On Wednesday, Parliamentarians gathered to hear the first King’s Speech by a Labour government in 15 years, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his team setting out their priorities after years out of power.

The event is always steeped in tradition (an MP is still taken ‘hostage’ by Buckingham Palace to ensure safe return of the monarch), but it also carefully choregraphed, both in terms of the event itself and the PR activity around it.

While the scale of the legislative agenda is vast, with bills to boost the economy, clean energy, housebuilding, defence and more, what is most striking about events like this is how little is of surprise on the day.

This is because, in the run-up to the Speech, the government’s press operation is carefully briefing media on what to expect, ‘rolling the pitch’ and making sure the public, who may not tune in to watch the Speech itself, know what ministers plan to do in office.

While this approach works well for government, it can also work for the PR trade. These briefings to media in advance of major events can help people in PR and their clients identify relevant announcements, prepare their responses, and quickly issue them after the big moment, setting out what these policies mean, if they are good or bad for their industries, go too far, or don’t go far enough.

It’s in these moments, when journalists are frantically writing up announcements, that they will be on the lookout for those providing quick, detailed insights and opinions that will help their readers understand what these policies mean for them. And the challenge for those in the PR industry is to achieve cut through with commentary to position their clients as expert voices on the issues of the day.

As Parliament soon rises again for the summer recess, we can expect more political and government announcements ahead of the party conference season and the likely first Labour Budget in the Autumn. Politicians and government utilise the media to get ahead with their policies, and in the same way businesses and their PR teams can get their message out and influence the agenda through the media.