Sleaze or clear blue water: the evolution of corporate and pressure group representation at the major UK party conferences

There has been growing academic and public interest in corporate political lobbying in both the UK and EU in recent years. In Britain, links between politicians and commercial interests have been one of the areas examined by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (“the Nolan Committee” and now “the Neill Committee”). A visible but under-researched aspect of political lobbying by firms and other groups is the range of activities that take place at annual party conferences. We report an exhaustive study of these activities at the three main British party conferences between 1994-97, covering the period from Tony Blair’s first appearance as party leader to the aftermath of the 1997 General Election. There is clear growth of visible lobbying, particularly at the Labour conferences, over the period leading up to the election, and a dropping off in 1997, particularly at the Conservative conference. The implications of the results for organisations, and particularly for public affairs practitioners, are considered.UnpublishedAgranoff, Robert (1976), The Management of Election Campaigns, Holbrook Press, Boston, Mass, US. Baker, Kenneth, (1993), The Turbulent Years, Faber and Faber, London Benn, Tony, (1994) The Benn Diaries Vol 1 and 2., Random House, London Bernays Edward L.(1955),The Engineering of Consent, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, US. Day, Robin, (1993), But with Respect, Weidenfield and Nicholson, London. Denton, R.E. and Woodard, Gary, C., (1985), Political Communication in America, Praeger, New York Eco, Umberto, (1976), A Theory of Semiotics, Indiana University Press, Bloomington Fairlie, Henry, (1968), The Life of Politics, Methuen, London. p214. Grant, Wyn, (1995), Pressure Groups, Politics and Democracy in Britain, Harvester/Wheatsheaf, London. Harris, Phil (1994). Political Lobbying or Machiavellian Marketing in Britain [Summary]. Proceedings of the British Academy of Management Conference, University of Lancaster, 12-14th September. . Harris, Phil. & Lock, Andrew (1996). Machiavellian Marketing: The Development of Corporate Lobbying in the UK. Journal of Marketing Management, 12(4), 313-28. Harris, Phil: Gardner, Hanne and Vetter, Nadja. Harris, Phil; Moss, Danny. & Vetter, Nadja. (1999). Machiavelli’s Legacy to Public Affairs: A Modern Tale of Servants and Princes in UK Organisations. Journal of Communication Management.3, 3. 201-217. Howe Geoffrey, (1995), Conflicts of Loyalty, Macmillan, London. Jones, Nicholas, (1995), Soundbites and Spin Doctors, Cassell, London. Jordan, Grant, (ed)(1991), The Commercial Lobbyists, Aberdeen University Press Labour Party. (1997). National Executive Committee Report. London: Labour Party. Lawson, Nigel, (1992), The View from No.11: Memoirs of a Tory radical, Bantam Press, London. Morris, Rupert, (1991), Tories, Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh and London. Nolan, Lord, (1995), First Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Volume 1: Report, HMSO, London. Nolan, Lord, (1995), First Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Volume 2: transcripts of Oral Evidence, HMSO, London. O’Shaughnessy, Nicholas J., (1990), The Phenomena of Political Marketing, Macmillan, Basingstoke McNair, Brian, (1995), An Introduction to Political Communication, Routledge, London. Perry, James, M. (1968), The New Politics: The Expanding Technology of Political Manipulation, Clarkson Potter, New York: Richardson Jeremy, J. (ed) (1993), Pressure Groups, Oxford University Press.. Roberts, Andrew, (1995), Eminent Churchillians, Phoenix Publishing, London. Sabato, Larry, (1981), The Rise of Political Consultants: New Ways of Winning Elections, Basic Books, New York Smith, Martin J (1993), Pressure, Power and Policy, Harvester/Wheatsheaf, London. Thatcher, Margaret (1993), The Downing Street Years, Harper Collins, Londo