Starmer’s first showdown

— Pro-worker? Pro-business? Amid an onslaught of lobbying, it’s time for Keir Starmer to prove his new government can be both.
— Is the hottest new social media trend for the public affairs world… LinkedIn?
— The bizarro tale of convicted fraudsters pitching AI tools to lobbyists.
**A message from bp: bp is developing more lower carbon energy – like supporting plans for hydrogen and carbon capture on Teesside and the Humber depending on permits and contracts. And, we’re keeping oil & gas flowing to help meet today’s energy needs. And, not or – that’s our approach. See how bp is backing Britain.**
START YOUR ENGINES: Public affairs pros, policy wonks and MPs are set for a veritable feast this autumn as Labour delves into what it’s billing as the “most packed legislative agenda” of any new government for decades.
Red Bulls all round: Bills on water regulation, rail ownership and GB Energy — to name just a few — will vie for parliamentary time alongside updates on second jobs, riots, and Ofsted reform. It’s all part of Labour’s plan to prove it’s delivering real change.
But but but: Towering above them all is the government’s landmark Employment Rights Bill. With the properly meaty reforms looking set to trigger the first pitched lobbying battle of Starmer’s administration, Influence sat down with the key players to chew it over.
Radical, dude: Labour’s calling the package the “biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.” The government’s pledged to introduce it within its first 100 days — so the pressure is really starting to ramp up.
Quick reminder: Key measures expected include a crackdown on zero-hours contracts … ending “fire and rehire” practices … day one rights on sick pay and unfair dismissal … improving union rights … and a new agency to punish firms that misbehave. No slouching, then.
The big question… Is whether Labour’s pre-election ability to present itself as both a pro-business and pro-worker party can survive the rough and tumble of governing.
Déjà vu: It’s worth remembering the broader commitments in Labour’s New Deal only received pre-election approval after a “red-line summit” between Starmer and union bosses in May where they demanded — and secured — a “full commitment” on the measures in the face of sustained lobbying by business groups.
Upper hand: Perhaps emboldened by that victory, union leaders now appear largely unphased by comments like those from Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who recently said the government would “co-design” its policies with business in an attempt to reassure jittery corporates.
Chillaxed: “I’m not concerned,” Trade Union Congress general secretary Paul Nowak tells us when pressed on Reeves’ remarks. “I’m confident they’re going to deliver them, and deliver them in full.”
Making waves: Speaking just days before the TUC’s annual conference, Nowak suggests that confidence partly stems from ministers already making progress on changes that don’t require legislation to change — like informing departments of an imminent repeal of Conservative strike-busting laws.
Unstoppable force: “That’s really important because it sends a very clear signal that what they can do immediately, they will do immediately,” he added. “The government was very clear before the election when they published the document that this is what we are going to deliver.”
But but but: While business groups may have largely accepted the broad thrust of the plans, they remain concerned about big, unintended consequences lurking in the detail of the legislation.
You’re welcome: We’ll spare you the full list of concerns spread out across the fragmented business lobbying world, but there are real worries about how the new unfair dismissal rights can be squared with the current probation regime… how zero-hour arrangements can be made to work for staff and companies that actually quite like them … and what will be done to mitigate and protect small firms from changes to sick pay.
Plea deal: Their hope is the 100-day deadline is marked by handing ministers the legislative heft to reform, but leaving the details open to some more lobbying. Biz types are pressing for plenty of time and engagement opportunities to iron out the trickiest bits for them.
Fill us in: Craig Beaumont, chief of external affairs at the Federation of Small Business, says clarity can’t come soon enough. An information vacuum has been filled by what Beaumont describes as an incessant stream of “apocalypse stories” from elements of the U.K. press — creating low-level anxiety among employers.
He adds: “I think [businesses] take into account that during the August silly season there are stories that get legs that may not in normal times — but they are concerned, and there’s increasing concern about what might come.”
For instance… Beaumont was forced to speak out just this week against suggestions in the press that firms could be fined up to £20,000 by Labour’s shiny new enforcement unit. The government’s lack of response to the story was “worrying,” Beaumont says — not least because businesses are left to wonder if the government is either floating stories to gauge reaction, or whether the tales are just dodgy briefing from another stakeholder with skin in the game. And that means the FSB “can’t go to [members] and say ‘this is coming, this is the likely scenario, here is where we are lobbying’ or ‘tell us what impact measure X is going to have on your business.’”
But he’s not alone: Because a recent study from the Institute of Directors (IoD) also identified the newsflow over employment rights as a contributing factor to a reduction in business leader confidence over the summer. Speaking to Influence, the IoD’s principal policy advisor for employment, Alexandra Hall-Chen, says the time has come for real details.
Tick tock: “Given the tight timescales, we are getting to the point where we need to see more detail about the specifics of the policies and how exactly businesses will be consulted on the reforms,” she warns. “Taken in their totality, there is a significant risk of these reforms increasing the cost and risk of employment.”
Fiscal squeeze: Amid all the doom and gloom emanating from Downing Street over the nation’s finances, business groups hope their warnings will convince ministers of the potential economic downside should they attempt to skirt over knotty policy issues.
