What Does Good Public Affairs Look Like in an Age of Political Chaos?
Robert Rams MBE, Head of Public Affairs at Pennon Group Plc, explores how public affairs campaigns can weather the storm of chaos...
Politics today feels louder, faster and more polarised than at any point in recent memory. Social media accelerates outrage, policy announcements are dissected in minutes rather than days, and organisations find themselves operating in a near-constant state of reputational risk. Against that backdrop, it is worth pausing to ask a deceptively simple question: what does good public affairs actually look like right now?
After more than two decades working across Westminster, Whitehall and local government from advising ministers and MPs to leading public affairs for major organisations, I have come to believe that the answer is not especially fashionable. In fact, the more febrile the environment becomes, the more vital the fundamentals are.
Public affairs is sometimes caricatured as spin, influence or political theatre. In reality, at its best, it is about translation: helping policymakers understand how decisions play out on the ground and helping organisations understand the political and regulatory pressures shaping government action. That bridging role has never been more important.
Three principles, in particular, feel essential in the current climate.
Relationships beat noise
In an era of instant reaction and online pile-ons, trust is the most valuable currency an organisation can hold. X’s fade, headlines move on and controversies cycle at extraordinary speed. Relationships, by contrast, are built slowly and carefully over years.
Long-term, respectful engagement with MPs, civil servants, regulators, councillors and community leaders will always outperform short-term stunts or purely performative outreach. That means showing up consistently, not just when something has gone wrong. It means listening as much as speaking, understanding constituency pressures, and being honest about what you can and cannot do.
When difficult issues arise, and in sectors such as infrastructure, utilities or transport they inevitably will, it is those reservoirs of goodwill and credibility that allow constructive conversations to happen behind closed doors, rather than megaphone diplomacy in public.
In today’s political climate, noise is plentiful. Serious engagement is rarer, and therefore more powerful.
Substance matters more than spin
Good public affairs is not about winning the argument on social media. It is about helping decision-makers grapple with reality: the trade-offs, the constraints, the unintended consequences and the operational detail that rarely makes it into speeches or press releases.
Policymakers are dealing with extraordinary complexity, from tight public finances to environmental targets, local service pressures and volatile global conditions. They do not need slogans. They need evidence, local insight and practical options.
That might mean sharing data about how investment would affect a particular town, explaining why a regulatory change could slow delivery, or setting out clearly what would be required to meet new targets. It also means being candid when something will be difficult or expensive, rather than promising the impossible.
That commitment to substance also requires confidence. Good public affairs professionals are prepared to give advice that may not be immediately welcome, but which is grounded in evidence and long-term thinking. Saying “this will be hard” or “this will take longer than planned” is not weakness; it is professionalism. In a crowded information environment, credibility is built not by certainty, but by accuracy.
Calm leadership is a competitive advantage
The final principle is perhaps the most overlooked. When politics is febrile, the organisations that succeed are those that stay measured, calm and solutions-focused. There is a temptation, particularly during moments of crisis, to mirror the intensity of the political debate. That rarely helps.
Good public affairs leaders act as a stabilising force. They help boards and executives understand what matters, what does not, and where patience is required. They focus on practical next steps rather than performative outrage, and they keep channels open even when disagreement is sharp.
Being the adult in the room is not boring it is effective. In an age of political chaos, trust, substance and calm leadership are not optional extras. They are the foundations on which lasting influence is built.
As the political cycle continues to accelerate, those fundamentals will matter more, not less.