parliament

Political Headlines – defeat in the Lords, Iran, Windrush and Northern Ireland

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Today’s Political Headlines include Government defeat in the Lords (again), the Iran deal, Windrush errors and clashes over Northern Ireland. 

Government defeated by peers in single market vote
The Guardian reports that a shock defeat for the Government in the Lords will lead to MPs voting on remaining in the European Economic Area. 83 Labour peers voted against the party’s whip on an amendment for continued membership of the EEA. The Times says that Boris Johnson has dared Theresa May to fire him, with friends indicating that he has no intention of resigning despite describing the Prime Minister’s favoured customs plan as ‘crazy’. The Daily Telegraph suggests that May could bypass deadlock over this plan by putting it to the full Cabinet, rather than its Brexit sub-committee. According to the Financial Times, the Department for International Trade will get an additional £10m to prevent the loss of trade promotion jobs.

UK remains committed to Iran deal, despite US withdrawal
The BBC reports that the UK has insisted that it remains committed to the Iran nuclear deal, despite the decision of US President Donald Trump to abandon it. In a joint statement with France and Germany, the Prime Minister said that the agreement ‘remains important for our shared security’. Labour accused the President of a ‘reckless, senseless and immoral act of diplomatic sabotage’.

Home Office warned about Windrush errors five years ago
According to The Guardian, the Home Office was warned that Windrush generation residents had been incorrectly classified as being in the country illegally as long ago as 2013. The paper says that this undermines claims made by the department that it had thought that only a small number of people were affected by the scandal.

Cabinet clashes over plans to investigate killings by troops in Northern Ireland
The Sun claims that Cabinet ministers have clashed over plans to set up a new investigation unit into all 302 killings by troops during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The plans, put forward by Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley, will now be decided on by the Prime Minister after they were attacked by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Brexit Secretary David Davis.

Hugh Grant urges MPs to vote for press reforms
The Daily Telegraph says that Hugh Grant has been persuading Conservative MPs to vote for Labour amendments which the paper claims amount to ‘curbs on press freedom’. Grant held a series of one-on-one meetings, and ten Conservative MPs are considering rebelling against the Government. Writing in the paper, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Matt Hancock claims that the measures would ‘undermine the freedom of our press’.

Abrahams ousted from Labour’s frontbench after bullying investigation
The BBC reports that Debbie Abrahams has been sacked as Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary following an investigation into claims of workplace bullying. Abrahams, who was suspended from the role earlier this year, claims that the probe was ‘neither thorough, fair, nor independent’ and ‘strongly refutes’ the claims.

Heidi Alexander quits as MP
As The Guardian reports, Heidi Alexander is to stand down as the Labour MP for Lewisham East to take up the role of London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, replacing Val Shawcross. The paper suggests that the Labour candidacy will prompt a battle between Momentum, trades unionists and Labour centrists, who control the local party’s executive.

Security firms could be banned from helping EU with Galileo programme
The Times claims the Government is investigating ways of banning technology companies from transferring sensitive information to Europe, if the EU blocks the UK from the Galileo satellite navigation system. The paper claims that there is ‘growing alarm in Westminster’ that the EU’s approach could threaten the future defence and security co-operation treaty.

Vuelio political services are available to discuss your political needs. 

TraveLynn Family

Around the world with the TraveLynn Family

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The TraveLynn Family is mum Jenny, dad Jason and boys Arthur (four) and Ezra (two). They travel around the world, truly embracing a global sense of wanderlust and living abroad. We caught up with Jenny who told us about the misunderstood safety of travelling with young children, planning school around travel and working with PRs and brands.

family travel blogWhat makes your blog unique?
I write about adventure family travel with young kids. My boys are just two and four years old and already they have been hiking in the Nepalese Himalaya, meditated with monks in Thailand, slept on overnight trains in India, and walked alongside giraffes in Malawi. As parents, my husband and I try to push the boundaries of family travel and are on a mission to dispel the myth that adventure travel needs to wait until the kids are older.

Before the kids came along, my husband and I were avid intrepid travellers and we soon realised that we only had to adjust are travel style slightly to continue our passion. In fact, I am currently writing this from the shores of Lake Malawi! We’re six weeks into a four month overland trip through Africa in a Land Rover Defender with roof tents. We started in Johannesburg and are making our way through Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana. Before this, we were living in India and called Bangalore our home for a year. We moved for my husband’s work and took advantage of all the new travel adventures possible on our doorstep; including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand and as much of India as possible.

How does ‘regular’ family life fit around travelling?
We still have a bedtime routine, battle tantrums, and negotiate the never-ending demands from our kids. We are still very much a regular family. Travel just creates a different backdrop to the challenges of parenting life, and offers different sensory playgrounds and novelties as we investigate new places together. Where we are perhaps different from your regular family is that we prioritise travel and take every available opportunity possible for adventure.

