Lobbying

Question 1

What is lobbying?

Answer 1

• Influencing MPs to one person’s or a corporation’a viewpoint or favour.
• Lobbying firms hide to identity of clients, as many are influential people or big companies and corporations.

Question 2

Examples of big companies part in influencing policy.

Answer 2

2007 Ministey of Defence gave access to the private company of BAE Systems which produces weapons.

• BP and Shell influenced Iraq War as they wanted to run oil fields in Iraq, wanted War to go ahead.
• overall many lobbying firms look to become close to MPs to try and influence policy.

Question 3

What is the ‘revolving door of politics’?

Answer 3

MPs and similar positions in public sector sometimes move onto positions in lobbying firms, as in previous positions they have been inflicted a certain way in the prospect of a job offer.

Question 4

What are some examples of the revolving door?

Answer 4

• John Reed was previously Defence Minister, moved onto job at G4S.
• 4/5 top civil servants in foreign office took up jobs at oil companies and similar.
• since 1996, officials and military officers have taken up more than 3,500 jobs in arms and defence related companies. -231 Honda secured in 2011/12 alone.

Question 5

What’s the controversy surrounding Cameron’s trip to Egypt?

Answer 5

The aims of the visit are to be questioned.

Many see it as a cover up for an arms deal, as his trip was filled by no less than 8 private arms companies; for example Babcock.

Question 6

Success story of lobbying.

Answer 6

• 2011 James Bethel of Westbourne Communications (lobbyist) was parachuted in to rescue the £43bn project.
• initially sold by ministers on marginal benefit of a few contributors, the debate was reframed by Westbourne to make it about jobs and economic growth.

Question 7

What’s a tactic of lobbying firms when it comes to spinning the media?

What’s an example?

Answer 7

They change direction of media headlines to appeal to the public. Diverting attention away from ideas that aren’t popular with the public and prioritising coverage to benefits of campaigns rather than unpopular aspects.

-An example is The NHS Partners Network. reforms to the NHS were portrayed as survival of the NHS in straitened times, however it wasn’t made evident the mass profits that were being made of the reforms.

Question 8

Explain the ways in which corporations use seemingly neutral lobbying firms to push their agenda.

What are some examples of this?

Answer 8

• Big corporations aren’t trusted by the public for unbiased information, as many companies are very much looking for profit.
• They provide funding and support for lobbyist groups that through the eye of public provide unbiased information to help influence policy.
• examples:
• British American Tobacco currently funds the Common Sense Alliance, currently headed by an ex-police officer, who campaigns against ‘irrational’ regulations.

-Similarly Philip Morris is paying ex-police officer Will O’Reilly to front a media campaign which links plain packaging to tobacco smuggling. Where a decade before the company had to pay £1bn to European Commission to settle long running dispute over own contribution to illicit trade.