No 10 is planning a multimillion-pound taxpayer-funded campaign to promote Rishi Sunak’s “five priorities”, despite some within the civil service having questioned whether it was too political.
No 10 has been in discussions for months about a campaign from the government communications service supporting Sunak’s missions, on which he has based his prime ministership – halving inflation, expanding the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists and stopping small boats crossing the Channel.
However, sources with knowledge of the campaigns said there has been “pushback” from within Whitehall against Downing Street’s plans for a mass media campaign, questioning whether it fits within the guidelines on propriety.
One source said advisers in No 10 wanted to bolt on messaging about Sunak’s “five priorities” to other campaigns aimed at encouraging the public to take certain actions or change behaviour, as well as promoting the strategy in its own right.
The source said the proposed campaign had been questioned by some within the Government Communication Service (GCS), with concerns that it was too political and that the priorities would be distracting and unnecessary when added to campaign material. However, the source said that it was ultimately likely to go ahead in print and digital form.
Another Whitehall source disputed that characterisation, saying: “There hasn’t been any objection to a communications campaign. We regularly discuss comms priorities to ensure we are supporting policy delivery in the best and most efficient way possible.”
Sunak announced his five priorities as prime minister in January but they also form the basis of Conservative campaigning and are likely to make up the core of his pitch at the next election.
Under the rules, campaigns from the GCS must not be – or liable to be – misrepresented as being party political. The rules state: “It is possible that a well-founded publicity campaign can create political credit for the party in government. But this must not be the primary or a significant purpose of government information or publicity activities paid for from public funds.”
No 10 has already started adding the five priorities to the top of press releases, underlining how crucial it regards the messaging to Sunak’s time in No 10.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “It is a core part of the GCS’s job to explain the policies of government and support the delivery of public services. This government has five priorities and those are to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats.
“GCS would always look at how to support the delivery of the government’s key priorities and that work is ongoing.”
When he announced the plan, the prime minister was widely interpreted as having staked his premiership on delivering his five points by polling day, expected to be in autumn next year, admitting that the government could then be judged to be “delivering for you or not”.
He promised there would be “no tricks” and “no ambiguity” but set out little detail on policy and refused to give a timescale for any of the promises apart from halving inflation.
At the time, he appeared to acknowledge that his time in Downing Street was likely to be defined by his handling of a series of crises including the cost of living, the state of the NHS, strikes and small boat crossings, but he vowed to give the public “peace of mind”.
Labour has dismissed the pledges as being meaningless, saying they are mostly “so easy it would be difficult not to achieve them”.