How are/will the kids be schooled?
My kids are not yet of schooling age, so thankfully we don’t yet have to negotiate term dates. As we’ve been living in India and now on a long-term travel adventure, they haven’t really experienced the nursery/pre-school system that so many kids have in the UK. However, we have playdates whenever and wherever possible, always stop for a playground, and I also have a bag of crafts, LEGO and magazines that comes everywhere with us. We find that our boys learn so much on the road from all the different experiences and social interactions. Plus, with all the quality family time together while travelling, we find they blossom.

However, come September, our eldest will be starting school. It will then be an interesting ball game managing our love of adventure family travel around the restrictions of term time. We’re still just working all that out.

What’s your best advice for people thinking about going travelling with families?
Don’t wait. These early years flash by so quickly in a sleep-deprived blur. Do something amazing that will create everlasting memories. Just travel slow, always have snacks handy, and take lots of photos.

TraveLynn

What’s the best thing/place/experience you’ve had as a family while travelling?
This is a tough one as we really have so many amazing experiences to choose from. I could say it is reaching the summit of Poon Hill at 3,120m in Nepal, watching the sun rise over the Taj Mahal, or witnessing a herd of elephants bathing in the wilderness of South Africa. However, the best ‘thing’ about family travel for us is time. It’s the time to be on our own schedule, time not distracted by other commitments, time to just simply share day by day experiences together. Some of my fondest memories of this current trip in Africa is watching the boys put on a ‘show’ in the evenings by the fire, races into the sea after a long day on the road, or just snuggled in our tent together reading a book. It’s the time to actually stop and appreciate the little things.

Is the world a scary place with such young children?
Not at all. We find that travelling with young kids breaks down those barriers with strangers. People are often inquisitive of the boys and want to chat to us; even the hardest haggler in India cracks a smile with the boys around. It’s truly wonderful seeing the world through their eyes. Things can go wrong when travelling and the boys are completely oblivious to them. If anything, they normalise stressful situations.

Where haven’t you been that you still want to visit?
Oh, so many places! We are yet to explore much of the Americas. There’s still so much of Europe; Scandinavia and Greece have been on my list for far too long. And Antarctica – the ultimate adventure destination.

What should PRs and brands know about you?
I keep it real and push the boundaries. Adventure travel with kids so young of course has its challenges, but I want to inspire my readers to take on those challenges and reap the rewards.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

What’s the best collaboration you’ve work on?
I’ve recently been collaborating with Malawi Tourism to demonstrate Malawi as a safe and wonderful destination to travel with young kids.

What do you call yourselves (bloggers/content creators/influencers etc)?
I prefer travel blogger or travel writer.

What other blogs do you read?
I’ve made some wonderful friends through my blogging journey so far. It really is a such a supportive network. Other family travel bloggers I follow from the UK include: Wandermust Family, Globetotting, Go Live Young, Mini Travellers, Mummy Travels, Tin Box Traveller, Travel Mad Mum – there are so many to mention!

The TraveLynn Family is listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, vloggers, journalists, editors and opportunities. 

FuturePRoof sarah hall

#FuturePRoof: The NHS at 70

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The third edition of #FuturePRoof launches today and documents communications in the greatest of British institutions – the NHS. Edited by Sarah Hall, agency owner and CIPR President, this edition of #FuturePRoof is a unique insight into every level and type of comms taking place in one of the world’s largest employers.

FuturePRoof CIPRTitled, ‘The NHS at 70 with Lessons for the Wider PR Community’, the book features 25 essays written by a broad range of stakeholders, from those at the coalface enacting plans to those on the outside looking in.

It not only explains and recommends best practice for anyone working in any part of communications in the NHS– including real-life case studies with genuine results – it also delivers genuine insight and inspiration for the wider comms industry.

What’s the best way to engage disparate sub cultures within an organisation? How can new technology help change public attitudes? How do you measure the success of any of your campaigns?

#FuturePRoof delivers answers to all of these questions and more – always using the NHS and the brilliant people who work within it to provide lessons for the wider PR community.

Even the few niche NHS-specific elements are fascinating to an outsider; did you know emergency departments see more people in summer than winter?

This is the third crowdsourced book in the #FuturePRoof series, edited by top 10 PR blogger Sarah Hall. She said: ‘As you’d expect the book is once again jam packed with expertise from a forward-thinking cohort of comms leaders and advisers, striving to reinforce the strategic value of public relations within their organisations.

‘There are some very clear take outs and perhaps the biggest lesson for management teams, communicators and the wider public relations community is to embrace transparency, invest in skills and use real people to lead debate.’

The contributors for the book are, like millions of people in the country, hugely in favour of the NHS, and healthcare that’s free at the point of delivery. Though that doesn’t mean the book ignores issues within the organisation, rather it highlights how creative ideas can solve issues why comms professionals are best placed to turn the NHS’s fortunes around.

Sarah said: ‘The book comes at a critical point in the NHS’s history. The organisation is a living breathing case study of comms innovation as it manages competing political agendas and stretched budgets, while communicating ever more frequently with an increasing number of people with complex needs.

‘How its many teams join forces to implement one approach at scale is a pressing challenge as the face of healthcare as we know it changes radically.’

