Sir Keir Starmer and ministers to hold regular news conferences in radical communications shakeup
From January, the UK government will introduce morning news conferences led by ministers, and occasionally the prime minister, to set out main government announcements. These sessions will be open to lobby journalists, sector journalists, and content creators. The daily afternoon prime minister's spokesperson briefings will be discontinued and replaced by occasional afternoon press conferences led by ministers to announce new policies and take questions. Additionally, occasional technical briefings will provide journalists opportunities to question relevant officials about policy details. Tim Allan, Downing Street’s new communications director, described the reforms as aiming to improve efficiency and better inform the public. However, critics have noted that the traditional Downing Street lobby was not consulted in the changes. Access to the new briefings will broaden beyond the traditional lobby to include content creators, though no formal definition of a content creator has been established. The timetable for ministerial press conferences and the selection of questioners will be controlled by Downing Street. The Conservative party has criticized the changes, arguing that the Labour government is avoiding scrutiny and pledging to reverse the reforms and restore the afternoon lobby if they return to power.
