Stephen Carter, former chief executive of PR firm Brunswick, famously lasted just eight months in the bunker-like pressure cooker that is 10 Downing Street. Hired at the start of 2008 (as head of communications and strategy) he had gone before the year was out. Instead he was relocated to become, as Lord Carter, “communications minister” in the Lords.
Interestingly, I’m told that Gordon Brown then turned elsewhere for a direct replacement: DJ Collins, head of corporate communications (Europe) for Google, the internet search engine. David-John was not necessarily an obvious choice, having been a speech writer for Tony Blair and also a close ally of David Miliband. But the former AEEU communications officer is very well-regarded in Labour circles.
He turned it down, apparently, so as to continue spending time with his young family.
I can’t pretend it’s news that Collins was unsuccessfully approached by Number 10 – Simon Walters mentioned this en passant a few weeks ago. But I don’t think it was common knowledge that he was tapped up for the old Carter job.
In the end there was never a direct replacement for Carter; although you could argue that “strategy” and “communications” are both specialities of Lord Mandelson, who spends much of his typical working day at number 10.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey
