Labour must engage the alternative media, not oppress it

The Labour Party is in electoral doldrums. Opinion polls show Reform consistently at least 10 per cent ahead, and Labour is on course to lose power in Wales next May, where it has won every national election for over a century.

Campaigns and PR experts are going to be searching for a way to turn the party’s prospects around. My advice to the Labour Party is simple — embrace GB News. It is home to the voters and issues that can help the party win again. 

Make it a key part of your ministers’ media rounds, encourage your advocates to appear on air, speak to a captive audience who have proven a willingness to vote Labour before.

The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s decision to target the channel with new regulations restricting who can present programmes is bizarre and counter-productive. 

Her decision stems from Ofcom’s investigations into politicians from across the political spectrum who present broadcast programmes. Although the High Court found against Ofcom, the regulator continues to seek rule changes to tighten regulations — against GB News in particular but others too.

Nandy told a parliamentary committee that she backs Ofcom’s approach, singling out GB News for criticism and stating that the public has a right to know if what they are  viewing is impartial. This is surely something that if we believe in free speech viewers should be allowed to decide for themselves. 

Nandy’s approach is the wrong one. Against the current electoral backdrop, those on the centre-left can’t afford to be squeamish about people with socially conservative views. What is Labour afraid of? 

Following Kamala Harris’ Presidential election defeat to Donald Trump, legendary Democratic Strategist James Carville criticised the Harris campaign’s decision to avoid appearing on the podcast of comedian and commentator Joe Rogan. 

In his withering remarks, Carville slammed “progressive young staffers” for throwing a “hissy fit” at the prospect and stated that campaigns should do anything they can to win. 

Making a values judgement, it is easy to see how Democratic strategists arrived at the decision. Rogan, who embraces conspiracy theories and ignores the traditional rules of journalism, did not match the values they wanted to project on their campaign.  

Winning elections is about building a broad coalition of support

But implicit in his comments, Carville touched on two key points. Firstly, that winning elections is about building a broad coalition of support, and secondly, to do this, political movements need to reach out beyond their comfort zones and engage voters where they are. 

Rogan’s is the most listened to podcast for the last four years according to Spotify, with an audience which is 80 per cent male. While Harris gave it a swerve, Donald Trump’s three-hour appearance secured 26 million views in the first 24 hours — alongside repeated free airtime on network news. 

Here is a lesson for Labour and Nandy. Rather than introducing new regulations, they should instead focus on getting its representatives onto the channel and speaking to viewers directly.

Starmer’s government finds itself in choppy waters — a “phase two” reset killed at birth by his deputy Angela Rayner resigning in scandal, headlines dominated by expected tax rises and economic gloom, and a Reform Party that continues to set the political agenda. 

Lisa Nandy should recognise these dangers. Last week, Labour lost a council by-election to Reform in her Wigan constituency, the party’s traditional heartlands. 

Now Labour must learn the lessons of the Harris campaign. Engagement with voters — just like those in Wigan — who prioritise immigration and public order, but also traditional Labour issues such as healthcare, must be the priority. An obvious medium for engagement exists. 

Since 2021, GB News has been developing its own devoted, active and engaged audience. And while many within the left of the Labour Party wrote it off, the station has established itself as the nation’s most watched news channel.

Whilst some in the party might baulk at the roster of former Tory hosts — others would rightly point out the left-wing voices that are afforded a space too. Former Labour MP Gloria De Piero has been an anchor since the beginning and Novara Media’s Aaron Bastani is a frequent commentator. Voices on the left can be heard there — and they’re speaking to a critical voter block.

Carville was right. Campaigns should do whatever it takes to win. And in this case, that means engaging GB News and not persecuting it.