BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg has issued a warning to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, saying politics has become "an increasingly crowded market." In her new book, Pay Attention, the TV presenter reflects on two decades of political reporting and analyses how Westminster shifted from "sensible" consensus to what she describes as a brutal, chaotic soap opera.
Book examines public-politician relationship
In her debut release, Kuenssberg writes that she wants to "help you understand… why the two-way relationship between the public and the people we choose to represent us has gone so badly wrong." Before discussing the current Government and its Opposition, she begins with a look at Reform's Nigel Farage and the Green Party's Zack Polanski.
Kuenssberg described Farage as a man who has "eaten a crocodile penis on TV" and Polanski as someone who "used to sell his services as a hypnotist." As the broadcaster tracks the past 10 years since Brexit, she issues a warning to Burnham and Badenoch if they want to ward off Farage and Polanski after defeating them in the polls.
Advice for political leaders
The presenter wrote that they must "work out how to connect with you [the public], and more importantly… work out what they want to say." During an interview on The Two Matts podcast, the 50-year-old highlighted that Burnham has commanded the strongest behind-the-scenes team in politics for a long time.
Kuenssberg also stated: "I want people to be conscious and actually think about what has changed under our noses, and also for politicians to be conscious about what the public actually wants." She added: "I also think part of what's happened here, it's the reason why I've got lots of quotes from voters in the book, is that politicians have often absorbed themselves in their own debates and their own issues, rather than really being keyed into what people's priorities are."
Burnham's Brexit reset promise
Last month, Burnham promised that the "public will be the boss" in a statement to parliament. The politician said he would use a key UK-EU summit in Brussels later this month to push for a Brexit reset aimed at improving relations with the bloc, focusing on growth, immigration and security. He warned MPs that "sticking with the status quo is not good enough" while insisting that the "public backs my pragmatic approach."
In Pay Attention, Kuenssberg claimed that politics has instead been "absorbed by wrangling over the constitution and Brexit."