It goes without saying that this book is a must for anyone working in NHS comms, but more than that, everyone in communications (whether public affairs or public relations) can benefit from having #FuturePRoof on the shelf. We’re huge fans and we know you will be too.

#FuturePRoof is available in hard copy and on Kindle via www.futureproofingcomms.co.uk.

Bojo

Political Headlines – Boris Johnson, rail ticket prices and the intergenerational contract

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Today’s Political Headlines include Boris’ criticism of the ‘crazy’ customs plans, rail firms propose fares overhaul, tax old people to fund young people and the reduction in the Department for International Trade. 

Boris criticises ‘crazy’ customs partnership plans
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has told the Daily Mail that Downing Street’s proposed post-Brexit customs partnership plans are ‘crazy’ and would create ‘a whole new web of bureaucracy’. The Daily Telegraph has spoken to Jacob Rees-Mogg, chair of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, who tells the paper that Boris Johnson would be ‘more aggressive’ in negotiations than Theresa May, but that this could lead to a better deal. According to The Guardian, more work is being done on the customs proposals and they will not be discussed at this week’s cabinet Brexit sub-committee.

Rail firms to propose fares overhaul
The Times carries the news that rail companies are to propose what the paper calls ‘the biggest overhaul of the fares system since privatisation’. A public consultation will begin next month, with a report containing recommendations for the Government to be published in late autumn. Issues expected to be addressed include ‘split ticketing’, journeys which are both peak and off-peak, and part-time season tickets.

Give 25-year-olds £10,000 to fix intergenerational contract, think tank say
The Guardian says that a think tank has called for every person in Britain to receive £10,000 when they turn 25 in order to tackle the ‘broken’ intergenerational contract between millennials and baby boomers. The suggestion is made in the final report of the Resolution Foundation’s intergenerational commission, chaired by former Conservative minister David Willetts.

Department for International Trade axes 10% of trade promotion jobs
The Financial Times reports that the Department for International Trade is to cut hundreds of jobs promoting UK exports to countries such as China and Brazil, undermining the Government’s claims to be creating a ‘global Britain’. 10% of trade promotion jobs are expected to be cut owing to a budget squeeze which has pitted International Trade Secretary Liam Fox against the Treasury.

Williamson says that the UK is considering creating its own satellite navigation system
The Daily Telegraph says that it has been told by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson that the UK has ordered experts to start drawing-up plans for the UK’s own £3bn satellite navigation system as a replacement for the EU’s Galileo scheme. He has suggested that it could be delivered in partnership with countries such as Japan, South Korea or Australia.

MPs to debate children ‘farmed out’ to care homes
The BBC reports that Labour MP Ann Coffey is to use a Commons debate to accuse the Government of breaking a promise to cut the number of children being ‘farmed out’ to children’s homes out of their area, warning that they could fall prey to paedophile and drugs gangs. The Daily Telegraph quotes Nadhim Zahawi, the children’s minister, as saying that children from broken homes should have the right to keep in touch with their grandparents.

Labour MPs revive progressive alliance debate
According to The Guardian, MPs from different wings of the Labour Party have revived the debate about a progressive alliance. Jon Cruddas and Clive Lewis have signed a letter to the paper calling for the reinstatement of three members expelled for supporting a National Health Action candidate against Jeremy Hunt at the last general election.

Editors criticise Labour press regulation amendments
The Times reports that editors have criticised two Labour amendments to the Data Protection Bill, which will be voted on tomorrow. They have warned that the amendments would ‘harm local democracy’ and ‘bring in stricter press regulation by the back door’. One would impose sanctions on publishers that didn’t join a state-recognised regulator, while the other would establish a new Leveson-style inquiry.

Vuelio political services can meet your bespoke political needs.  

May 4th

Five Things: Cambridge Analytica, Sainsbury’s, Elon Musk, Wright Stuff and Kanye West

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HAPPY STAR WARS DAY. This week’s top five things you shouldn’t have missed includes Cambridge Analytica’s demise, Sainsbury’s PR mistake, Elon Musk’s sales call, the end of The Wright Stuff and the latest Kanye Kontroversy.

 

1. Farewell Cambridge Analytica

Demise

Just when you thought a company had really got to know you, it files for bankruptcy. Cambridge Analytica, which was at the centre of the recent Facebook data scandal, has commenced insolvency proceedings. The official statement blamed ‘unfounded accusations’, which led to it being ‘vilified for activities that are not only legal, but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas’.

Thanks to the pesky media reporting on the one-way-mirror-equivalent of corporate transparency, ‘virtually all’ of the company’s customers and suppliers have been driven away. There are now questions being raised about whether Cambridge Analytica, or its staff, will rise from the ashes and continue to operate in the shady world of political profiling.

As for Facebook, the social giant seems to have managed to leave the scandal behind – its earnings and results do not reflecting a company in crisis. However, with plans to get into the online dating game – where the level of processed personal data is extraordinary – the data issues may not be over.

