With one in five lobbyists heading to Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham today, it’s time to start framing your policy asks around helping the voters Nigel Farage appeals to, says Jon Gerlis
The remarkable rise of Reform UK is, perhaps, the defining story of the last year. Despite being just six years old, the party now finds itself at the top of the polls. Even the more conservative projections suggest that Nigel Farage’s insurgent party is on course for major gains at the next election, while others suggest the party could find itself with a workable majority. The changing political winds have inevitably been felt by the UK’s lobbying industry.
According to a poll conducted by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and Opinium, one in five lobbyists will be making the trip to Birmingham this week for Reform’s conference. This is up from just four per cent two years ago. In fact, Reform’s is now the third most popular conference amongst lobbyists. With 24 per cent set to attend the Conservative conference, senior Tories could be forgiven for imagining Farage in their rearview mirror.
The same poll revealed that lobbyists are set to open their cheque books, spending £18,000 on average on the Reform conference. Though this appears to be dwarfed by the £29,000 earmarked for both the Labour and Tory conferences, the gulf recedes somewhat when you consider Reform’s is only half the length. The Reform conference, then, is now as much a fixture on the political calendar as those of the two main parties.
Time to engage
As the Party grows in popularity, lobbyists find themselves asking whether it is time to engage. In truth, lobbyists should always be prepared to work with parties with Parliamentary representation. As the major changes affected by recent Private Members’ Bills attest, MPs of all colours have legislative influence and the ability to raise issues on the floor of the House. Sage practice alone would dictate that lobbyists should be prepared to engage with Reform.
Of course, some would argue that the party’s emotive position on issues means that engaging poses a significant reputational risk. Yet whatever lobbyists’ personal opinions, the Party’s ascendency in the polls suggests that the real risk is not engaging. After all, as Reform begins to hammer out its position on everything from crypto to energy and health, failing to get in early means failing to get a foot in the door.
But how do you actually lobby a party like Reform? With just four MPs, its legislative influence is limited. This, combined with its age, means it lacks the legions of researchers and staffers that would allow it to easily handle the incoming barrage of correspondence. If getting the ear of the near-400 MPs that swell the Labour benches is difficult, getting a hearing with a Reform MP is harder still. What’s more, Reform’s lack of a clear position on many key issues – Farage’s ideology appearing to shift noticeably in the last few years – might make it tricky to establish which policy asks will be best received.
Reform’s popularity ultimately reflects simmering resentment with the Westminster system as much as the appeal of any specific policy aims. Everything needs to link back to this basic idea
These are not insurmountable hurdles. Rather, businesses and lobbyists need to remember what sits at the heart of Reform’s appeal. Its popularity ultimately reflects simmering resentment with the Westminster system as much as the appeal of any specific policy aims. Everything needs to link back to this basic idea: lobbyists must demonstrate how policy asks can help those who feel left behind.
For the hot-button political issues, this is straightforward enough: housing, public services and NHS waiting lists are each a bellwether for standards of living. But for what might initially appear more abstract issues – financial regulation, for instance – it will be incumbent on lobbyists to succinctly explain how their position could benefit its core voting base. And, if anything, having a series of headline policies with little details sitting beneath them could make it easier to influence policy.
As the Party grows and solidifies its policy bank, lobbyists need to prove why they should be in critical conversations. And if they can show how they can help the Party overcome its literal limitations – lack of parliamentary support and staff – the relationship could be mutually beneficial.
Jon Gerlis is head of public relations and policy at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations