On 20 July 2026, Andy Burnham became the United Kingdom’s 59th Prime Minister, using his first address outside 10 Downing Street to promise a political and economic “circuit breaker” for Britain.

Prime Minister & Leader of the Labour Party

Tendo had another great week of engagement!

Daniel Laing, Hannah Waters and Harry Tugwell headed to Parliament to support the Protect Against Birth Haemorrhage Campaign’s parliamentary drop-in event, raising awareness of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), also known as heavy bleeding after birth, and its impact on women, families and maternity safety.

Jemima Blain and Mya Luggah supported Unlock Democracy at their parliamentary roundtable event focused on Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) and the need for its timely implementation, bringing together MHCLG representatives, international expertise, along with a number of democracy-focused organisations.

Paul Gaffney, Willy Morris and Belin Munshi supported the Urban Mobility Partnership at its roundtable hosted by Brompton Bicycle, bringing together local government and transport stakeholders to discuss Section 106 funding, active travel and the future of mobility in West and Southwest London, followed by a tour of the Brompton factory.

Peter Carroll and Sarah Hinck delivered a webinar to academics at Lancaster University, highlighting opportunities to engage with the policymaking process through optimising their research’s alignment with the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy.

Mya Luggah supported the PR launch of the Association of Financial Mutuals’ latest growth strategy, titled ‘Closing the Gaps: Building Financial Resilience’, outlining how mutuals are best placed to support the Government in addressing a number of national priorities across protection, healthcare and savings.

Key insights from our discussion with Layla Moran

The scale and pace of change facing the health system is unprecedented, but there is a growing risk that delivery is being outpaced by the sheer volume of reform.

Next month, it is widely expected that the Government will use the King’s Speech to announce, among other measures, a major health bill – likely formalising the abolition of NHS England. This comes alongside a dizzying volume of activity from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), including: significant headcount reductions, another system-wide reorganisation, the 10-year Health Plan and its three ‘big shifts’, the National Cancer Plan, and the Department’s 2024 commitment to meet the 18-week elective recovery target. We are also expecting a refreshed NHS workforce plan, though its publication – initially slated for Autumn 2025 – has so far proved elusive.

To hold DHSC to account, and to shine a light on areas that risk being overlooked, Layla Moran chairs the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSC). Tendo recently hosted Layla and a group of colleagues from across the sector to discuss the Committee’s priorities and workplan. While the conversation was held under the Chatham House Rule, several themes emerged that speak to the broader direction of travel for the system.

A shift in perspective: from treatment to determinants

Before even examining the Committee’s work, it is worth considering its composition. The current Committee includes a significant number of members with backgrounds in local government, alongside experience spanning the charity sector, education, and the civil service.

Why is this relevant? It shapes how the Committee views the system. Members are, by experience, more attuned to the wider determinants of health – social care, prevention, healthy ageing, and the need to intervene earlier to reduce pressure on acute services later on.

While the Government’s focus is largely on reform within the health system itself, the Committee is equally focused on the cost of inaction elsewhere – particularly in social care and prevention – reflecting the professional and personal experiences of its members.

Ambition vs delivery

There is no shortage of ambition in current health policy. The breadth of activity outlined above speaks for itself.

The challenge, as always, is delivery.

It remains an open question how the system can realistically implement large-scale reform while simultaneously undergoing significant structural change. With major organisational shifts underway, there is a risk that attention is divided between transforming the system and simply maintaining it.

Culture and the limits of system change

Alongside structural reform, there is a deeper cultural challenge.

There was broad agreement that innovation is not the issue. The UK is brimming with bright people and bright ideas, and the NHS is not short of pilots or promising models. The difficulty lies in scaling ideas and tech, and retaining the institutional knowledge.

Too often, innovation remains localised. Pilots demonstrate value, but struggle to move beyond initial funding cycles. Decision-making can be fragmented, and in some cases overly cautious, particularly where financial accountability sits.

Importantly, this is not a reflection on NHS staff – who are operating under significant pressure – but rather on how the system is set up. Incentives, funding flows, and governance structures do not always support the adoption of new approaches, even where they have proven benefits.

The risk of short-termism

A related theme is the prevalence of short-term decision-making.

Whether in funding cycles, policy priorities, or performance management, there is a tendency to focus on immediate pressures rather than long-term transformation. This can make it difficult to invest in preventative measures, workforce development, or system redesign – all of which require time to deliver results.

There was also a sense that the system can become overly driven by what is politically or operationally “in focus” at a given moment, rather than maintaining a consistent long-term trajectory.

Integration in practice, not just in principle

Finally, while the shift towards community care and integrated services is widely supported, making this a reality remains complex.