 

2. We’re in the money!

 

In PR whoopsie of the week, Mike Coupe, CEO of Sainsbury’s, was filmed singing ‘We’re in the Money’ from the musical 42nd Street. He was, at the time, waiting to be interviewed by ITV about his company’s proposed £10bn merger with Asda.

As reported by the Guardian (which, incidentally, is serving up sidebar ads for Waitrose next to the story), Coupe expects Sainsbury’s to make £500m in extra profit from the deal. In a follow-up statement from the company, Coupe is quoted as saying: ‘It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street, which I saw last year. And I apologise if I have offended anyone’.

Straight-faced, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: ‘We all know these songs stay in your head. To attach any wider meaning to this innocent, personal moment is preposterous.’

Preposterous.

 

3. Elon Musk being Elon Musk

Tesla

Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, took the unusual move of agreeing to let a YouTuber ask a question during an earnings call. Gali Russell is an NYU grad student and retail investor who owns 54 shares in Tesla, which he says is ‘pretty much my entire portfolio’. He tweeted Musk with the backing of 150 shareholders to see if he could ask a crowdsourced question; Musk replied, ‘Ok’.

Musk used the YouTuber to avoid answering standard earnings-call questions from analysts about business and finance. While he was saying, ‘Boring bonehead questions are not cool. Next. We’re going to go to YouTube. Sorry, these questions are so dry. They’re killing me,’ Tesla’s share price was tanking.

Russell’s questions focused on tech and Musk encouraged him to ask more and more – in total the YouTuber managed 10 while on the call. This approach may be appropriately quirky for Elon Musk but it’s a misstep in terms of company PR – the analysts were unimpressed and still suggest Musk’s optimism for the company’s success is unfounded.

 

4. No more Wright Stuff

Matthew Wright

Matthew Wright, host of Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, has announced he is stepping down from his role after 18 years. The weekday mornings current affairs programme is one of Channel 5’s flagships and the channel has confirmed the show may continue with a new name and presenter.

Wright blamed the demands on his personal life and said he and Mrs Wright, ‘pass like ships in the night’ as he goes to bed at 7pm and gets up at 3am. BBC’s media editor, Amol Rajan, paints a different picture. The former audience researcher on the programme said: ‘Matthew Wright always said to me that he would stop presenting The Wright Stuff when it stopped being fun.

‘Recently, it stopped being fun.’

He blames the fact the show’s production moved to ITN, which brought huge changes and meant ‘its jovial and fun spirit struggled to make the transition into a new culture’.

Whatever Channel 5 decides to do, come the end of June/early July, there will be a two-hour Matthew Wright-shaped hole in the schedule.

 

5. Kanye West

He may be an international superstar but surely Kanye West’s greatest achievement is now appearing on his second Five Things post – two weeks in a row! Last week we were discussing Kanye’s controversial opinions getting him into trouble after he praised President “We are both dragon energy” Trump. This week, Kanye has upset everyone during an interview with TMZ, by claiming slavery was a ‘choice’.

Kanye said: ‘When you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years?! That sounds like a choice. You was there for 400 years and it’s all of y’all. It’s like we’re mentally in prison. I like the word ‘prison’ because ‘slavery’ goes too direct to the idea of blacks. Slavery is to blacks as the Holocaust is to Jews. Prison is something that unites as one race, blacks and whites, that we’re the human race.’

After he explains this radical viewpoint, TMZ staff member Van Lathan piles into Kanye for ‘not thinking’. Kanye tried to clarify his views on Twitter (where else!). I can’t believe anyone missed this, but if you did – here’s the video:

Polling day local elections

Political Headlines – local elections, by-election, John Bercow and departments in the dark

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Today’s Political Headlines include mixed local election results, Sinn Féin’s Órfhlaith Begley wins West Tyrone by-election, more claims against John Bercow and departments in the dark. 

Mixed results for Conservatives and Labour in England local elections
Results are coming in from the local elections across the country, with 150 areas electing councillors, including all London boroughs. The Independent reports that although early results indicated that Labour had made gains in London they failed to take key London councils such as Barnet, Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth and Westminster. The Guardian reports that on a varied night for the leading parties, early analysis suggested a 1% swing to the Conservatives outside London, but a swing to Labour in the capital.

Sinn Féin’s Órfhlaith Begley wins West Tyrone by-election
Sinn Féin’s Órfhlaith Begley has won the West Tyrone by-election. The poll was triggered by the resignation of Sinn Féin’s Barry McElduff in January. The turnout was 55.13%. The BBC reports that police arrested a man on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent following an incident at a polling station in Greencastle. It is understood after handing over his ballot paper, the man produced what appeared to be a handgun.

Further claims have emerged against speaker John Bercow
According to The Guardian, Bercow has faced fresh allegations of bullying, with parliament’s former Black Rod saying John Bercow’s ‘intemperate behaviour’ is ‘unworthy of someone in such public office’. It comes as Downing Street backed calls for a full investigation into bullying in Parliament, after former private secretary Angus Sinclair claimed Mr Bercow had verbally abused him and smashed a phone on a desk in a fit of rage. 

