Research carried out by the PRCA has found that 50 per cent of PR leaders believe that PR in preparation for today’s budget announcement was ‘poorly controlled’, while 19 per cent describing it as ‘very poorly controlled’.
The survey of PR agency bosses and in-house communications directors found that 31 per cent described the communications strategy as ‘well controlled’, but no-one described it as ‘very well controlled’.
It was discovered that 47 per cent thought that the budget will have no impact on UK growth, while 28 per cent believe it will be marginally negative.
Lord Bell, chairman at Bell Pottinger Private, said: “I only ever had one view about what governments should do, which is stop interfering in everyone’s lives. Have less regulation, less burden, less bureaucracy, less paperwork, less interference, less pontification about what you should or shouldn’t do. And create an environment, since it’s the only thing that makes this country succeed, whereby people who want to run businesses are able to run them with the least amount of money wasted on stuff that produces no value whatsoever.”
Ben Caspersz, managing director of Claremont, added: "The Government needs to communicate long term investments as well as short term austerity. The reality is that major investments are being made right now that will drive growth - infrastructure, innovation, skills - but the message isn't always getting through."