Public Affairs articles

Matt Hancock has made a typically energetic start to his time as Health Secretary. Unlike many cabinet colleagues, Hancock has been on the front foot with a steady stream of new policy announcements since he took on the role. And one theme has emerged as a unifying thread through much of his public commentary onRead more

Emotion has always played a central role in PR and advertising. However, its importance in shaping public policy is often overlooked. In the 1990s, two pieces of legislation were enacted to address the emotionally-charged subjects of gun control and dog attacks. In 1991, the Dangerous Dogs Act sought to end a series of violent dogRead more

In the wake of Ireland’s landslide 66% to 34% decision to repeal the 8th amendment of the Bunreacht na h’Éireann, which had barred any move to liberalise abortion law, there has been increasing pressure for similar changes in Northern Ireland. This is a totemic red line for the DUP. Any move to make abortion legalRead more

WA Communications was delighted to welcome Peter Campbell, motor industry correspondent at the Financial Times, for a breakfast roundtable discussion on the theme of electric vehicles this week. Peter joined us with a select group of industry leaders from the automobile, energy and EV charging industries to discuss the global outlook for EVs and theRead more

As expected, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has stuck to his promise that he would not use his Spring Statement today as a de-facto second Budget. Instead, he used his speech to provide an update on the public finances, a progress report on various commitments and consultations announced at last year’s Budget, and to launch a numberRead more

“The ordinary human being would sooner starve than live on brown bread and raw carrots,” George Orwell. In Autumn 2015 I attended a meeting with then Public Health Minister Jane Ellison and a coalition of charity representatives. There, the Minister told attendees that if the upcoming Childhood Obesity Strategy delivered ‘everything but’ a sugar tax,Read more

2017 was a political rollercoaster – a (surprise) snap general election, an even more surprising result, the formation of a Tory-DUP confidence and supply arrangement, the rise of Corbyn-mania, and sexual harassment scandals that shook all political parties in Westminster and across the devolved assemblies. To say that 2018 will be a less tumultuous yearRead more

2017 has been a year of continuity and chaos, in that the chaos has been continuous. But, we have learnt this year that chaos can in fact be a stabilising force in politics. Whereas 2016 was a year of political change, this has been a year when many of the ‘big’ things stayed the same.Read more