Defining the 2030 council comms leadership challenge

If local government communications has a ‘football manager problem' – as a group of anonymous comms leaders have recently claimed – it is this: everyone has an opinion on what the job should be, while relatively few people fully understand what it actually involves.Communications leaders are increasingly expected to operate in an environment defined by political fragmentation, structural change, rising public expectations and relentless scrutiny. At the same time, they are often judged against a growing list of demands that can feel both competing and impossible to satisfy.That tension sat at the heart of a roundtable discussion at the Local Government Association's annual conference in Bournemouth, where communications leaders came together to explore a simple but profound question: what does the local government communications leader need to look like by 2030?The most striking conclusion was that the answer may have less to do with communications itself than many people think.For years, the profession has fought for a seat at the top table. In many councils, that argument has largely been won. The challenge now is different. It is not simply about access to senior leaders. It is about trust, influence, autonomy and standing.The role of a communications leader extends far beyond campaigns, media relations or content creation. It is also about advising chief executives, supporting political leaders, identifying strategic risks, navigating organisational change and helping institutions make sense of increasingly complex landscapes.As councils navigate local government reorganisation, devolution and significant financial pressures, the ability to anticipate and mitigate risk is becoming as important as the ability to tell a story.In that context, the future communications leader looks less like a communications specialist and more like an organisational leader who happens to have communications expertise.Much of their value comes from work that is often invisible. The public may see a campaign, a video or social media content. Senior colleagues might notice successful media management. Yet some of the most important work happens quietly – preventing issues from escalating, identifying risks before they emerge, strengthening relationships, improving decision-making and helping organisations avoid failure.One participant in the meeting summed it up bluntly by saying the goal is often to stop the chief executive being sacked.That comment was partly tongue-in-cheek, but it points towards something important. Communications increasingly sits at the intersection of reputation, governance, politics and organisational resilience. As councils navigate local government reorganisation, devolution and significant financial pressures, the ability to anticipate and mitigate risk is becoming as important as the ability to tell a story.Local government communicators can be highly effective at promoting the work of their councils and places. Yet they are often less effective at communicating their own value internally.Many communications teams still define success through outputs: campaigns delivered, social media engagement achieved or media coverage secured. These things matter, but they may not be the most compelling evidence of value.What if communications leaders instead measured themselves through the organisational outcomes they influence? The confidence they help build among key stakeholders. The trust they create during periods of uncertainty. The risks they mitigate. The failures they help prevent.Unlike a successful campaign, prevention can often be difficult to showcase. It is hard to measure – or talk about – the crisis that never happened or the issue that was resolved before it became public. But this preventative work is often where communicators add the greatest value.That has implications for how the profession talks about itself.If the dominant story of communications is one of creativity, content and channels, there is a risk that decision-makers underestimate the strategic contribution the profession makes. Worse still, in a world becoming dominated by artificial intelligence, those visible outputs may become easier to automate.The value that is hardest to automate is judgement.The ability to interpret political dynamics. The confidence to challenge assumptions. The skill to connect insights from across an organisation. The judgement to know when ‘good enough' is sufficient and when excellence is essential.Perhaps the biggest challenge identified, however, was sustainability.As demands continue to grow, communications leaders are being exposed to increasing pressures. They are managing organisational change, responding to disinformation, supporting community cohesion and often absorbing significant levels of online abuse.The question for 2030 is therefore not only what skills communications leaders will need, but how organisations create the conditions that allow those leaders to succeed.Ultimately, the communications leader of 2030 will not be defined by technical communications expertise alone, but judgement, adaptability, resilience and influence. They will be risk advisers, organisational connectors, trusted counsellors and strategic leaders.The challenge now is ensuring the profession tells that story clearly enough for others to recognise it too. After all, if communications leaders do not define their value, someone else will.Andrea Newman is director of communications and external affairs at the Local Government Association

Title

COMMUNICATIONS

Defining the 2030 council comms leadership challenge

By Andrea Newman | 23 September 2026

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