Portland

Was this the blame Budget? After several weeks of criticism for failing to seize the agenda, the Chancellor has set out the government’s stall. In headline terms, Rachel Reeves' aim was to show she was on the side of workers: a rise in the minimum wage, a fuel duty freeze, and a cut in duty on draught beer contrasted with an increase in inheritance tax, VAT on private schools and the abolition of the non-dom tax regime. But the pain that runs through the plans left Reeves with two other key goals: 1) to lay the blame for the difficult decisions at the door of the previous Government, and 2) to ensure there was as little kick back as possible from the markets, public and her own backbenchers once she had sat down. For now it looks like she has made a start on both - but whether that will hold in the days and months ahead is far from certain. With significant additional costs placed upon employers and entrepreneurs via increases to the minimum wage, employer National Insurance Contributions and higher Capital Gains Tax, the conversation over whether she has struck the right balance with the private sector is only just getting started. It is now more important than ever for HM Treasury to find ways to work in partnership with the private sector to drive up growth. For businesses looking for opportunities to engage with this agenda, now is a good time to dial up your efforts. The next big moment for the government to deliver on its primary mission will be the Industrial Strategy. Our experts are on standby to help you do this - get in contact if you are interested in working with Portland.

The doyen of tax experts, Dan Neidle, has a long post based on recent polling Portland did on attitudes to - and knowledge of - how tax and spending actually works. Hours and hours of focus groups over the years have taught me that while the British public have generally very sound instincts, they often know very little at all about the technicalities. As we head to the Budget, that makes for some very difficult political and communications challenges. The most basic lesson for all communicators is - know your audience. Without understanding who they are and what they know, the risk is that you'll end up speaking in a foreign language. That's why everything Portland does is grounded in the best insight available. And if it's not available, we can get it for you.

A huge congratulations to Portland's Senior Partner Anita Boateng for winning runner-up in the Trailblazer of the year category for Omnicom’s Black Together UK Awards 2024. The Trailblazer award recognises a person who has innovated or catalysed change that has had a positive and significant impact in their work. Well done Anita on this incredible achievement, and congratulations to Elvin Opoku ACCA and Anne Nadia Edimo for also being nominated for Black Together awards. #BlackTogetherUKAwards2024 #LifeatPortland

Enjoyed chatting to POLITICO for this weeks London Influence on whether the “100 days” marker set by the new Labour government was helpful. Having seen a few big deadlines set in my time in government (or BHAGs as they were sometimes referred to), my view is that a deadline is rarely a bad thing when you are steering a ship as big as Whitehall. Having clarity on what you want to achieve can be hugely helpful in focusing minds and delivery. But you should only promise what you know you can deliver. You might know that it won’t be easy, with lots of hurdles to jump over, but you need to have enough of a sense of the path in front of you and have confidence that you will make your destination before you set yourself the challenge.   The problem for Kier Starmer, was that the 100 days pledge and expectation was made before he had set foot through the No10 door. And, as he and his team will have since found out, there is always more going on behind that closed door than you can have guessed. In terms of whether the first 100 days could deemed to be successful, there is a comms lesson for the Government.   To be successful, you need to keep a pledge simple and memorable. Members of the public would struggle to tell you what Labour had actually pledged for its first 100 days, yet polling would indicate that they do not view the period as being particularly successful. 

Earlier this week, Portland’s Global Health Team joined thousands of world leading experts across the global health space at the 2024 #WorldHealthSummit in Berlin. Follow the link below 👇 to see our key takeaways on why trust in innovation, flexible financing, and continued partnerships are critical to advancing global health goals. #WHS2024 https://bit.ly/3Yuye3j

A great night was had by all at the O2 last night, where Portland hosted clients and friends to watch our Senior Advisor Alastair Campbell's sold out tour of The Rest is Politics.   Alastair and his co-host Rory Stewart discussed all the recent goings on in domestic politics, before being joined on stage by the Rest Is Politics US co-hosts Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci to discuss the upcoming US election. 

Our specialist Built Environment and British Polling Council-accredited research team recently collaborated to gauge public opinion on national planning and the future of infrastructure. From building on grey belt land to creating new towns and communities, we’ve seen that people are enthusiastic about delivering the infrastructure the country needs. Interested in seeing the rest of our findings and hearing about how this could affect your business? Contact the team at builtenvironment@portland-communications.com

It looks likely an increase in employer contributions to National Insurance is on the way in the Budget later this month. The government are already facing criticism for potentially breaking a manifesto commitment – but what do the voters think?  In the latest Portland polling ahead of Rachel Reeve’s big moment on 30 October, we wanted to test how Labour’s choices might land with the public. It has attracted coverage in this morning’s edition of The Sun https://lnkd.in/eYraQF7a. Do the voters care about taxes on business going up? Would it represent an increase in tax on working people? Is there an acceptance taxes will need to go up somewhere? If things are so bad, who or what is to blame for the state of the public finances? And how many billions are there exactly in the UK’s £1 trillion of average annual spending? The answers are revealing – and uncomfortable. As Portland’s head of research Gabriel Milland puts it: “The overall picture is of a government that needs to do a deeply unpopular thing - raise taxes - while speaking to the public using a language - big numbers - that they simply don’t understand. It’s a bit like trying to explain to a random person that they need root canal surgery while trying to talk to them in Ancient Greek.” Click below to read Gabriel’s full analysis of the public mood ahead of this Labour government’s first Budget.  https://bit.ly/4dNbtvM

Portland is excited to be in Berlin for this year's #WorldHealthSummit! Our global health team is on the ground, ready to engage with experts from around the world on today's most pressing health challenges. #WHS2024 Elizabeth La Trobe Jessica Smart Kaitlyn Radford

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨 Labour's first 100 days 🌹 New Labour MP Lucy Rigby, the IfG's Tim Durrant, Emma Dean from Portland Communications, and Ben Shimshon from Thinks Insight & Strategy join PoliticsHome to discuss Labour's achievements and missteps in their first few months in government 🎙️Listen here: https://pod.fo/e/273170