You were warned

— Ministers going into the bunker after an ethics row? C’est la vie …
— MPs get briefed on how to avoid getting caught in a lobbying scandal.
— The CBI are flying high again as major members rejoin the fold.
**A message from Vodafone: The proposed merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK will unlock an £11bn investment to build a world-class UK wide standalone 5G network – helping to deliver Labour’s manifesto ambition of national 5G coverage by 2030 and contributing to a £159bn boost to the UK economy, at no cost to taxpayers.**
GHOSTS OF INFLUENCE PAST: Back in June, we sounded the early warning klaxon. If incoming Labour ministers didn’t deliver their much-hyped ethics reforms ASAFP then they’d find themselves in a proper muddle when the first scandal hit …
Just back from a recess break? Well, it’s happened and here’s the skinny. A trickle of controversial Whitehall appointments turned into a flood, and we are now in full-blown “cronyism row” territory. Uh-oh.
It all started … When POLITICO revealed ex-Labour staffer Emily Middleton had been given a senior civil service gig (soz).
Another one: My colleagues then reported that Ian Corfield, another ex-Labour staffer, had received a Treasury role despite the department failing to inform the Civil Service Commission watchdog he was also a party donor (double soz).
More questions: Guido Fawkes revealed that Jess Sargeant was poached from the influential Labour Together think tank, with no external recruitment process, to work for Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds in his department’s Propriety and Constitution Unit.
It continued … with another three junior civil service posts being filled by Labour loyalists.
And then: The Sunday Times reported that TV mogul Lord Waheed Alli — who has given over £500,000 to the party — was handed a pass to roam Downing Street despite not having an official government role.
March them down again: Understandably, the whole sorry situation is going down like a cup of cold sick with transparency and anti-corruption pros who are getting seriously jittery about Labour actually coming through on their big standards promises.
Ooft: “It’s utterly and depressingly short-sighted,” says Sue Hawley, executive director of campaign group Spotlight on Corruption. “The public appointments scandal is just a complete own goal. You can’t promise to eradicate cronyism and then come in and appoint your mates, allies and donors to key civil service roles that are meant to be impartial.”
And worryingly … Starmer’s response to the criticism thus far has been straight from the Tory toolbox for minimizing blame — claim you’ve followed the rules as they are written and say you’ll take no “lectures” from your even grubbier critics.
Nul points: But turning ethics and integrity into a political football is the antithesis of what Labour promised, especially given they seemed to realize the “just following the rules, honest, guv” schtick ain’t fooling the public anymore.
Discredited: “I don’t understand why they keep wheeling it out, because it’s not a very good defense, frankly,” Hawley added. “Because either it means the rules are a bit rubbish, or politicians are getting to live by different rules.”
The good news … According to Peter Munro of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, there remains plenty of goodwill towards the new government among civil society, even if the appointments scandal has left a stench.
Clean break: “Solving this problem gives the government the opportunity to create daylight between themselves and the old government, and to have a bit of a legacy going forward,” the senior coalition coordinator tells Influence.
Blueprint: The starting point, transparency pros argue, is more appointments … but done, y’know, properly.
Boots on the ground: Two big things to watch for are Labour’s “Covid Corruption Commissioner,” and its promised Ethics and Integrity Commission. Both have been billed as fundamental to cleaning up wrongdoing.
M’lud: “This should not be a political appointee,” Munro says of the ethics gig. “We’d much prefer, for example, a former judge to lead it.”
He adds: “If it’s going to be cross-party and these changes are going to survive long term, it shouldn’t be politically motivated.”
The bad news … Is that Influence has heard on more than one occasion that a veteran Labour figure is already in the running. But no matter the final decision, the scrutiny is going to be intense.
Track record: “Why would we not be slightly concerned given the recent appointments process?” Munro adds. “The prime minister sidestepping important ethics processes? It’s not exactly stopping the rot, as Labour likes to say themselves.”
Money talks: The presence of donors has added an additional element of concern, but so too have some of the posts they’ve filled with friendly faces. “They’ve also allowed themselves to get into a situation where the very person they’re relying on to provide the blueprint for political integrity reform — Jess Sargeant — is themselves subject to an appointments scandal,” Hawley says.
Which is why … Another big ethics gig — that of government anti-corruption champion — is being closely watched.
What they do: It’s a role traditionally filled by a senior MP with the experience to warn the prime minister of potential pitfalls in the U.K.’s ethics set up, and the personality to give them a firm nudge when they are getting it wrong.
And yet: The role has been sitting vacant since then-Tory MP John Penrose quit back in (no, really) June 2022 despite promise after promise from subsequent governments that an appointment would be made in “due course”.
Tables turned: “Labour are discovering that just saying you followed a process doesn’t get rid of a smell,” Penrose tells Influence. “Lofty words and good intentions aren’t enough, you’ve got to act too.”
On message: Penrose is urging Labour to “get cracking” on *finally* filling the vacancy if they want to be taken seriously … but that’s going to take political will.
And we get it … Beset by riots and public service pressures, you can be forgiven for being sympathetic to the argument that this simply isn’t the most burning priority for exhausted ministers.
