TGIF: Why Friday in Recess is Best Time for Labour to Dump Bad News

The timing is the government’s cynicism and disdain for the public writ large while it pursues its humna rights agenda at the expense of veterans lives.

The Government held a press conference announcing a proposal — albeit thin on detail — for pressing ahead with repealing the Legacy Act.

Sir David Davis MP says the proposal should have been presented in a statement to Parliament, not on a Friday afternoon in recess.

“Hilary Benn, as an ex-select committee chairman, should know better,” says Sir David.

Oh, but he does, Sir David, he does.

If there were a debate in Parliament, the Government would lose the argument, even though they would win the vote.

To understand how weak their position is from a moral standpoint, remember it has been 68 days since the petition opposing changes to legislation protecting veterans, which now has over 197,000 signatures, was debated in Westminster Hall.

Parliament has yet to publish the debate outcome.

Why? Because it has no rational counterargument.

Nonetheless, Labour remains determined to press ahead to ensure, as Hilary Benn MP put it in his announcement, that new legislation is “human rights compliant”.

The timing and manoeuvring in the days before Friday’s press conference speaks volumes.

Alistair Carns MP, having threatened to resign and too valuable to lose, was swiftly moved to Minister of Armed Forces. Louise Sandher-Jones MP replaced him as Veterans Minister. Despite having taken Carns out of the direct firing line, he is still the Showman-in-Chief selling the so-called protections for veterans. Sandher-Jones meanwhile remains silent on the issue. (Perhaps, having mocked veterans during the Westminster debate for being naïve about the changes, she has said enough.)

It the timing, however, that really says it all about the government’s cynicism and disdain for the British public.

Friday afternoon during Parliament recess, you see, is is he best time for government departments to take out the trash, as Americans like to say.

Making unpopular announcements at that time is strategic, because it:

1. Reduces Media Scrutiny: Media coverage tends to be lighter during recess periods and especially on Friday afternoons. Journalists and media outlets have fewer resources allocated to covering political news, allowing the government to release information with less immediate scrutiny.

2. Minimises Public Uproar: The government wants to minimise immediate public backlash. (You really do not want those Rolling Thunder scruffy oiks clogging up the traffic around Westminster.) The hope is that by the time Monday rolls around, other news stories will take precedence, thereby reducing sustained negative attention.

3. Dampens Criticsm: Releasing contentious news when parliamentary opposition would be less organised or capable of mounting an immediate response due to the recess makes sense politically, because it lessens the impact of criticism from political opponents.

4. Controls the Narrative: Governments prefer to announce difficult or controversial decisions at times when they can control the narrative more effectively. This includes having more time to prepare responses to anticipated questions and criticisms.

Overall, the choice of timing for announcements during recess periods, particularly on a Friday afternoon, is about managing public perception and media coverage in a way that might mitigate negative fallout.

If ever there was a time to stand your ground, speak clearly, and demand fair treatment, it would be now.

Begin by making sure people sign the petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/725716