Leaking – Labour’s latest comms strategy?

The overnight leaking of the Labour manifesto has created fresh divisions within the party and delighted aspects of the press, which are calling it the ‘second longest suicide note in history’ (after Michael Foot’s disastrous 1984 manifesto). However there’s no doubting the fact that it’s also skyrocketed the manifesto to the nation’s attention today.  

One of the main questions around the leak is whether it was intended to water down, or set in stone, Labour’s policy announcements. On the right of the party, an early leak could serve to show the radical nature of the reforms and force a retreat from policies which are deemed too left-wing. Over on the left, if these more radical policies are popular with the public it could force members of the National Executive Committee to support them, who otherwise would not have done.

Whatever the motivation, all eyes are now on the Labour party as the Clause V meeting takes place, in which the National Executive Committee meets to thrash out the final version. Campaigns and elections chair Andrew Gwynne today hailed the leak as an ‘’opportunity’’ for the party to set the policy agenda, and it will certainly set a benchmark for the Conservatives to work against.

This isn’t a manifesto for lifelong Tories, but Corbyn was never going to persuade them to vote for him (and probably doesn’t want to). However, as a means to get Labour policies across to voters who are unsure what they stand for, this has been an effective strategy. If all publicity really were good publicity, this would be a winner, but whether they’re popular remains to be seen.