Playing the long Cons

— Tory conference was corporate-light — but there were still wins to be had for those thinking long-term.
— Labour tries to fight back on freebies by mildly tinkering with transparency rules.
— A top PR industry group has a shiny new president.
**A message from bp: Charging up and drilling down. While today we’re mostly in oil & gas, we’re also working to roll out EV charging, like our 180 bay public hub at the NEC in Birmingham. And, not or – that’s our approach. See how bp is backing Britain. **
NEVER EASY: When Influence received unprompted messages comparing Conservative conference to a funeral and a zombie apocalypse within hours of arriving in Birmingham, it seemed this dispatch could have been rather skinny.
But but but: Unshackled from the burden of governing and buoyed by a hectic leadership campaign, the mood started to shift — with many of the party faithful even leaving the Birmingham bash fully convinced they’ve got the next election in the bag.
You aren’t Josh: Okay, the whole West Wing role play did start to grate after the several-dozenth time a phalanx of leadership lackeys stampeded through the Hyatt bar, but it did at least inject some energy into what otherwise could have been a depressingly quiet few days in Brum.
He is Josh: “The decision to put the contest front and center has been a very clever move,” said Josh Harvey, associate vice president at Crestview Strategy. “Who are you wearing? Once reserved for the red carpet, [it] has now extended to lanyards, tattoos and an array of other merch.”
Unsurprisingly … While this was all jolly good fun for members and hacks, a wander round the barren exhibition hall confirmed fears that corporate attendees were largely staying away or sending significantly scaled-back teams.
Out the loop: “Like Labour, the real conversations are happening elsewhere,” said Elizabeth Ames, CEO of Atalanta. “Until there is a new leader and a settled shadow cabinet it will be hard for organisations to meaningfully engage with the Tories.”
Worth a try: Obviously, the Tories were desperate to prove they still had the ear of corporates at their Business Day event on Monday — even if some of those attendees were given tickets for free. Pretty brutal for those who splashed out on the £3,500 tickets before the election defenestration.
Making the best of it … Was leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch, who joked that while it was lovely to see them all, she knew fine well they’d stumped up the cash long before Rishi Sunak captained his party to a ballot beating. If you don’t laugh …
Even then: Influence’s moles in the room said the start of the day was super slow — with more corporate bigwigs showing up for the Business Days put on by Labour in the depths of Jeremy Corbyn’s premiership. Ouch.
Not helping things: The morning coffee offering was described by one attendee as “quite possibly the worst ever served at a party conference — brown water,” but at least the bacon and sausage sarnies were decent.
On the agenda: Morning attendees were also left scratching their heads after Robert Jenrick missed an early session billed as a chance to hear from the party’s leadership candidates. They weren’t buying his team’s claim that was always the plan but at least they were graced with his presence at the evening drinks reception.
The other problem … is multiple attendees told Influence that while the leadership wannabes were relatively engaging, it was “glaring” that they hammered Labour’s early mistakes while steadfastly refusing to show any recognition of the problems caused by, er, the Tories.
In their own world: “They were all focussed on how they’d lead as prime minister, not as leader of the opposition,” one attendee reported back. “So, generally … upbeat, but not really realistic.”
On the plus side: The afternoon sessions saw some actual policy roundtables with shadow ministers — which is more than Labour offered in Liverpool — even if most of them will be out of those jobs within the month.
Dine and dash: The party also managed to fill out their Business Day dinner, a feat achieved by flogging tickets at the last minute. Corporate attendees were emailed last week offering them a chance to “upgrade” their passes … before hitting those replying affirmatively with a bill for £480. A figure which Influence understands fell to barely £100 in the final days before conference kicked off.
And even then … Tory attendance at some tables comprised bemused MPs who were clearly frogmarched in by CCHQ — with several even dipping in-and-out between courses so they could go along to more exciting fringes.
Feeling ripped off? Copy the corporates from Labour conference who requested their money back in response to the lackluster Liverpool event. Influence understands some received a full refund within 24 hours of the session …
But but but: For those who did show up, there were still some benefits to be had away from the leadership sideshow — as long as expectations were managed.
New players: “It’s interesting to see some new MPs staking out their ground, some new campaign vehicles … and Conservative networks taking shape, and more corporates are here than many predicted,” said Will Wallace, partner at DGA Group.
Give em an inch: That interest in the Blue team, Wallace added, had only grown given the Labour’s early struggles have made the bet hedging palpable, “even if that does mean not everyone is quite sure what they are doing or who they should be speaking to.”
Who is worth speaking to: Are those local leaders who are becoming ever more powerful compared to the humble backbencher as well as the wonks and other lobbyists who were too busy to chat in Liverpool.
Plus: “We touched base with former ministers to thank them for their support over the last parliament, and meet MPs with new select committee positions,” said Tess Godley, policy and advocacy director at Better Society Capital. “Translation: We’re playing the long game.”
The problem … Is that multiple public affairs pros and campaigners told Influence many of those conversations were made that bit tougher by the fact that Tory figures just can’t quite accept their slip down the food chain.
Clinging on: “It was like stepping into a time warp,” said Andy Twelves, media relations and public affairs officer at the BCS. “Many MPs and advisors still carried themselves as though they were the ones in government, despite the obvious shift in reality.”
Worth the trudge: But despite that dysfunction, many lobbyists were insistent the trip to Brum was not a complete washout for corporates looking at the bigger picture.
