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By JOHN JOHNSTON
Hello and welcome to London Influence. Almost, almost recovered from conference season. Kinda. Tips, gossip, state secrets and coffee requests @johnjohnstonmi or [email protected] | View in your browser
SNEAK PEEK
— Influence gets the post-match analysis after the most hotly anticipated Labour conference in years.
— There are major fears AI could be used to disrupt the next election after Keir Starmer was hit by *that* deepfake attack.
— Labour are still talking about cleaning up Westminster — but are they ready to put their money where their mouth is?
LOBBYING LIVERPOOL
MERSEY MANIA: The stakes in Liverpool could not have been higher, but lobbyists, campaigners and businesses are leaving the just-wrapped-up Labour conference with a spring in their step.
Minefield: With expectations so high, the opposition faced a real risk of winding up firms by remaining in “listening mode” and staying schtum on the details — especially given the Tories actually delivered a broadly coherent argument on their economic thinking in Manchester last week.
But: Apart from a few key areas — and more on that later — the dozens of agencies, businesses and campaigners that Influence spoke to throughout the four-day jamboree seem genuinely upbeat about Labour’s plans.
For example: Gabe Winn, CEO and founder of agency Blakeney, said Liverpool had a real buzz to it compared to Manchester, adding that firms who had shown up were rewarded with “unashamedly pro-business” speeches from Labour’s top team.
Courting: “Business isn’t ready — just yet – to declare its support for Labour. CEOs and their teams want more detail,” Winn told Influence. “Warm words and rhetoric are welcome, but it’s clarity on policy that will ‘bring them over the line’. The extent to which we’ll get that isn’t clear, but business is relieved that at least the direction is the right one.”
He added: “Given the message that business received from Labour this week and the one it feels it’s been getting from government for some time, I don’t think it will be long before we see op-eds and letters from U.K. plc breaking cover and pledging support for Keir Starmer.”
Big winners: The housing industry got plenty to chew on, with Starmer’s big focus on the sector in his speech and plenty of real announcements around planning reform.
Cock-a-hoop: One source in the housebuilding industry tells Influence that Liverpool has been an “upbeat, positive conference, even in the packed-out housing-related fringe events,” and saying the party has delivered the highest level of industry engagement for more than a decade.
Build build build: “We might not agree with everything they are saying but lots of it is sensible, and they’re having grown up constructive conversations with us,” they said.
Less impressed: Several agencies interested in the transport space were grumbling about the lack of firm commitments and felt conference engagement was less-than stellar — but appreciated the party is very keen to avoid falling into the HS2 trap set by Sunak.
Direction of travel: Even sectors who didn’t get much in terms of policy detail came away feeling they’d been shown the love by Labour’s top team, with Tanisha Aggarwal, co-chair of Labour in the City, saying the financial services industry felt they’d received a really “positive reception.”
She said: “It was certainly noted by leaders in the room at Business Day that Rachel Reeves has never given a speech like that. She is a woman on a mission and sounds absolutely ready to be the next chancellor.”
Speaking of business day: The closed-door events were so oversubscribed that firms ended up on a waiting list to get in or were told only to send their most senior staff if they wanted to ensure a seat.
Day care: “Business day was like CEO creche,” one lobbying pro told Influence. “I’ve never seen so many bemused looking execs being shepherded to events by their public affairs staff.”
Get Tonty: And with shadow ministers’ diaries absolutely rammed and events at capacity, lots of lobbying firms were advising their clients to spend time wooing the various think tanks who are being seen as key players in Labour policy development — with the Tony Blair Institute especially high on the list.
Spare a thought: For the fresh-faced Labour candidates who also faced a barrage of requests for coffees and dinner dates with clamoring lobbyists. One thirsty PPC told Influence that getting across the Pullman bar to get a pint was like “running the bloody gauntlet.” The struggle is real.
Speaking of pints: A big hello to the lobbyist who sidled up to Influence at the POLITICO bash to admit they’d opened last week’s newsletter in a mild panic. Turns out they were worried they’d been a bit pissed when we chatted at Tory conference and they feared they’d committed news. We’ve all been there!
Unusual suspects: Even Shadow Digital Minister Chris Bryant — who has just published a book about cronyism and conflicts of interest — was keen to hear from the public affairs crowd. world. My top tech-focused colleague Vincent Manancourt reports that Bryant told attendees at a StartUp Coalition event that “these ears are here for lobbying.”
On that point: Influence nearly lost count of the number of public affairs execs who pulled us aside for a quiet chat about the behavior of one particular firm they believed were flying very close to the sun when it comes to the access to senior Labour figures they are offering clients … Always nice to come home with a tip to chase.
Early birds: Meanwhile Stuart Thomson, founder of CWE Communications, told Influence firms still have a real opportunity to shape Labour’s policy plans — even if they may have been slow out the gates to build links with the party.
Back in business: “Ideally, organizations should have been engaging with Labour for some time but at least they are very obviously taking the prospect of a Labour government seriously now,” he said. “Whichever attendee figure you believe, it is properly busy and back to New Labour era numbers.”
He added: “Organizations that are not here need to remember that others in their sector are. Given the lack of finance available, shadow teams need the quick and easily deliverable ideas alongside longer-term ambitions. That is what separates good engagement with Labour from those who simply prefer to moan about their problems.”
Koolaid drunk: Influence was staggered at the number of journalists, policy pros and trade body bosses speaking at events where the usual expectation of impartiality gave way to goo-goo eyes and gushing praise of Labour’s performance.
New world: But maybe that is no surprise given the party has gone from Mao’s Little Red Book to business besties in just a few short years — something which Grayling’s deputy director of public affairs Christine Quigley says has been delivered through real discipline at the top.
