Lobbying at election time – business as usual?

 
And now it’s official – a General Election is coming on July 4th. If you’d managed to last this long without knowing then a) where have you been and b) can I come and live there with you?
With an election just a few weeks  away, this article is designed to get public affairs professionals thinking about how a wider public interest in politics might raise questions from senior internal stakeholders or clients about wider questions of how ethical, transparent lobbying is conducted and how organisations can seek to influence in an election year effectively without the perception of political bias.

The basics of transparency of lobbying and campaigning in the UK
There are a number of pieces of UK and devolved legislation which regulate the behaviour and transparency of lobbying regardless of where we are in any given electoral cycle. The CIPR have done a fantastic job of pointing out what the legislation is, who it applies to and how these systems could be improved. I won’t attempt to rehash these argument or offer my own additions. 
It’s also worth noting that this blog has come about as a result of the upcoming UK-wide General Election. As such, I won’t touch on the lobbying transparency register that applies in Scotland, only to say that it is applies to many more organisations and requires far greater levels of detail than the current UK-wide system.

Lobbying, advocacy and campaigning in an election year
In addition to the evergreen statutory requirements, greater financial scrutiny is put in place on ‘Non-party campaigners’ by the Electoral Commission 365 days before a General Election. Given that an election has now been called, we are now in a regulated period. Information on thresholds that have to be exceeded and what kind of activities count and therefore need to be declared is all available through the Electoral Commission website.

Arming yourself with the relevant answers for timely responses
As public affairs professionals however, it is our responsibility internally to reassure the senior leadership of our organisations, or our (prospective) clients, that we are mindful of any additional scrutiny that our organisations might be subjected to in an election year. They also need to be reassured that as public affairs professionals, we tread carefully to ensure we maximise the impact our organisation has in an election year, while not overstepping the boundaries established within our organisation’s objectives or governance structure.
This can be particularly true as people’s minds are focused on the impact that a General Election or referendum could have on the future success of your organisation (and that your policy work since the last Election will likely frame your asks of any future Government).
Questions you might be asked include:

• Are there any additional financial reporting or transparency required of our organisation given we are in an ‘Election year’?
• How does our organisation strike a balance between effective campaigning and any risk to our political impartiality?
• Can the organisation express a position on issue X? How similar can that position be to those of Political Party Y?
• What activities are we able to do that raise issue Y with the Government, political parties and individual candidates? How do these opportunities differ compared to a non-election year?
• What rules apply to our campaigns depending on the geographical focus of the campaign?

Conclusion
It is likely that a lot of concerns raised can be addressed using the basic framework that underpins campaigning, lobbying and advocacy throughout the electoral cycle. Nevertheless, ensuring you have done due diligence on your activities is key to providing reassuring, trustworthy and soothing counsel to senior leaders or clients – being overprepared with evidence and facts probably expends less energy overall!