But but but: While that stuff is obviously very important, Hawley argues that perception really matters. “The idea that you can do delivery without looking at political integrity and being squeaky clean is really for the birds,” she says.
Only upside: If that doesn’t convince you, then just think about the amount of time, energy and public trust which has already been squandered on this whole debacle. “It just ends up consuming more of your time and distracts from your agenda,” the Spotlight boss adds. “Which is a really good reason for them to just get on with it.”
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: Baby faced MPs are easy pickings for unscrupulous lobbyists, which is why industry trade body, the CIPR, has put together a handy cheat sheet to help them spot bad behavior.
Back to basics: The guide — pulled together in conjunction with political monitoring firm PolicyMogul — gives a solid background for MPs and their staff on how to reap the benefits of engagement with public affairs pros while making sure the relationship stays healthy.
Talk the talk: Top tips include questions that MPs should pose to help suss out motivations, like which client a lobbyist is representing or whether they are signed up to any voluntary codes.
Red flags: But there’s also some pointers for sniffing out skullduggery. Sure, nondescript envelopes bulging with notes is an obvious one, but there are more subtle behaviours, like trying to keep meetings secret, excessive gift offers, or attempts to ham up public support for a cause.
Well played: Direct engagement with MPs, CIPR CEO Alastair McCapra argues, can help them realize the positive contribution of ethical lobbying, and they’ve even thrown in a pitch for MPs to support their campaign for tougher legislation … Shy bairns and all that.
CBI’S COMEBACK TRAIL: It’s been 16 months since the business lobbying group was rocked by a major misconduct scandal, but things appear to finally be looking up as big firms rejoin the fold.
Worth remembering … There were several touch-and-go moments when the group appeared near to total collapse as members jumped ship or suspended their membership en masse while top level engagement in Whitehall ground to a halt.
Back on track: The Times reports the ship could be steadying, with AstraZeneca, Unilever and GSK renewing their memberships, while tech giant Cisco and power generation firm Drax have reportedly rejoined.
WHAT WE’RE READING: This fun tale from Desmog about new Reform MP Rupert Lowe, who has railed against “net zero nonsense” despite owning a firm that supplies heat pumps — a flagship heating technology.
Lowe blow: While Lowe bangs on about the “cult of climate change” in public, the firm has been urging the new Labour government to “prioritize investment” in green tech given it’s importance of hitting net zero targets.
In response: Lowe defended his “proud” business career, saying he’d make “no apology” for his interests across a range of industries, adding if more MPs had his experience then the country wouldn’t be in “such a sorry mess.”
Awks: We’d describe the rebuttal as boilerplate … but we’re worried Lowe might try and sell us a green alternative.
AND WE LEAVE YOU WITH THIS: Donald Trump is flogging digital trading cards of himself for $99 a pop in an attempt to boost his campaign funds, and you have to see them to believe them.
Top trumps: Buy 15 of the digital cards and you’ll get a physical card decorated with a piece of the actual suit he wore during his presidential debate with Joe Biden … Given the U.K. habitually apes campaign tactics from across the pond, we can’t wait to see what sartorial surprises we’ll get in 2029. Ed Davey’s campaign swimwear anyone?
Leah Selouk is starting at Grayling UK as deputy head of corporate after a spell at MSL.
James Matthews has a new role as a public affairs and communications senior association at Charlesbye.
Bhav Popat started as as a government relations adviser at Offshore Energies UK after a shift at Rail Partners.
Alice Offley joined Toyota Motor Europe as a external affairs senior specialist from Cadent Gas.
Ben Hayday joined Agratas as a government affairs specialist following a stint at University of Warwick.
Calum Pinches joined the House of Commons as a communications officer.
Anita Injeeli started at Ridgeway Strategy as a consultant after a spell with the Conservative Party.
Holly Dickinson has been promoted to senior external affairs and events officer at IPPR.
Lorna Jane Russell joined the Pensions Protection Fund as a public affairs consultant from FleishmanHillard UK.
Ben Ruffels has a new role as director of public affairs at UK Finance after a previous stint at Volt.
Jobs jobs jobs: The Met Police want to hire a new head of media … Dementia UK is looking for a public affairs officer … There’s a senior public affairs officer gig going at YMCA England and Wales … Tesco is on the hunt for a government relations executive … Patriotic Millionaires UK have an opening for a head of communications … and We Own It want to hire a press and communications lead.
Thanks: To editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster for appointing himself as typos commissioner. And to the production team for making Influence look well mint.
**A message from Vodafone: To drive economic growth, we need best-in-class standalone 5G infrastructure. But today, the UK ranks 22nd out of 25 European countries for 5G (Opensignal, February 2024). Combining Vodafone UK and Three UK will be a significant contributor to the new Government’s growth agenda. Joining forces will strengthen competition in the UK’s mobile sector and unlock £11 billion in investment with benefits for consumers and country. 50 million people will enjoy a better quality network, with less congestion and faster speeds. Standalone 5G is critical for next-generation technology such as artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles and remote healthcare. Today it is not being rolled out at speed. The merger will change that and see 99% standalone 5G population coverage by 2034. We have an opportunity to deliver £11bn of self-funded network investment, delivering a growth plan for the country at no cost to taxpayers. To build the 5G infrastructure the country deserves.**
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