Two weeks ago I delivered a presentation at our Local Government Special Interest Group in London about the latest developments in the world of public consultation. I spoke about the events that had dominated the British political scene for years now, such as Brexit, fracking, airport expansion, and to a lesser extent, devolution. I talked about how these topics were hijacked by campaign groups and the influences it had on the respective consultations.

What we can conclude from last night’s surprising US election result, Brexit and the topics mentioned above, is that there’s a genuine distrust and disbelief of the establishment (politicians, media, multinationals) whereby experts’ views are no longer believed. Michael Gove, in the run-up to Brexit, said “people in this country have had enough of experts”. Is that the reason why people voted for Trump? For Brexit? In a consultation perspective, this is alarming. During their fracking consultation, a North-East council received over 18,000 responses, of which only 217 were supportive of shale gas development. It’s not difficult to see why the Council didn’t give planning consent because a vote for fracking is a vote against the ‘will of the people’. The fracking industry, it seems, may be fighting a losing battle. The public has already deemed it to be too dangerous, regardless of some scientific evidence suggesting otherwise. You can do a terrific consultation but it can all be for nothing if vocal consultees plan to disrupt it and have the resources to do so.

A lot of mis- and disinformation is the root cause of this. People no longer believe in what their newspapers are saying, or their politicians but people do believe what their neighbours are saying about the dangers of the EU or the adverse health effects those proposed wind turbines will have, even if none of it is true.  False information can seriously damage your credibility as a consultor and is nearly impossible to restore. Those consultees that vehemently oppose your proposed plans to close libraries or a children’s centre, will attack your credibility by saying that the decision has already been made (Trump: “the system is rigged”) or that you’ve concocted the finances behind your preferred option (such as George Osborne’s emergency budget). Social Media, for all its benefits, plays a large role in spreading these claims. Straight after last week’s High Court ruling on Brexit, a national newspaper was implying that the judges were biased as one of them had set up a European Law Group (imagine the horror!). This immediately reached the social media playground, leaving many people to believe that the High Court judges were indeed biased and should’ve never been allowed to give their ruling. How will this affect the upcoming Supreme Court ruling?

Discrediting your opponent has always been part of any electoral battle, and any controversial consultation; but with the power of social media, many more people can be influenced negatively.  It is up to you, as consultor, to do an even better job to give those who are spreading false information, as little credibility as you can. A way to do this is to be completely open and transparent about your consultation process. When you present the true facts (a tautology, I know), don’t overcomplicate it. Trying to correct the public’s views will trigger scepticism and might lead to a further disbelief in your honesty. And honesty, we’ve seen, doesn’t always make you right.