Prime Minister Keir Starmer posing for a selfie during a visit in Yorkshire last year (Alamy)
3 min read
The Labour government is preparing to launch a major overhaul of Whitehall-wide communications as part of its push to reach more voters online.
The reforms are expected to see the New Media Unit (NMU), set up by Labour officials following the party’s 2024 general election victory, given expanded capacity.
For several months, senior officials have been developing plans to improve the government’s digital communications operation, amid a belief that the way departments promote their messaging is slow, antiquated, and failing to keep pace with how people increasingly get information.
James Lyons, who recently served as Keir Starmer’s director of communications in Downing Street, said soon after leaving government that Whitehall communications had “barely changed” since the turn of the century, and that “too many teams” are not equipped for the “modern media environment”.
The work to modernise government messaging has been led by David Dinsmore, a former editor of The Sun who was appointed as the permanent secretary for government communications in November. In December, The Guardian reported that Dinsmore had addressed Starmer and his cabinet on the proposed changes.
PoliticsHome understands that the restructure is essentially finished and is set to take effect in the next few weeks.
It is expected to centre on bolstering the NMU, with staff and resources being redeployed from elsewhere in Whitehall, according to government sources. Based within the Cabinet Office, the NMU was set up by Labour officials soon after entering office to help the government reach voters on new forms of media.
The overhaul includes strengthening digital capabilities, coordinating messaging across departments, and reaching voters across an increasingly fragmented media landscape.
PoliticsHome understands that the government’s communications budget is not expected to increase as part of the renewed online push, but there will be a drive to make output more efficient by streamlining and reducing the number of digital campaigns.
The reforms also reflect rising concern within the government about the spread of false or inflammatory far-right content on social media and the need to better combat it.
A government source told PoliticsHome: “Government needs to keep up with the times and reach people where they are — especially when the likes of Tommy Robinson are dominating so much space online.
“There’s plenty of scope to do things more efficiently in a way that creates more engaging content for both traditional and social media at the same time.”
PoliticsHome revealed last year that the government had started posting on Reddit as part of its effort to use more modern forms of media to get cut-through. A government TikTok account was set up in 2024, followed in December by the Prime Minister joining the platform.
The government has also stepped up its collaboration with content creators, with influencers increasingly being invited to interview ministers and attend press conferences and ministerial visits. PoliticsHome revealed that No 10 hosted its first-ever reception for online influencers in Downing Street last year.
Kanishka Narayan, the minister for artificial intelligence, told PoliticsHome in October that the government had to do “a lot more to win the battle of content online”.