But but but: While Nowak insists unions are open to “genuine discussions” about practical fixes, the TUC’s pretty clearly alive to the risk that these dire economic warnings could just be used to dilute the main thrust of the reforms.
Tactical talk: It’s why Beaumont reckons each side will spend much of the next few weeks honing their pitches and engaging in informal chats with some of the key Whitehall players who were only appointed over the summer. While an all-out war between the groups seems unlikely, Labour’s ability to manage those competing interests will be vital … and the stakes could not be higher for Starmer.
Eek: Skid off one side of the track and Labour risk being branded as beholden to its union paymasters.
Veer the other way? And you’ve got proof that Starmer’s left-wing critics were bang on about their predictions he’d betray his base for corporate cash.
Or worst of all… The whole thing could splutter over the finish line in a fudge that alienates both sides just months into Labour’s new administration. No pressure then, Keir.
X-ODUS: With Elon Musk’s personal blog site now a wretched hive of scum and villainy, plenty of public affairs pros have been talking up LinkedIn (no, really) as the last remaining option for courteous convos online. So it’s come to this.
A smart take: It’s worth reading this interesting piece on exactly that from the London Chamber of Commerce’s Esenam Agubretu, who sets out how a bunch of feature changes have increased the platform’s usefulness for public affairs pros as X burns.
In the room: Plenty of lobbyists have said similar to Influence in recent months. Key Labour players who used the platform during the election have continued to hang around and engage in policy chat — meaning those 4,000 thought leadership blogs might actually be worth reading now. Maybe.
TORY LEADERSHIP LOLS: The Tory leadership contest is properly underway and there are already plenty of campaign comms capers to keep us entertained.
First up: Legendary grudge holder Kemi Badenoch opened a campaign video this week by attacking actor David Tennant for telling her to “shut up” a few months ago. Bad ass Badenoch blasted back, proudly informing potential supporters she was the obvious pick for leader because (and this is not a joke) she is “not afraid of Doctor Who”… That’s the Dalek vote in the bag then.
Big Bobby: Robert Jenrick’s team cut a slick promo vid of his launch event complete with slow-mo shots of him greeting babies, taking selfies with overdressed teens, and kissing his wife.
West wang: There was a strong U.S. campaign feeling about it all, with supporters sitting behind him holding up signs and wearing Jenrick-branded clothing. The only let down? His team forgot to remove the placeholder outro from the freebie video editor they used to make it. 2008 YouTube wants its vibes back.
Keep ’em sweet: Meanwhile, those sweeties on the Tom Tugendhat campaign wooed hungry hacks with what Influence thinks is a first for U.K. campaign swag…M&Ms with a candidate’s face printed on them. We can’t wait to see the receipts to figure out who swallowed that expense.
DEEP FAKES SELL AI: Definitely worth reading this astonishing tale from my U.S. colleagues about an AI firm being touted to Washington D.C. lobbyists by … a pair of convicted fraudsters using fake names.
You might remember… The tale of Jacob Wohl and his partner Jack Burkman, who were convicted in 2022 of felony telecom fraud for using a robocall campaign to try and suppress voting in non-white communities during the 2020 presidential election.
Not a JK, just BS: The pair of conspiracy enthusiasts have now been trying to snag contracts in D.C. by touting their AI lobbying business under the pseudonyms Jay Klein and Bill Sanders. Dig into the details here.
Kirsty Allan joined WPI Strategy as a director following a five year stint at Hanbury Strategy.
Global Counsel brought on Martine Doyon as a senior adviser after a decade as head of government affairs EMEA at Goldman Sachs. Also joining as a senior adviser is former Lloyds group public affairs director and Telegraph alum Benedict Brogan.
Jasneet Samrai joined the Royal College of Physicians as a public affairs and campaigns advisor.
Ellie Miller has been promoted to managing director, external affairs at Arden Strategies.
Sally Rushton is starting at Sanctuary Counsel as a director after tours of duty as a SpAd in the FCDO, MoJ and the Cabinet Office.
Catriona Bowman joined Headland as an account manager after a spell at Global Counsel.
Alleisha Furlonge-Royal joined Black Politicos as their first associate.
Jack Churchill started as a senior associate at FGS Global after a shift as a parliamentary assistant.
Aastha Pal started a new position as an account manager at Burson.
Jobs jobs jobs: The Financial Conduct Authority has an opening for a senior external affairs associate… College Green Group wants to hire an account executive… The Royal Society has an open spot for a climate change policy adviser… The Local Government Association wants to hire a senior regional advisor… and techUK in after a team assistant for its policy and public affairs team.
Thanks: To editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster for denying day one rights to typos. And to the production team for giving Influence some razzmatazz.
**A message from bp: We’re investing in today’s energy system and helping to build out tomorrow’s while we do. And, not or – that’s our approach. While today we’re mostly in oil and gas, we increased the proportion of our global annual investment that went into our lower carbon & other transition businesses from around 3% in 2019 to around 23% in 2023. bp.com/AndNotOr **