Committee report finds that Defra and International Trade departments are ‘in the dark’ over Brexit preparations
The BBC reports that a report from the Public Accounts Committee has found that the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Department for International Trade face an unprecedented challenge in preparing for Brexit. The two departments appear to lack a ‘clear plan’ of priorities.

European parliament and commission to keep UK outpost at former Conservative HQ
The Guardian has an exclusive report explaining how the EU plans to defy Tory Brexiteers and retain its offices in London. High-profile Brexiters had called last year for the EU to hand back the large red-brick building that was previously Margaret Thatcher’s headquarters and the scene of her general election victories.

Vuelio political services can decode the confusing local election haze with bespoke political reports.  

Pr and comms stats

86,000 people work in PR and communications

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The UK PR and comms industry has grown nearly 4% since 2016, when the industry had just 83,000 people. New figures from the PRCA’s 2018 Census also reveal the industry is now worth £13.8bn, up 7% from 2016.

The comprehensive survey, which took information and views from nearly 1,700 respondents, was launched at Golin on Tuesday 1 May by PRCA director general Francis Ingham and PRWeek’s editor-in-chief Danny Rogers.

Among a whole host of detailed revelations, the study revealed the gender pay gap within the industry; something that’s been largely impossible up till now because most organisations don’t meet the 250-employee threshold set by the Government for mandatory gender pay gap reporting.

The average salary across the whole industry is £45,950, but for women it’s just £42,588 and men its £53,952. This 21% gender pay gap is even more shocking when we consider that 66% of the industry is female, suggesting that women fill the more common junior roles while men take the fewer senior roles.

This formed part of the discussion at the launch event, as both Ingham and Rogers were questioned about the gender pay gap. Somewhat putting the two successful men on the spot, an attendee asked what women could do to earn as much as their male counterparts. Both suggested through their own experience, it’s about asking for it and knowing your own worth, and suggested more pay transparency could be useful.

The census also looks at ethnic diversity, and reveals that 78% of the industry is white British, which is the first time it has been more diverse than the country (though it still falls short of the London diversity levels, where the majority of the industry is based). Beyond British, the industry is 89% white, which is a 2% decrease from 2016; no other ethnic grouping makes up more than 1%. There were no details on a diversity pay gap, which was later suggested by an attendee and Ingham agreed it would be looked at in future Censuses.

One of the most surprising areas of the census is the section on evaluation. It reports that 24% of professionals recognise the Barcelona Principles 2.0 over other valuation methods, while 12% still use AVEs. The use of AVEs is dropping, down 4% since 2016, but what’s perhaps more concerning is the lack of a replacement.

A huge 33% of the industry does not use any evaluation methods, while 20% use blended methods of existing frameworks and other tools or in-house models. As the post-launch discussion revealed, the industry is in desperate need for standardisation in this area, to prove its value and increase its professional status.

Ingham said that PRs would never be loved, but he thinks the industry should be respected. He likened the role of comms to that of finance or legal – you don’t need to be shouting about the work for people to know how vital it is. When asked if more could be done to regulate the industry to improve its reputation, Ingham pointed to the expulsion of Bell Pottinger from the PRCA last year, and said, ‘On the same day, 17 agencies joined the PRCA’.

The full report is available online, and allows an entire industry to benchmark both individual company practices and compare against everyone else in the market. Hopefully the positive trends we’ve seen toward a more diverse industry will continue, while those worrying signs of a lack of standardisation and professionalism will be addressed.

Relevance International

Relevance International wins The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

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Relevance International has won a four-way public relations pitch to be named global lead agency for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The annual list of the planet’s finest dining experiences also includes a host of other awards from ‘Chef’s Choice’ to ‘Best Female Chef’.

Relevance has been awarded the brief, which includes global brand strategy, media and influencer relations, and event support for the 16th annual awards taking place on 19 June 2018, in Bilbao, Spain. It is the first time The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has hired a UK-US based firm to handle its PR strategy.

Hélène Pietrini, Director of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: ‘We selected Relevance International as our public relations firm knowing they will be an invaluable strategic and creative global communications partner for us, helping to position us as a tastemaker and enhance our global media coverage.

‘With their proven track record of representing hospitality and lifestyle brands around the world, the team at Relevance is perfectly positioned to support our interaction with the global culinary-savvy community throughout the year.’

Relevance has recently launched its Hospitality division in both London and New York, as the agency continues to grow around the world. Specialising in real estate, luxury goods, hospitality, design and corporate PR, Relevance International offers a unique level of client service on a global scale. Vuelio’s recent webinar with Suzanne Rosnowski, CEO and founder of Relevance International, revealed the agency’s ambition to move into more markets and represent more global brands in an increasingly globalised world.

Commenting on the latest client win, Suzanne said: ‘It’s an honour to be the appointed communications partner for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. We are very proud to be working with such a prolific brand that shines a light on emerging cuisines and the very best chefs and restaurants around the world.