Barriers persist between different parts of the system, be it primary and secondary care, health and social care, or across professional boundaries. Funding flows, communication gaps, and organisational silos continue to limit progress.

Unlocking the benefits of integration will require more than structural change; it will depend on aligning incentives, improving coordination, and enabling different parts of the system to work together more effectively.

By Tendo Director Paul Gaffney 

The 2024 General Election seems an awfully long while ago. At times it seems easy to forget that Labour has a majority of 77 and that the two parties riding high in the polls have a combined total of 13 MPs.

What is undeniable, is that we are living in new political environment and one that as a country, and as public affairs professionals we are in unchartered territory.  With devolved and local elections looming on the horizon, this territory is likely to become more fractured not less.

But what does this new environment mean for public affairs and how should organisations adapt to it?

Don’t get too distracted, a big majority is still a big majority

Labour faces several challenges, with commentary resting on how they respond to the rise of Reform and the Green Party and balance the loss of support to the left and the right.  The clearest impact of this will be that the coalitions within the Parliamentary Labour Party will be harder to read, and the balance of power will likely pivot from issue to issue.

But what will not change and what is the driving focus of the Government and what they hope will negate the electoral quagmire is the growth and the cost of living.  The debate will range on how they achieve this, but engagement must be shaped in how to tackle this central challenge.

Three Nations, Three Governments

Remarkably, Labour losing power in Wales is now universally accepted, which combined with a likely continuing SNP Government will give Great Britain three Governments, all ran by different parties – potentially with three differing approaches, ideologies and aims.  Simply put, taking a UK wide approach will not cut it.

This will also be sharply felt by those for whom engaging at a local level is business critical, with an understanding of Reform, the Greens and the Lib Dems no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

Backbenchers matter more than most give credit for

The fracturing of our politics places a greater emphasis on individual MPs and the power of Parliament – as we have seen clearly in the rise of U-turns.  Successful engagement should always focus on the role that parliament can play in driving, shaping and changing policy.  But in the current climate, ignoring parliament and failing to understand its power will leave many behind.

Understanding the new reality

One of my earliest memories in public affairs is the 2010 Party Conference season, and particularly the Liberal Democrat Conference in Liverpool.  The first of the coalition years, it was in exercise for many in confusion.  For years, many had understandably focused on engaging with the incumbent Government and the Conservatives, the regular leaders in opinion polls.

Suddenly, many businesses had to understand the (then) third party of British politics.

In 2026, it is vital, that whilst engagement must be shaped in the now, that organisations do not ignore the trio of Reform, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats.

What would a Reform Government mean for you?  Are you ensuring that your future planning is based on reality and engagement and not pre-conceptions?

How would the Greens and/or the Lib Dems holding the balance of power impact you?

And, whilst many organisations have written off the most successful party of British political history the Conservatives, they do so far too easily. At present, they look unlikely to march into power, but that does not mean that they may not have power.

 All in all, our fractured politics make public affairs more complex, but also more integral to organisations, from current challenges, risk management and future plans.

January and February at Tendo

Media in Focus

We have been working closely with our clients to secure impactful coverage across national, regional, trade and broadcast media, helping them cut through the noise.

From strategic campaigns to targeted media engagement, we’re proud to support our clients across a range of sectors in elevating their profile and strengthening their voice.

If you are interested in learning more about our PR work and how Tendo can enhance your media presence through focused, strategic media communications.

The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA)

We provide external communication services for TISA to support their efforts to shape the financial services industry and drive meaningful conversations on improving UK consumers’ financial well-being.

In January and February, this included:

• Landing a quote for TISA’s Chief Executive between the current Chancellor and two former chancellors supporting the launch of The Times’s financial education campaign.
• Facilitating interviews with Sky News and The Times on AI and pensions respectively, which resulted in two national press articles featuring TISA.
• Issuing reactive comments to consequential parliamentary reports on AI in financial services and Inheritance Tax changes, receiving coverage in trade press.
• Securing significant trade press coverage of each of TISA’s responses to three FCA consultations and the certification of TISA’s Select ID product.
• Ensuring TISA’s first ever AI Conference was well attended by journalists and covered by trade press.
• Supporting TISA with press enquiries from The Financial Times, The Telegraph, Politico, the iPaper and Pensions Age.

EVA England

Part of our work involves providing public affairs and PR support for EVA England, the members association dedicated to promoting the interests of electric vehicle drivers.

In February, this included:

• A mixture of trade and national press coverage, such as GB News and The Daily Mail, for a reaction quote to the SMMT January EV sales figures.
• A mixture of trade and national press coverage, such as GB News, for a reaction quote to the announcement for FairCharge’s new campaign lead.
• Trade coverage for the launch of EVA England’s new survey and new board member announcement.
• Trade coverage for the reactive quote to the new Government home and workplace EV charge grant.

