Will we see the end of government "spin"?

Downing Street is transorming its press strategy since a review found a "three-way breakdown in trust between government and politicians, the media and the general public".

Alastair Campbell's replacement, David Hill will not have the same powers over civil servants as his predecessor and will instead head the "political aspects" of Downing Street's media strategy.

A new senior official spokesman for the prime minister will be appointed to handle the civil service parts of links with journalists, said Downing Street.

Number 10 sources say the shake-up is not a response to the departure of Alastair Campbell or the Hutton inquiry.

Will the announcement mean the end of "spin"?

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This debate is now closed. The following comments reflect the balance of views we received:

No-one will ever trust any politician Alan Higham, England

The damage this government has created by manipulation and lies will take years to repair. No-one will ever trust any politician, no matter what political leaning they may have. Thank Mr Blair and "New Labour" for dragging our country and parliamentary system into the gutter.
Alan Higham, England

Downing Street's announcement doesn't signal the end of spin. The announcement IS spin. And for all I know it might have been ghost-written by Alastair Campbell...
C. Hunter, England

I am perplexed by the number of people attributing spin to an overzealous media. Whilst most papers have no claim to objectivity, the need for spin is more fundamental than that. To borrow from Orwell (and others) it is quite simply the difference between Good Facts and True Facts - there won't be a cut in public spending - "Government expenditure will be streamlined to increase the quality of services we provide to the people on the street"
J. Lawrence, UK/Geneva

One of the reasons this government relies so heavily on spin is the domination of the press by wealthy newspaper owners who oppose core Labour values of equality and the redistribution of power and wealth. If New Labour had the guts to democratise the ownership and control of press and commercial TV and radio, there would be less necessity to attempt to manipulate a basically hostile media.
Michael McCarthy, UK

Since politicians always want to present themselves in the most positive light possible, they are never going to stop using spin David Hazel, UK

Since "spin" is merely the term used to mean putting the best possible slant on a story, I don't see that it is ever going to end. Everyone, from poorly performing politicians to under-achieving office workers, tries to put themselves in the best possible light regardless of the reality of the situation. Since politicians always want to present themselves in the most positive light possible, they are never going to stop using spin to do it.
David Hazel, UK

I agree with most other people, "spin" won't be ended this way, it's too widespread. Living in Manchester 20 years ago onwards, I remember the most extreme form coming from the local Council at every opportunity, and it worked too. The national government of the day seemed unaware of the way key cities were against them in this way.
Gill, Wales

We will need more than this if we are to buck this trend. The term 'spin' is now synonymous with 'lie' in many minds and we have a whole new generation who distrust everything those in authority insist is the truth - I guess this is what is meant by the "three-way breakdown in trust"! A big shake up such as PR is needed if the British public are expected to take politics seriously.
Dom, UK

It's impossible to make any headway with the electorate without some kind of foil for the Tory-controlled media. There is too much bias; therefore "spin" has to exist. If the government gave every man, woman and child a thousand pounds tax free the Tory media would still find something wrong with it!
Andrew M, UK

I think lies and spin are embedded within this government it's impossible to see that it can improve.
Steven Wood, England

I don't think Alasdair Campbell's departure will end 'spin', as 'spin' is all about the government attempting to manipulate the media's response to achieve political ends. I would much prefer the government to release the bare facts and let the media open up a rational discussion of these facts - even if the media reacts (characteristically) by sensationally blowing stories out of all proportion, the integrity of the government would be better served by ignoring the clamour and remembering that today's front page is tomorrow's chip wrapper.
Heather, UK

Spin will never die. Every leader and CEO will always try and paint (spin) a happy picture from bad news. In every walk of life we apply 'spin'. Large corporations employ public relations staff to present the public face.
Everton, UK

Call me cynical, but this is in itself a piece of spin Pete Hazell, UK

Call me cynical, but this is in itself a piece of spin. Most people seem to be thinking "Wahey, the spin chief's been given the push, and they're just saying he's resigned to be kind to him." In reality, I'm sure the same thinly disguised lies will be used, just from a different source.
Pete Hazell, UK

Paul Sealey wrongly says that Campbell was a civil servant (not a cabinet minister), he was not a civil servant - hence the controversy over him being able to issue orders to civil servants. Greater civil service input should mean a more mature discussion of policies
Matt, England