Grudge holders: “Business will do well to remember that political parties have long memories,” said WA Communications director Natasha Egan-Sjodin. “This is the moment to make meaningful, long-term friends on future front benches.”
Friends in low places: And Victoria Murphy, associate director at Grayling, agrees that “savvy long game” extended to corporates and campaigners who showed up to give some love to the ex-MPs — well, those who weren’t just there to find a new job — given many of them were using conference to lay the groundwork for re-selection.
She added: “They already have the expertise from their previous briefs, could well be back in five years,” she said. “Yes, it’s a while off, but keep them on side now and it’ll pay back in dividends.”
The big question … Is what direction the party chooses in opposition and whether they can bring business along with them.
But but but: John Foster, chief policy and campaigns officer at the CBI said after conference season there was a “clear consensus” among both politicians and business of the need to boost economic growth ambitions.
He added: “The next Conservative leader can play a key role by building on some of the big ideas in recent years — like the expansion of childcare provision — but also by locking in political consensus to tackling key blockers to growth, such as planning reform.”
And sorry to say: But those who managed to escape showing up to Tory conference this year are probably going to have to reconsider that decision by the next time conference season rolls round, with Crestview’s Harvey saying at the very least a one-day road trip was a smart play.
Find your angle: “The electorate is now so volatile that no party can be completely discounted; engagement should be really targeted so that it plays into the broader themes of the new leadership.”
He added: “Any policy asks might not be to influence legislation now, but it could shape the thinking of the party in the long term.”
FREEBIE FURORE: With no signs of Labour’s freebie fracas dying down, the government has finally decided to show some contrition by having Keir Starmer pay back some of his giveaways, including his Taylor Swift tickets. And they’re also actually tightening up transparency rules … a little.
Funny old world: We’d love to know what has changed since last week’s Labour conference, where ministers were bristling at the suggestion they pay back a penny given their freebies hadn’t come from “vested interests” and were therefore very different to their nasty Tory predecessors.
Anyways … The proposed rule changes would see ministers forced to include hospitality received through their government jobs in their MPs’ register — meaning a more frequent publication schedule and a requirement to put down an estimated value.
Fiddling while Rome burns: The move has been welcomed by transparency campaigners, but given it all feels a bit rushed, there are fears it hasn’t really be thought through. The wording of the MPs register at the moment explicitly exempts ministers from including this info.
Digging in: “It might not be as simple as merely updating the ministerial code,” said Rose Whiffen, senior research officer at Transparency International UK. They’ve got a blog here well worth reading if you want more info on the nitty gritty.
But but but: As Whiffen points out there are “bigger and bolder things” Labour could be doing to prove they are taking this seriously, like actually bringing in their promised Ethics and Integrity Commission … which appears to still be low on the priority list. They better move fast because the row continues to snowball.
WORTH A READ: Peter Geohegan’s latest Substack about five parliamentarians who failed to declare they’d accepted freebie trips to northern Cyprus when asking parliamentary questions about the contested region.
Not happy: SNP MP Ian Blackford — and member of the Committee on Standards in Public — said there were “so many red lights flashing” after he wrote to parliament’s standards commissioner to call for an investigation.
MADAME PRESIDENT: Congratulations to Farzana Baduel who has been elected unopposed to become the CIPR trade body 2026 president. Baduel will serve as president-elect next year, before taking over from 2025 president Advita Patel.
Street cred: Baduel is CEO and co-founder of strategic comms firm Curzon PR and recently co-founded the Asian Communications Network to address the lack of British Asian representation in the comms sector.
Future fights: The incoming prez said she’d focus on key areas, including the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on the industry and future proofing-careers. She wants the CIPR to be “successful and forward-facing.”
Former Downing Street adviser James Nation joined Forefront Advisers as MD of U.K. politics.
Lewis Roberts started as director of government and external affairs, UK/Europe at Amentum.
Edward Emerson is starting at techUK as head of digital regulation after a spell at WPI Strategy.
Billy Hill has been promoted to associate director at Atalanta, Cilena Rojas to head of design, Ella Turney to account manager and Lizzie Lloyd to senior account executive.
Nick Try has been promoted to director at Hanbury Strategy.
Fergus Cameron Watt joined Global Counsel as a senior associate in the tech, media and telecoms team after a stint as a SpAd in the Department of Health.
Michael Dnes joined Stonehaven as head of transport policy after an 18 year-career at the Department for Transport.
Jess Craig has been promoted to policy manager (research) at think tank Power to Change while Josh Westerling started as policy manager (advocacy).
Jobs jobs jobs: FareShare UK is looking for a senior public affairs and research officer … The NSPCC has an opening for a senior policy and public affairs officer … There’s an external affairs officer role going at the Countryside Alliance … The RSA want to hire a head of policy … IPPR is looking for an associate director, public services … and The Crown Estate has an opening for an external affairs director focused on land and property.
Thanks: To editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster for full transparency over typos. And to the production team for giving Influence some sparkle.
**A message from bp: We’re investing in today’s energy system and helping to build out tomorrow’s while we do. And, not or – that’s our approach. While today we’re mostly in oil and gas, we increased the proportion of our global annual investment that went into our lower carbon & other transition businesses from around 3% in 2019 to around 23% in 2023 bp.com/AndNotOr.**
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