‘From our office locations in both London and New York, Relevance will tap into our carefully curated global affiliate network, in order to give The World’s 50 Best Restaurants the attention it deserves at a global level. As well as being avid foodies, our team has a genuine love of all things food and travel, so this truly is the perfect account win for us.’

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has benefitted from the rise in gastro-tourism and it is now considered a compass for fledgling gourmets who revel in its unique insight into global culinary trends and the fact it showcases incredibly skilled chefs.

One such chef is Clare Smyth, who has been named elit Vodka World’s Best Female Chef 2018. It is the first time the award has been presented to a UK chef, and is for her work at Core by Clare Smyth in Notting Hill, London. Perhaps best known for being Gordan Ramsey’s protégée, Clare has, for some time now, been a name in her own right. The recent award is the cherry on the top of Clare’s impressive rise, and has gained a great deal of attention in the global media.

Check out Clare’s journey to winning the award, which will be presented at The World’s Best 50 Restuaurants in June:

Make Wealth history

The number 1 green blog in the UK: Make Wealth History

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Jeremy Williams writes the Top UK Green Blog, Make Wealth History. Covering a whole range of environmental and sustainable issues, Jeremy believes that true change comes from the people. We spoke to Jeremy about the latest in green innovations, global environmental trends working with PRs.

What makes your blog unique?
I’m curious about lots of different things, so the blog is a fairly unusual mix of sustainability, development, politics, architecture, green tech and all sorts. And I focus on solutions. There’s plenty of bad news out there, and I’ll cover that, but I want the blog to inspire people to action rather than make them depressed about the state of the world.

Will we ever live in a fully sustainable world?
Yes, although there are two ways to end up in a sustainable world. One is to design it and shift towards it deliberately. The other is to wreck things so badly that industrial civilization becomes impossible. I’m a big advocate of the first approach, naturally.

What are the biggest eco/green trends at the moment that we should all be aware of?
For a long time, people have been predicting that renewable energy would fall in price until it became cheaper than fossil fuels, and then the shift could really accelerate. We’re at that point right about now. Look out in a couple of years’ time for a similar moment when electric cars cost the same as petrol ones.

How is technology helping us be more environmentally aware?
I’m a big fan of smart meters that allow us to see how much energy we’re using in real time. It definitely makes me more aware of what I’m using and how I can reduce it. I also really value phone apps that help me to identify birds, trees or wildflowers.

Who do you think has the most responsibility when it comes to the environment (individuals/industry/media/government etc)?
Responsibility is shared, but if you think about it, businesses won’t move unless the Government tells them to, and Government won’t move unless the voters call for it. So, it’s up to us to kick up a fuss.

How do you like to work with PRs and brands?
I’m fairly choosy about who I work with, as I often have to critique corporations or bad business practice, and I don’t want to be a hypocrite! But I do have regular book reviews and host affiliate links for books.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

What are your favourite campaigns or collaborations that you’ve been part of?
I’m an ambassador for Kiva, the microfinance charity, and I love being able to point people to what they do.

What do you call yourself (blogger/content creator/influencer etc)?
I call myself a writer and campaigner if I’m talking about my broader work, as I also write books and research reports and all sorts of other things. But I’m happy to call myself a blogger when I’m talking about the blog.

What other blogs do you read?
There are lots that I check in on occasionally, but I’ll give a shout to Carbon Brief, Circulate News, From Poverty to Power and The Climate Lemon as some of my favourites.

Jeremy Williams and Make Wealth History are both listed on the Vuelio Database, along with thousands of other fantastic bloggers, journalists, editors, MPs and SpAds.

NHS

Political Headlines – breast cancer screenings, Windrush, Sajid Javid and the customs union

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Today’s Political Headlines include breast cancer screening failures, Government blocking Windrush disclosures, Sajid Javid siding with the Brexiteers and May’s ultimatum over the customs union. 

NHS breast cancer screening error
In a statement made yesterday by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, it was announced that around 450,000 women in England missed out on breast cancer screening due to a technical error. The Telegraph has reported that a nurse has accused the NHS of a ‘cover up’ after she and thousands of others fell victim to the biggest cancer scandal in the health service’s history. 

MPs vote against Windrush disclosures
The Guardian reports that the Government has defeated a Labour motion in the Commons seeking access to documents laying out the policies behind the Windrush crisis. Labour had hoped to force the Government to release documents about its immigration policy relating to people who came to the UK from Commonwealth countries. The Financial Times reports that the Prime Minister has announced an inquiry into what went wrong with the Windrush scandal, promising a review with ‘full access to all relevant information in the Home Office’.

Sajid Javid sides with hard-Brexiteers over the PM’s customs union plan
New Home Secretary and Remain voter Sajid Javid has switched sides to join Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and other Brexiteers in arguing that Mrs May’s preferred option for a customs deal should be ‘killed off’. The Telegraph reports that Theresa May has conceded that her plans for a customs partnership with the EU are ‘dead’ after senior Cabinet ministers turned on her during a crunch Brexit meeting.

