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Previously on A ‘new’ politics…

Upon his ascendancy to the throne (not needing anything so vulgar as an election), the rightful heir to the Prime Ministership of Great Britain said: ‘I have listened and I have learnt from the British people… I have heard the need for change… This change cannot be met by the old politics.’

‘To build trust in our democracy, I’m sure we need a more open form of dialogue with citizens and politicians to genuinely talk about problems and solutions. It is about a different type of politics, a more open and honest dialogue,’ he said.

Thus a ‘new’ politics was born.

And now, A ‘new’ politics continues…

The Labour Party appointed a new ‘general election director‘ today. A one Jon Mendelsohn, ‘a former adviser to Tony Blair and lobbyist’.

Googling Mendelsohn shows that he’s the director of FD-LLM, ‘a strategic communications consultancy specialising in public affairs advice to major companies, trade associations, public and voluntary sector bodies’.

Now, for those with long memories for new Labour sleaze, LLM might ring a bell. Googling again for ‘Jon Mendelsohn’ and ‘Lobbygate‘ turns up this from investigative reporter, Greg Palast: LLM were close to the centre of Palast’s 1998 investigation that became the ‘cash for access’ scandal.

Unfortunately for Palast, he broke his story about five years too early. In 1998 New Labour were still firmly ensconced in its honeymoon period and Lobbygate failed to tarnish the lustre for most. The on-side Daily Mirror even saw fit to brand Palast ‘THE LIAR’ on one of its front pages. If only he’d held on to the story for a few years, the rest of the media -including the Mirror – would have piled in behind him.

This is from Palast’s excellent book, ‘The Best Democracy Money Can Buy‘:

[W]e reached Lawson Lucas Mendelsohn, a firm less than one year old yet already the hottest lobby group in town, collecting f 2 million in billings in one year. LLM lists 20 powerful clients including the RSPCA and Rupert Murdoch’s News International. Named for its three founders, LLM is the definition of “inside”. Neal Lawson advised Tony Blair on campaign strategy, Ben Lucas conducted Blair’s political briefings and Jon Mendelsohn handled the future prime minister’s contacts with business.

…

Partner Ben Lucas knows what government will do because “we know how they think”. But what may seem like telepathic prognosticating comes down to harvesting insider leaks. Lucas knew, for example, that on June 11 Gordon Brown would announce the creation of a new housing inspectorate. “The reason I knew that in advance is that I was speaking to people who were writing the chancellor’s speech.” He delivered the information to an LLM client and advised them on ways to capitalize on the early warning. Also, like his competitor [Derek] Draper, Lucas had several days’ notice of details in the chancellor’s public spending announcement. Lucas offered up other examples of “intelligence which in market terms would be worth a lot of money”. The inside track on decisions is one thing, influencing the outcome is another. Influence requires access. What could we obtain for our monthly retainer? LLM’s Lawson trumped GPC’s tea with Geoffrey Robinson by offering, if needed, to “reach anyone. We can go to Gordon Brown if we have to.” His partner Lucas commented, “We use relationships in a subtle way.” And how were these relationships subtly used? On behalf of Tesco, LLM were about to derail the chancellor’s plan for a tax on car parks. LLM was holding secret negotiations that very week with Policy Unit advisers to Blair, the ones who told Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, nominally in charge of the issue, when to jump and how high. The tax, pushed by environmentalists to discourage excessive auto use, would have cost the supermarket giant more than E20 million annually. Lawson also took credit for taking the regulatory heat off Anglian Water. The utility had failed to live up to its promises to invest in reducing water leakage, and had run into trouble in mishandling sewer sludge. And LLM successfully lobbied against trade union pleas for easier recognition. When complimented for avoiding less reputable clients such as GTech, Lawson countered that he had in fact lobbied for the scandal-plagued lottery operator. LLM used Labour’s trust in them to “assure the government how [GTechl will behave”. GTech does not appear on the LLM’s published client list. Lawson and Lucas were quick to point out that lobbying is not all about calls to the Treasury. Sometimes LLM recommends the indirect route, “placing things with columnists we know the chancellor reads”. They called this “creating an environment”. In addition, LLM operates a captive think tank, Nexus, to give their views (or their clients’ views) the imprimatur of academic legitimacy. Sometimes they make use of the Socialist Environmental Research Foundation, which, Lucas assured me, is a purchased front for retailers. Lawson explained how LLM plays on what they call politics without leadership. in a milieu in which a lack of conviction is deemed an asset, with no fixed star of principles by which to steer, policy is susceptible to the last pitch heard over cocktails. “The Labour government is always of two minds, it operates in a kind of schizophrenia. On big issues especially, they don’t know what they are thinking. Blair himself doesn’t always know what he is thinking.”

This was policy in the hands of the highest bidder. Political and ideological underpinnings (whatever they were and are under New Labour) couldn’t compete. Contrast LLM’s swaggering braggartry to the position of other less well-connected lobbyist Palast met:

I took a cab for a get-together with Will Baker, another lobbyist of sorts. We joined up with Baker at a friend’s flat in Crouch End. Baker works as an anti-poverty campaigner for a large organization based in Liverpool. The group is pleading with Labour to eliminate electricity and gas heating disconnections, and this puts them squarely up against Draper’s and Milner’s key clients, the utility companies. The antipoverty group lacks the 8,000 pounds a month to hire an LLM or other professional consultants, so Baker and his colleagues must themselves act as lobbyists on behalf of their low-income constituents. Over Budweisers at the kitchen table, Baker said his group failed to get a meeting with a single key minister during the government’s Utility Review, not even contact with junior civil servants. “We can’t get in the door. They tell us to submit our comments in writing. We are just totally excluded.”

Mendelsohn’s new position with the Labour Party involves ‘bolstering the party’s finances, membership and organisation ahead of an election.’ He also ‘provided £5,000 to help fund Mr Brown’s uncontested leadership bid’. No doubt he’ll be bringing his contacts book to the party as well.