'How to Talk To Reform: Essential insights from the Makerfield by-election'

Description

How to Talk To Reform: Essential insights from the Makerfield by-election

Attention is focused on Makerfield and the question of whether a relatively unknown Reform candidate can frustrate Andy Burnham's parliamentary return.

A number of polls have suggested it could be a closely-run contest in a constituency that was once a Labour heartland.

Over the last few months, we've been seeking to understand Reform's national and local communications - and what the language used tells us about what the party actually wants.

What are Reform's polices? How will these be applied at a local level? How do you build relationships with politicians who may have limited previous experience? What does this mean for your priorities?

We've been using advanced data analysis techniques to study thousands of Reform posts, social content, statements and policy documents - looking not just at the stated policies, but underlying messaging and key themes. And we've been talking to people who are both on-the-ground and in-the-know.

Our latest work brings together tailored analysis and insights on what's been said by Reform in the course of the Makerfield by-election.

In this special session we'll look at how the keys signals from Reform and its candidate align with - and diverge from - prominent national narratives. We'll also seek out the hard policy proposals amid the activity and noise of a keenly fought campaign.

Who are we?

Alex Waddington, a former in-house public affairs and advocacy leader, now an award-winning exponent of natural language processing and data analysis to support effective communications. He founded Whetstone Communications in 2021 to help comms professionals use data strategically to sharpen outcomes.

Yakub Qureshi, former editor with three decades of experience covering politics, working with the UK's top newsrooms. Established and led the Local Democracy Reporting Service in dozens of newsrooms as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. He is the founder of Postcard Communications.