May is being given an ultimatum by MPs over customs union
Sky News is reporting that Theresa May is facing huge pressure from pro-Brexit MPs as her feuding Cabinet ministers prepare to meet in a ferocious showdown on Government policy on customs. The Prime Minister’s so-called ‘Brexit war cabinet’ is meeting to attempt to reach a deal on whether the UK should leave Europe’s customs union or enter a ‘customs partnership’.

May and Corbyn clash over council tax bills ahead of local elections
The BBC reports that the two party leaders clashed yesterday over council tax bills ahead of today’s local elections. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Jeremy Corbyn said residents ‘paid more and got less’ from Conservative councils. But May said some residents in Labour-run Lambeth were paying twice as much council tax as those living in neighbouring Conservative Wandsworth.

Sajid Javid challenges Corbyn to condemn hard-left activists 
The Telegraph reports that Javid has challenged Jeremy Corbyn to ‘stamp on’ racist abuse coming from the hard left after the new Home Secretary was subjected to racially-charged abuse following his appointment, including being called a ‘coconut’ and an ‘uncle Tom’. 

PM calls for an investigation into claims of bullying by House of Commons speaker John Bercow
The Guardian reports that John Bercow, has come under mounting pressure after the prime minister called for new claims of bullying against him to be formally investigated. Bercow’s former private secretary alleged in a TV interview that the Speaker was prone to angry outbursts and obscene language.

TSB chief Paul Pester to forfeit £2m bonus in wake of IT meltdown
The Independent has reported that the Chief Executive of TSB will forfeit a £2m bonus payment in the light of an IT failure that left thousands of customers locked out of their accounts. Pester, as well as the bank’s chairman Richard Meddings, appeared before the Treasury Select Committee saying that they had received 40,000 complaints about the outage but did not know exactly how many of the bank’s 1.9 million online customers had been affected.

Vuelio political services can help you with your political needs.  

Brenda Cuby

Make your lives greener with The Green Familia

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Brenda Cuby is the author of The Green Familia, the family-focused eco blog that recently ranked in the Top 10 UK Green Blogs. We caught up with Brenda who told us about becoming more eco-friendly, society’s collective responsibility and working with brands.

What makes your blog unique?
We are aimed at those who wish to make green changes to their lives one step at a time.

Will we ever live in a fully sustainable world?
We need to believe in this and hope that by encouraging everyone to make changes that this will become a reality.

What are the biggest eco/green trends at the moment that we should all be aware of?
There is a shift in the plastic-free movements and this will keep pushing for those changes to be further followed through. The use of electric cars is something that is coming with all the major car companies now investing in this. As our natural supplies erode, we will see more people taking an interest in this area.

How is technology helping us be more environmentally aware?
Technology can be a big help with apps on your smartphone to help you control your heating, encouraging us all to be more eco-friendly.

Who do you think has the most responsibility when it comes to the environment (individuals/industry/media/government etc)?
We all have a collective responsibility to stand up and be counted. Individuals, by making changes to their buying habits, will force industry to make the changes needed. The media has a huge part to play and if they can showcase the valid and good reasons as to why we should all be turning our focus to a more ethical way of living then that is great, but again they will only do this if their paymasters i.e. industry, come on board. The Government should lead by example, if they made the changes needed to their departments it would soon filter down.

How do you like to work with PRs and brands?
I love to receive content from them that is unique and fits my audience, so I like them to work with me and not just send me any old press release.

What are your favourite campaigns or collaborations that you’ve been part of?
There have been many small Kickstarter companies like Ohyo bags through to the big companies like British Gas.

What do you call yourself (blogger/content creator/influencer etc)?
I call myself an ethical blogger.

What other blogs do you read?
My Zero Waste, The Rubbish Diet, Moral Fibres and Eco Thrifty Living to name a few.

CIPR

CIPR income rises to £4.3m

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The CIPR has announced a profit of £4.3m in its financial report, leading to the Institute’s biggest surplus in five years. The report shows that thanks to financial activity across 2017, reserves grew from £417,000 to £613,000.

The Institute cut costs from last year, which, coupled with strong gains across its Membership, Training and Qualification, led to a £230K rise in income. This is despite slight falls in income across its Awards, publishing, governance and groups.

Jason MacKenzie, vice president at the CIPR, said: ‘2017 was a landmark year for the Institute, across both quantitative and qualitative measures. 1,800 new members joined, member retention was higher than in recent years, our turnover was higher than for many years, our costs were down year-on-year, and we produced the largest surplus since 2013.

‘The drive to professionalism continued apace, with more members than ever before committing to continuing professional development, and numbers of Accredited and Chartered Practitioners growing strongly.’

The report also details a gender pay breakdown at the organisation, despite this not being a legal requirement (due to its size). The Institute is 57% female and 43% male but men are more likely to earn more money. Of the 13 men at the company, four earned more than £50K, opposed to the one female member of staff in the same bracket. Women also make up the majority of the lowest bracket: five women earn £15K-£25K opposed to two men.

