Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
As the general election approaches, the villages of Westminster and Whitehall are increasingly focused on what happens next.
Parliament is ‘stalled’ with Rishi Sunak’s manifesto including long-term ambitions to reform welfare, raise defense spending to 2.5% by 2030 (but will start rising soon) and abolish National Insurance We are starting to focus on policy. .
The changes have spurred accusations that the government and parliament have become “zombies”. No.10 rejects these proposals. But as Labor remains on track for an election victory, lobbyists say more profound changes are afoot. I .
Sources at major public relations firms say the blue-chip firms they serve are interested in engaging with Conservative ministers as it looks increasingly likely that Sir Keir Starmer will be appointed to Downing Street by January at the latest. It is said that they are losing their
one person said I There was “technical work” going on in Whitehall, but “it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get senior leaders from client companies to engage with ministers. They just want to talk to officials and Labor. ” he said.
This is partly because corporate affairs departments are “telling CEOs to spend their time with the Labor Party,” but “government action and commitment” is progressing “very slowly” and “very slowly.” Another reason is that many bills are stuck.
Sonia Khan, a former special adviser to Conservative prime ministers Sajid Javid and Philip Hammond and now a partner at public relations firm H/Advisors Cicero, has experienced a similar change.she said I Businesses are spending less time talking to the government as ministers’ focus shifts to “short-term policies and ‘quick wins’ to win consumer support”, it said.
Mr Khan, whose corporate clients include Accenture, Barclays and Blackrock, said: ‘This means that key policy decisions, such as long-term planning for the economy and what the UK will do towards net zero, will not be until a new government is formed. This means that it will be postponed.” .
“There are also concerns that currently agreed policies could be reversed as the new government develops its own King’s Speech and Budget. We can’t stop people from trying to make things happen, but No big progress.”
Elsewhere, key figures from both the Conservative and Labor parties are spending more time campaigning than ever before.
Conservative campaign chief Isaac Levido is just one of the advisers who has moved from Whitehall to party headquarters.
Similarly, in the Labor Party, Pat McFadden, the shadow Cabinet Office minister and National Campaign Coordinator, currently spends most of her time at party headquarters, where other aides are also seconded.
Downing Street maintains that government work remains busy, with ministers and officials taking up significant time on recent major announcements such as welfare, defence, and the operation of the Rwanda program.
Meanwhile, the prime minister’s supporters dispute suggestions that the business world is losing interest in his government. They point to Sunak’s recent involvement with high-profile companies such as Wave, the self-driving car company that praised him for creating the conditions for economic growth, and DHL last week.
Alice Lilly, a senior researcher at the Institute of Government (IfG), said it was natural for Mr Sunak to look to the future with announcements on defense and welfare, but that this would not fully materialize until after the election. Ta.
“If you’re a government about to have an election, it’s important to point out what you’ve achieved, but you also want to say what you’re going to do and be positive.” she added.
“It is always easier, and therefore more attractive, for governments to allow things to be done in future plans than to continue doing what they have already said they will do.
“We’re starting to think about elections and manifestos and what we can announce without having to do anything for the time being.”
But this has also been accompanied by a slowdown in government business in Congress, the Financial Times reported. report In March, it was announced that members of the House of Representatives are working fewer days in this Congress than at any time in the past 25 years.
As a result, some of the legislation promised in the King’s Speech or in advance is at risk of running out of time to pass before the election, with 18 bills still passing through Parliament.
Those “most at risk” are bills carried over from the previous session because they are legally or technically complex, while others are simply “politically sensitive,” such as sentencing bills or renter reform bills. “It’s a difficult bill,” Ms. Lilly said.
He said the government may have to “compromise” or “abandon” more controversial aspects of the bill, but said there was “still a good chance” the government would “pass everything”. .
The Tenant Reform Bill has already made concessions to Conservative MPs who want stronger protections for landlords, but a sentencing bill to effectively reduce prison terms to reduce prison overcrowding is on hold due to a backroom revolt. It becomes.
“If you look at the House of Commons over the past few weeks and months, there hasn’t been much legislative activity there,” Ms Lilly said.
“You see a lot of public debate and backbench debate, which is important, but the government doesn’t spend all the time it could on legislative work. , is it a sign that they know things can get difficult?
“Perhaps given that this parliament is coming to an end, if some of these bills are difficult and time is a factor, we might be able to use that to our advantage as a government.Next “Something is better than nothing.”
“But it certainly feels a little stagnant in terms of legislation, and I feel like politics has a lot to do with it.”
Conservative MPs acknowledge this change in pace in parliament. But one person insisted this was “very fair and completely normal in the run up to a general election”, adding: “The advantage is that while locked up in the parliamentary barracks, the opposition can spend more time persuading voters.” Voters should go their own way.
“This means that there are calls for him to be removed from parliament by his colleagues and to be more visible on the campaign trail and in the constituencies he attends.”
He added that “important and possibly controversial legislation” was still being debated, while in the year before the election “the King’s Speech was very light”, meaning Parliament was slow to move. He admitted that it means that it is inevitable.
Meanwhile, a former cabinet minister said May was “always quiet” due to local elections and that parliamentary work was “exactly the same as usual at this time of year”.
But they suggested the legislation, which is currently moving slowly through Rhodes, may not be enacted before the election, citing the Renters Reform Act.