Radiotherapy UK

Professor Pat Price on BBC Breakfast and Good Morning Britain on World Cancer Day, reacting to the National Cancer Plan.

As part of our work supporting cancer charity Radiotherapy UK we were delighted to have charity Chair, Professor Pat Price, feature in national media for the launch of the National Cancer Plan on World Cancer Day 2026.

In February, this included:

• Professor Pat Price was also a guest on The Times Radio on World Cancer Day hosted by Carol Walker, in addition to LBC and BBC Radio 4 on separate occasions.
• An exclusive for The Guardian in which Radiotherapy UK and Professor Pat Price provided comment regarding radiotherapy cancer treatment and the need for it to be more widely available in the National Cancer Plan for patients across England.

End Frozen Pensions Campaign

Tendo supports the End Frozen Pensions Campaign and its mission to raise awareness of the ‘frozen pensions policy’ that impacts around 400,000 UK state pensioners currently residing in certain countries abroad.

In February, this included:

• An exclusive in GB News featuring a campaign case study, which provided comment and shared their experiences being a veteran living with a ‘frozen’ UK state pension after their service in the Falklands.

If you would like to learn more about our PR work and how best we can support you through strategic media communications, feel free to reach out to us at hello@tendoconsulting.co.uk. Alternatively, you can visit our website www.tendoconsulting.co.uk to view some of our outstanding media and PR campaigns.

Tendo Director Paul Gaffney comments on the Gorton and Denton By-Election.

It is time for by-election defeat bingo: “Governing parties often lose by-elections”, “It is a protest vote”, “they won’t hold in a General Election,” “We need to listen.”

By-elections are often protest votes, yes, but they should never be dismissed. This stunning victory for the Greens will be much more than a footnote in the history of Keir Starmer’s Premiership.

For the Greens, this result probably exceeds their expectations at the start of the campaign. To win this seat from a distant third proves that their surge is not a blip,  they can win outside their areas of strength, they can run efficient and effective campaigns and, crucially, that their get-out-the-vote operation is significantly stronger than given credit for.

On the Reform side, this is very much a mixed bag. Coming second, the results reinforce the narrative that the challenge in the country is very much ‘Reform vs [Insert Party]’. However, it also shows that their appeal has limitations, and they will have concerns about how effective the ‘anyone but Reform ’ message can be. On the latter, they will hope that this is a squeeze message that works well in by-elections but struggles in more regular contests.  Overall, Reform will be disappointed. But a strong second place and a collapsing Labour vote mean May’s elections still look promising.

As for Labour, this was not close. As in Caerphilly, they lost badly. It will bring back questions about blocking Burnham and the leadership merry-go-round, with many likely to question decision-making and the lack of a retail offer to voters.

Just as a narrow defeat in Runcorn saw moves to counter Reform, many on the backbenches will be pushing for a change in direction to counter an insurgent left-wing party.  It makes another ‘reset’ and potential reshuffle much more likely, and focus will surely be given to the odd decision to send the Prime Minister to the by-election, giving a clear image and ownership of the defeat.

For the broader political debate, it reinforces the collapse of the traditional order, with the two main parties third and fourth, and the by-election ‘experts’, the Lib Dems, a distant fifth.  Whilst the Tories and Lib Dems were never in this contest, it points to another weak set of local elections for the Tories and will leave the Lib Dems concerned about what impact a green surge will have on their future prospects.

The biggest implications of this are in the looming Green vs Labour debate and battle. It reinforces that the Greens look set to do exceptionally well in the local elections, with Labour Councils, including bastions like Hackney, looking in serious peril.

But, as the by-election bingo fades, the biggest question for the Government is how they should respond to the fracturing of our political system? How do Labour pivot to appeal to voters they have lost to wildly differing parties in the Green and Reform?

We can expect the Government’s response to borrow from James Carville’s “it’s the economy, stupid” and will focus on measures that tackle the cost of living and boost the economy.  Within the party, many will demand a greater focus on delivery and cutting out unenforced errors ahead of a bruising set of elections across England, Scotland and Wales.

The reality is that everything has changed and nothing has changed.  As we have become all too used to over recent years, our politics remains chaotic, dramatic, yet predictable. For those with policy asks, a Government losing votes in two directions will be harder to read and more unpredictable to engage with. But it will also create an opportunity as the Government seeks new narratives and Ministers come under pressure to find ‘good news’ policies which impact the everyday lives of people across the UK. Organisations that arrive with clear asks, credible evidence and an understanding of the current external and internal political climate will have an easier time making their case.

Sadly, I don’t think anyone is going to use the phrase ‘strong and stable’ on election posters for a while yet.