This is now a spin on "spin". We will have to be extremely naive to believe that Blair will ever stop spinning. Don't forget, when he first ran for PM, he brought in a whole team of spinners from the US, from his mate Clinton, to help him win the election. He has never stopped spinning since!
Jeannette, UK

I think we should just do our own thing and ignore politicians and newspapers. At the end of the day they are an irrelevance. Life goes on without these people but they are desperate to convince you otherwise. Spin only works when you take part.
R.C UK

The media want access to the government 24 hours a day, therefore No.10 has a press office. This has to be staffed by people who understand, politics, government policy and journalism. Whether or not one accepts or derides the information supplied has more to do with the political orientation of the recipient than the quality of the information provided. Spin is after all, an opposition term of abuse, but all governments engage in it.
John Lawrence, UK

Spin will exist as long as gullible consumers of media exist. Spin is a natural offset of the government to get through the wave of hysteria from ever out-of-control reporters. So it is easy, stop buying newspapers and stop watching the TV news drivel.
Ian Fleming, UK

While this government has made it an art form, previous administrations were equally adept Andy, Bahrain/UK

Spin is the current word for obfuscation, prevarication, repudiation, duplicity, unscrupulous etc. No politician can survive without spin. While this government has made it an art form, previous administrations were equally adept, but perhaps a little more circumspect and not so obvious. Bottom line is all politicians, no matter what their hue, seek to put their version of events/policies across in the best possible light to suit them.
Andy, Bahrain/UK

Very unlikely. It is a trend in modern business to present figures proving that things are improving, regardless of actual results. Government is the same, and whilst various public services are looking to meet targets, and wasting energy, effort and resources in achieving this, nothing will change.
John C, Bath, England

Spin has been used by this government because it has to deal with the media who usually twists, grossly distorts and sexes up any information passed to them. Until we get a decent media in this country no government will be able to function without spin.
Richard Davie, Scotland

Shake up is another move misleading the public and world. Being a man of principal, Mr. Blair would have accepted boldly his wrong decisions and quit. How will he maintain his credibility in future on any of his decisions.
Ashraf Siddiqui, United Arab Emirates

No, we will always see spin. Alistair Campbell is one of many figures in power, who doesn't tell the whole truth, even if he doesn't actually lie. Remember when Tony Blair said he wouldn't put up income tax before being elected? He stayed true to his word, but he put up National Insurance instead.
Graeme Phillips, Germany

"Spin" is a very much a part of government daily activities. It is just a matter of how much or how little.
Krishna Acharya, UK

This "departure" is itself more spin. Plus ca change.....
Ted Treen, UK

Spin has and always will exist. Everybody does it. Shops do it, the media does it, so why not politicians. It is the government's job to run the country as best they feel, and if they don't the electorate can remove them. It is the role of the Opposition to challenge the government's performance, and the media to report on it. Unfortunately, the opposition parties have become useless, the challenging of government policies is being done by the media.

The problem with this 'new order' is that the media now appear to feel that they can challenge without responsibility or risk of recourse, and hide behind ancient journalistic protocols that are not now applicable to their revised role in our society. The idea that the media are in someway independent arbiters is outdated, and so there is a need for the government (and others) to employ skilled people who can more appropriately handle the new role of the media. It has become very easy to accuse the government of 'Spin', when you disagree with a policy, but have no alternatives to put forward or debate.
Philip, UK

Rest assured it will never go away IanC, Midlands, UK

At the end of the day Politics is a living. Politicians will use whatever seems right at the time to 'sell' their ideas/proposals. They may not call it 'spin' in future but rest assured it will never go away.
Ian C, Midlands, UK

Unlikely that this will see the end of spin, it's all this government have - information control and manipulation - they have nothing else to work with. This man was a civil servant, and yet half the people in the UK think he's a cabinet minister, there must be something wrong there.
Paul Sealey, England

With a lack of any new or interesting policies, spin is all this Government has left!
Ian S, UK, Birmingham

There will always be facts that politicians will want to keep secret from the public, and they'll manage to do that whatever administerial shake-ups they apply. I guess the good thing about it may be that politicians and the media can't lay all the blame on one person like Mr. Campbell.
Tim, UK

A new civil servant office supremo will not put an end to spin, it will only serve to support spin. This is another way of leaving the public fooled once more.
Ian deMontfort, England