Red rise: “The party has positioned itself well as a government-in-waiting, and the number of businesses and campaign groups in Liverpool compared with last week suggests that people are buying what Labour is selling,” she says.
She added: “There was a real sense of purpose, but not complacency, from all the politicians I spoke to — the election is very much Labour’s to win, but the scale of the swing needed isn’t being underestimated.”
Higher power: Quigley said Starmer’s “infectious” speech delivered that message in spades — and pointed out he was even treated to a double rainbow over Liverpool not long after he wrapped up… Steady on.
Mission complete: But Craig Beaumont, chief of external affairs at the Federation of Small Business, said the party had succeeded more broadly in keeping industry engaged with their plans.
New Labour: “Effectively this was the moment that Labour traded Blair’s ‘Education, Education, Education’ for Starmer’s ‘Build, Build, Build’,” he said.
Next steps: The small business lobbyist reckons, however, that the party can’t afford to kick back and bathe in its success. Organizations will, he added, still need to see “a lot more policy detail as we get closer to an election.”
He added: “Labour also has to create its business relations architecture — how will it engage properly with business to create that partnership in government?”
Sign of the times: That buzz also delivered a roaring trade for Labour in Comms, whose event ended with swathes of public affairs bods offering to volunteer their services ahead of next year’s election campaign.
Grassroot grumbles: But the presence of so many lobbying firms and C-suite suits has put many of the activists that chatted with Influence throughout the conference slightly on edge.
Stay frosty: One veteran member said while it was “encouraging” to see business taking an interest in the party, they hoped Starmer would “remain vigilant” about these relationships.
Outnumbered: “I feel like I’ve seen more business people than members at fringe events this year,” they said. “Most sensible members know we need to get their support to win an election, but I hope [the party leadership] don’t forget our roots or who we are here to represent.”
They added: “If we get captured by business interests and mega donors then we are no better than the Tories.”
QUICK HITS
AI’LL BE BACK: The deepfake audio of Keir Starmer that went wild on X at the opening of Labour conference has confirmed suspicions generative AI is going to play a big role in the disinformation battle ahead of the next general election.
Hansard hackers: Speaking at a conference fringe event, Shadow Tech Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the thousands of hours of video footage of MPs that are available through Hansard provide an “on demand” library of content for bad actors.
That’s bad news: Because the more source material that is made available to train an AI model, the better the fakes will be. And Davies-Jones points out that Hansard can already provide footage of MPs saying almost “any word.”
Open access: With the cost of those tools falling rapidly, it means the pool of people available to access generative AI is growing fast.
Case in point: Henry Parker, global head of government affairs for AI firm Logically, said the Russian disinformation campaign aimed at the 2016 U.S. elections had a budget of around $12m and involved 400 staff — an operation that AI could now do for less than a thousand bucks. Loads more on the deepfake threat to politics here from the mighty Tom Bristow.
ETHICS WATCH: There was plenty of chatter in Liverpool about Labour’s commitment to a new independent ethics commission — including a conference motion confirming the plans which would see most second jobs banned, revolving door lobbying rules tightened up and more independence and power for ethics investigators.
Sounds good: But Influence quizzed shadow minister Nia Griffith about the timeline Labour is looking at for setting up what is going to be quite a complex new arrangement for ethics and standards … and didn’t get any real response.
On notice: The great and the good of the anti-corruption world say pushing through that legislation will inevitably take time. The party reckons on day one it could give the current ministerial ethics czar free rein to launch and publish investigations without needing the nod from the PM. If Labour wins, we’ll be watching closely to see if the party will actually put its money where its mouth is.
Earning our keep: Influence also pressed on whether the party is planning to look again at rules around political donations and empowering the Electoral Commission to investigate and sanction dodgy donors. Griffith didn’t reveal any concrete plans, but did make some positive noises.
Kaboom: Transparency International U.K.’s head of policy Duncan Hames issued a stern warning, saying that while Labour might win the next election, if they fail to tighten up donation rules then they definitely won’t win the election after that.
But but but: Griffith insisted that sorting out standards in Westminster really is top of Labour’s agenda.
Unfortunately: That was the third issue that day Influence heard shadow ministers claim was the party’s top priority.
WORTH A READ: Peter Geoghegan’s latest probe into think tank funding — this time focused on Onward, the influential center-right outfit that was everywhere at Tory conference, is well worth your time. And ICYMI, my colleague Ailbhe Rea has a great podcast deep-dive into free market think tank land — with a cameo appearance from Influence.
ON THE MOVE
Victoria Wilkinson has joined Taso Advisory as a director following a stint at Grayling.
Adam Terry is re-joining Global Counsel as a senior adviser following a stint as head of policy development at Labour HQ.
Leonora Campbell started a new role as special adviser to the deputy prime minister.
Monica Thompson is starting as a policy manager at Engineering UK.
Chloe Danielle Gibs started as a public affairs manager at UK Finance.
Anna Trethewey is joining AQA as executive director of corporate affairs and strategy in January after a stint as deputy director of Ofsted.
Jobs jobs jobs: The Centre for Progressive Policy needs a head of media and comms … Marie Curie are on the hunt for a senior campaigns officer … Manchester Airports Group is hiring a public affairs manager … Public First are in the market for a senior policy manager … The Royal College of Physicians is looking for a public affairs manager … GamCare is seeking a head of external affairs … and techUK are hunting for a programme manager on tech and innovation.
Thanks: To editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster for remaining in isolation to ensure he was well enough to edit this. And to the production team for making it sparkle.
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John Johnston
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