Labor's advantage over the Tories has sparked a scramble between companies to hire knowledgeable people. Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images Europe
After 13 years of Conservative rule, business leaders are faced with the fact that a new party may appear on Downing Street next year, with which many have no experience.
As Labor revels in 17- Outpacing the Tories, Sir Keir Starmer looks more likely to come to power. This prospect is causing debate about how to deal with the government in anticipation.
“Public relations and communications consulting forces CEOs to ask them what we are doing to prepare for these potential changes, do we have the right contacts and connections?” says Lucy Cairncross, managing director of VMA Group, a recruiter specializing in public relations.
“We didn’t hear that kind of talk going on in 2019. I would have thought it wouldn't. There's clearly been a shift this time around.»
PR firms and city councilors are rushing to hire current or former Labor insiders who know how the party works and can help get things done.
“At the beginning of the year, we made a conscious decision to hire high-profile individuals. with experience in centre-left politics. Their stock value is currently rising,” says Nick Feith, director of WPI Strategy.
“We work with organizations from almost every sector of the economy, and they are all preparing for the possibility of a possible change of government.”
2,906 workers on the riseCity firms are changing fast — and they're trying to look like Keir Starmer.
Perhaps the most notable example of this change is Hanbury Strategy.
London Lobbying and Communications The company has close ties to the Tory party and was created by Dominic Cummings' former close ally Paul Stephenson, who ran the «Vote Quit» PR campaign. . However, Chris Ward, Sir Keir's former deputy chief of staff, joined Hanbury last year and set up a new labor department in September.
“Currently, every business and every trade organization in the country is putting together a contingency plan for the Labor government,” says Alec Zetter, public relations specialist at recruiting firm Ellwood Atfield.
This is getting more and more an expensive procedure. : There is a shortage of talent, which means companies have to pay a premium to attract people with real insight.
Labor has been out of power for more than a decade, and many of those who worked under the last party leader have been written off.
“There aren’t many credible people from the Corbyn period because a lot of them were openly anti-business and of course Labor hasn’t been in government for a long time, so there aren’t many Labor advisers who also have experience in government. ”, says Nick King, Managing Director of Henham Strategy.
One senior public relations official says: «Clients are increasingly wanting an offer from Labour, and in the classic case of supply and demand, given there isn't much on offer, Labor is definitely attracting higher wages now.»
Many of those who worked in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow office are considered too anti-business. Photo: Eddie Mulholland
Former deputies are in special demand . Luciana Berger, who left the Labor Party in protest in 2019 and then returned briefly, joined iNHouse Communications last year and became a senior adviser this summer.
Anna Turley, who worked in Corbyn's shadow cabinet , has joined Arden Strategies, as has former party business relations chief Ellie Miller.
Instinctif, city councilor for several FTSE companies, has taken on the former Labor shadow. Minister Tom Harris in July 2023 to expand the Navigating Labor Unit.
Former Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons Melanie Onn, who left the House of Commons in 2019, has joined Blakeney Communications.
>“Good people who are really good in a role and have really good contacts will always have a war for this talent,” says Cairncross.
If it becomes even more clear that Labor can win the next general election, it could be a «tipping point in going to hell for leather» in throwing money at people associated with Labor, she adds.
Consultants, who have been selling themselves for years with experience with the Conservative Party, know that their currency will fall quickly if Labor wins the next election.
Current Labor Party source says: «I'm getting a call, probably , once a month. It started last year when the Tories really started to fall apart.”
The most in demand are those who worked with Starmer, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves or Shadow Business Secretary John Reynolds.
Key figures in Starmer's shadow cabinet, such as Rachel Reeves, are in high demand. Photo: Eddie Mulholland
However, many of those now working for Labor are not considering moving because they know they could get their first government job opportunity, says Faith.
The public relations sector is also losing staff to Labor as people return to the party ahead of the election. “I know a lot of people who second Labor out of business,” says Ward.
Demand for Labor Aid professionals is highest in finance, technology and related zero-emission industries.
“For example, any industry that is under particular pressure from the zero program is absolutely trying to negotiate what they think the next government will be, what their responsibilities and contributions will be,” says Zetter.
Ward adds: «In addition, you also have very large employers who ask: what is Labor going to do with labor rights and taxation for large companies?»
Labor will be happy to answer these questions. When Starmer launched his Prawn Cocktail Offensive 2.0 project last fall, it marked the second phase of a long drive to bring business to the left.
the party is no longer Jeremy Corbyn,” says Ward. “The second stage is carpet bombing – getting to know each business or anyone who meets you. This is what they are doing now and have been doing for the last year or so.”
The third phase will be a calculated, targeted program of engagement with a much smaller group of businesses that Labor can trust,” he said. he says.
As the circle narrows and the election approaches, the value of insiders will only increase.
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