The PR & Communications outfit Vuelio has produced a list of the 50 people they consider the main influencers on the political debate/agenda in this country. No one ever agrees on who's included in this sort of list, or where they are ranked, and at first sight, it's a bit of an odd one.. Here's the list.
- Laura Kuenssberg
- Andrew Marr
- Andrew Neil
- Robert Peston
- George Osborne
- Tom Newton-Dunn
- Faisal Islam
- Paul Staines
- Geordie Greig
- Boris Johnson
- Anushka Asthana
- Heather Stewart
- Nick Robinson
- Matt Chorley
- Tim Shipman
- Jon Snow
- Fraser Nelson
- Owen Jones
- Cathy Newman
- Sam Coates
- Harry Cole
- Gordon Rayner
- Iain Dale
- Michael Crick
- James O'Brien
- Nigel Farage
- Dan Hodges
- Ian Hislop
- Kevin Maguire
- Mark Wallace
- Paul Waugh
- Carol Cadwalladr
- John Humphrys
- Mishal Hussein
- Danny Finkelstein
- George Parker
- Thomas G Clark
- Tim Montgomerie
- George Eaton
- Isabel Hardman
- Christopher Hope
- Stephen Bush
- Kerry-Anne Mendoza
- Jim Pickard
- James Forsyth
- Sarah Smith
- Polly Toynbee
- Amelia Gentleman
- Jennifer Williams
- Ian Dunt
It's nice to be on this list but it's deeply flawed given who's not on it, and in some cases, who is.
A number of observations...
They list Anushka Asthana and Heather Stewart as joint political editors of The Guardian. That arrangement stopped a couple of months ago, when Anushka moved to launch the Guardian politics podcast. Odd to have Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage on the list in some ways - both elected politicians. If Matt Chorley is that high on the list, shouldn't Jack Blanchard from the Politico London Playbook feature somewhere? His morning email is required reading for anyone in Westminster. If James O'Brien and I feature, why doesn't Nick Ferrari? Ian Hislop at 28? Is he really a political influencer? How can John Humphrys and Mishal Hussein be 15 or so places lower than Cathy Newman or Jon Snow? Mark Wallace, the deputy editor of ConHome features but Paul Goodman, his boss, doesn't. Kerry Anne-Mendoza is on the list but Ash Sarkar does not. Or Paul Mason. And Adam Boulton? On what planet would he not be on a list like this? I could go on.
You can see the Vuelio Top 50, with their short biogs HERE. Vuelio say in their press release...
The Top 50 Political Influencers reflects this evolving media, including broadcasters and print journalists in addition to bloggers and other digital influencers. Those on the list include the most politically informed, those with the best contacts and membership of the right WhatsApp groups for the inside track on breaking news and the latest leaks, and those able to lead conversations across a range of social media platforms. In these many different ways, each of the 50 has the power to shape politics in the UK – and together, they do.
They go on to explain how they ranked the Top 50...
The ranking takes into consideration a huge range of factors, including audience, engagement, industry recognition and platforms, alongside a research-led qualitative assessment.
I'd love to know more details about that. If I get time over the weekend I might try to do my own list - you know how I love a good list - but I'll only do it if I can work out a realistic way of trying to come up with a proper list, which isn't wholly subjective. I'm not sure that's even possible.
If you were compiling a list of political influencers, who would you include, who's not on the list above?
