Here’s five ways the election result has transformed the landscape for public affairs.
New agendas: After years dominated by Brexit, the pandemic, and their political aftermath, public affairs will once again be able to focus on engaging with a comprehensive domestic reform agenda.
Appetite for ideas: Starmer takes power with a mighty mandate for change but only a half-baked plan to deliver it. There is now an opportunity to have significant influence by offering up readymade, costed solutions, aligned to Labour’s objectives and national missions.
Internal opposition: Labour’s majority means it will dominate both Government and Parliament. This means that understanding the internal dynamics of the Labour Party will be vital.
New champions: The influx of new MPs includes many who are ambitious and talented, but outside the government payroll. There will be opportunities to find new allies and champions hungry for a cause to make their own.
Re-engage the Lib Dems: The Lib Dems are back, and, unlike the Tories, have no need for a period of distracting introspection post-election. Until Labour are able to rebalance it, they will be reliant on the support of 79 Lib Dem peers to pass legislation in the Lords.
With so much change, there is a temptation to want to do everything at once. But unless you have an urgent need or your interests fall into Labour’s early priorities, don’t rush. For the time being, many of your stakeholders will be more concerned about working out how to navigate their way to the Chamber than reading your briefings.
Instead take some time for strategic recalibration, stakeholder mapping, policy development, message alignment, and focusing on what you can offer and not just ask in your early engagements.
What happens next?
We expect that Starmer will have populated the top positions in his Cabinet by this evening, with junior ministerial roles filled over the weekend – though there will be a brief respite in appointments from 5pm on Saturday, when England play Switzerland at the Euros.
New MPs will be sworn in from Tuesday 9th July, with parliamentary email addresses up and running in the next fortnight. However, given the flush of new people into Parliament, it could be much longer before offices are properly functioning.
We will have a King’s Speech – when Starmer will set out his legislative agenda – on Wednesday 17th July, with recess likely kicking off at the end of July.
How can MHP help you in Labour's first 100 days?
Strategy workshop: We offer a bespoke workshop to explore what Labour’s priorities are for your organisation. We’ll discuss your own public affairs objectives and how they sit with the opportunities and threats of a new government and radically changed parliament. We’ll help define new goals and how to evolve your public affairs activity for the new parliament.
Message alignment: Through a facilitated workshop we will explore how you want to be seen, and how Labour currently sees you. We’ll look at the way Labour talks about your areas of interest, and how you can tailor your messaging so that it is fit for the Labour government.
Stakeholder mapping: After discussing your objectives, policy priorities, interests and past stakeholder engagement we’ll deliver a comprehensive stakeholder map, using a power/interest matrix. The output is a clear and prioritised stakeholder map, covering Government, Parliament, relevant regulators and wider political influencers, with short profiles of each identified stakeholder,
Reputation benchmarking: The beginning of a new parliament offers a natural moment to establish a baseline understanding of perceptions of your business. Our approach involves four methodologies through which to review and benchmark MP perception: Social analytics, an MP panel poll, structured interviews and desk research. We will use each lens to help prioritise stakeholders and recommend differentiated engagement strategies.
Please contact tim.snowball@mhpgroup.com to discuss how the Public Affairs team can support you in a new political landscape.