The board and council are all volunteers so gender representation across the Institute is not completely linked to pay; both the current President and President-elect are female, and the board is majority female. The CIPR has made huge steps this year to improve the diversity of its board and the Institute is committed to reducing the gender pay gap in the PR industry, a pledge that is included in the CIPR Manifesto.

CIPR members have the opportunity to discuss the financial report at the Institute’s AGM in Newcastle on 12 July. The AGM is free to attend and features a talk from the former chair of the Social Mobility Commission, Alan Milburn. Find out more here.

Anne-Marie Lacey Debbie Sharratt

How to improve your influencer relations

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Good relationships are built on trust and transparency – and this is exactly what our next webinar will be exploring.

We are delighted to be joined by Anne-Marie Lacey, managing director of Filament PR and Debbie Sharratt, independent PR practitioner and blogger at My Boys Club, at 2pm on Tuesday 15 May, to talk about improving influencer relations.

Sign up to the webinar here

Giving both the perspective of the PR and the influencer, this unique webinar will provide our audience with an insight into what best practice truly means.

Anne-Marie and Debbie have also written a guest post for us on the topic of ethical and effective influencer relations, explaining how everything from the approach and the pitch to the work and results is improved when ethical best practice is employed.

One of the major areas of influencer relations is disclosure: when to disclose, how to disclose and why to disclose. Our webinar will decode this tricky area and make it easy for you to follow the rules. Anne-Marie and Debbie will also be providing real-life examples to help you get it right first time.

The webinar will also explore:

How to use the ASA guidelines, CAP code, Google rules and social media secrets
Ensure that you not only abide by the rules but that you’re taking advantage of all the opportunities these frameworks offer.

How ethical relationships can boost your brand’s reputation and ROI
It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of working ethically, which should not be seen as a chore but as professional advantage.

What to do if your influencers break the rules
Not everything goes to plan but if you’re working ethically but your influencers don’t want to, what options do you have?

 

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Political Headlines – Bercow accused of bullying, Government collapse, migration scandal and dirty money

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Today’s Political Headlines include Bercow accused of bullying, rebels threatening Government ‘collapse’, May rejected Rudd’s plans to exclude doctors from migration quotas and dirty money. 

Bercow accused of bullying by former private secretary
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Angus Sinclair, John Bercow’s former private secretary accused the Speaker of bullying. By speaking about his experiences, Sinclair was breaking the terms of a non-disclosure agreement signed in 2010, as part of a deal in which he was paid £86,250, but said that he felt that this was ‘in the public interest’. Bercow has denied the accusations, which follow similar ones about Sinclair’s successor, Kate Emms.

Eurosceptic MPs threaten Government ‘collapse’ over customs plans
The Daily Telegraph says that sixty Conservative MPs from the European Research Group led by Jacob Rees-Mogg have sent the Prime Minister a thirty page dossier opposing plans for a post-Brexit customs partnership with the EU, warning that the Government will ‘collapse’ if she continues with them. According to The Guardian, the Cabinet Brexit sub-committee will not decide on the policy today, in order to head off a rebellion.

May rejected plans to exclude doctors from migration quotas
The Financial Times reports that Theresa May rejected calls from Amber Rudd to exempt doctors coming to work in the NHS from quotas for highly skilled migrants and claims that the Home Office may have falsely accused up to 7,000 foreign students of faking their English proficiency and ordered them to leave the country. The Guardian says that Labour is to use a parliamentary procedure to try to force the Government to publish papers relating to the Windrush scandal, The Daily Telegraph raises fears of another scandal over the deportation of highly-skilled migrants for minor tax errors, and The Times reports that ministers are investigating claims that an official received a bonus for deporting illegal migrants.

Government backs down over ‘dirty money’ amendment
The Guardian says that the UK’s overseas territories will be forced to adopt public registers of company ownership by the end of the decade, after the Government conceded its support to a backbench amendment designed to hamper the flow of ‘dirty money’. The amendment was tabled by Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell and Labour MP Margaret Hodge.

Brexit thinktank founder accused of working for Russia
The Times reports that Bob Seely, a Conservative MP, has accused Christopher Chandler, founder of the pro-Brexit thinktank the Legatum Institute of being a suspected Russian agent. He cited security files, authenticated by French, British and American sources. The institute has dismissed the claims as ‘complete nonsense’.

Cabinet ministers warn that local elections could lock Tories out of London
According to The Daily Telegraph, cabinet ministers have privately warned that Thursday’s local elections could lock the Conservatives out of London ‘for a generation’, which could be ‘hugely damaging’ to Theresa May’s leadership. Conservative strongholds such as Westminster or Wandsworth could be lost, the paper suggests.

Hammond threatens to disrupt EU’s Galileo project
The Financial Times claims that Chancellor Philip Hammond wants to undermine the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation project by disrupting the transfer of encryption technology from the UK, following the EU’s decision to bar UK companies from sensitive parts of the project.

Home Office undermining modern slavery strategy, report says
The Times says that a Public Accounts Committee report finds that Home Office failings are undermining the Government’s modern slavery strategy. The report claims the department does not know if the strategy is working and is taking too long to turn it into action.

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