Communication of crisis management at the United Kingdom 2017’s attacks. Proposal for a protocol 2.0 for the communication of crisis

Abstract

The paper studies different examples of correct or mistaken crisis communication, especially in the field of politics, and its effect on the approval ratings of a political leadership. Special emphasis is placed on the sequence of the three terrorist attacks that happened this year in Great Britain, on how the prime minister Theresa May dealt with it, and how the communicative failures she made provoked the loss of the absolute majority in the 8th of June general election. Methodology: In order to elaborate this paper, 32 articles from up to 10 British media have been studied, including The Guardian, BBC and The Independent, with special attention to the events of those days. Additionally, several books and investigation papers on political communication and particular aspects of it have been consulted. Five days have specially taken as samples: the 22nd of March, the date of the terrorist attack in the Westminster Bridge; the 22nd of May, the attack in Manchester Arena; the 3rd of June, day when the London Bridge attack happened; the 8th of June, the general election; and the 14th of June, when the Grenfell tower caught fire. Conclusions and results: On the basis of the studied documents, and after finishing the investigation, the conclusion is that an incorrect management of communication during a crisis provokes a sudden drop of public confidence on the political leader in charge, and, on an occasion like this, disaffection that can be rapidly reflected on the polls. Theresa May made many political and communicative mistakes during these crisis, which resulted on her not obtaining the election outcome she hoped when she called the election. At the same time, if a crisis is well managed, the popular support of the politician raises exponentially, thanks to the ‘round the flag effect.