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By ANNABELLE DICKSON
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Happy Thursday and welcome back to London Influence, with me, Annabelle, standing in for Matt Honeycombe-Foster who’s on leave. Please send along your tips, tales, traumas to @newsannabelle or [email protected] | View in your browser
SNEAK PEEK
— What next for MPs after another big week of standards furor?
— Meet the senior researchers behind a new network for women think tankers.
— Inside the NSPCC campaign to get Big Tech to do more to protect children.
LOBBYING WESTMINSTER
STANDARDS SPOTLIGHT: And breathe. It’s been another monster week on the standards beat and, hard to believe it, Boris Johnson’s government appears to be in even more of a pickle. MPs will next week unpick the mess of the Owen Paterson standards overhaul debacle amid a fresh spotlight on MPs’ extracurricular earnings. The thorny issue of whether parliamentarians should be allowed second jobs is very much back at the top of the news agenda. Today’s Influence will get you up to speed on where things stand, and where they might go next.
Reverse, reverse: The Tory-led committee to overhaul the standards system, concocted by the government last week as part of its attempt to park now former Tory MP Owen Paterson’s suspension, looks set to be disbanded before it even took flight. RIP. A motion, put forward by the government, will also endorse the standards report which found that Paterson was guilty of lobbying on behalf of two companies, a U-turn of spectacular proportions that ministers hope will draw a line under that sorry saga.
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What next: It is now Labour MP Chris Bryant’s cross-party committee on standards, which appears very much in the driving seat. The committee was already looking at the rules around MPs’ behavior. Cabinet Office Minister Stephen Barclay told the House of Commons on Monday the committee would be “critical” to ensuring that the code of conduct reflects and fosters the highest standards of public life. You can read the original terms of reference of that inquiry here.
Government option: The government is still talking up proposals for an independent complaints and grievance scheme, which would have an appeals process for MPs and an independent expert panel led by a High Court judge. In a statement Tuesday, Bryant said his committee’s review would commission a senior judicial figure to advise on possible changes to the process.
Timing: Bryant told the House of Commons that the cross-party inquiry, which will now be even more hotly anticipated, will report on its recommendations by Christmas. Those will then be considered by MPs before a further final report and draft code is published.
What that might say? There’s a lot of talk around changes to the rules on second jobs following the Paterson debacle. There are reports the committee will consider a potential move to ban MPs from having consultancy jobs, similar to those held by Paterson — although those close to the committee stress nothing has been decided yet.
Mind how you go: The prime minister, who had a number of lucrative sidelines when he was a humble backbench MP including as a very well-paid columnist for the Daily Telegraph, appears nervous about the proposition. His spokesman told journalists on Tuesday that the PM didn’t “back an outright ban on second jobs.” The House of Commons “can and historically has” benefited from MPs having second jobs, he said.
What the opposition think: Labour’s policy since 2019 is for most MPs’ second jobs to be banned, with clear exemptions for certain public serving roles, such as working as an NHS doctor.
Talking of which: The next big question for the prime minister is what to do about former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox. Tuesday’s Daily Mail revealed Cox has taken advantage of pandemic rules and has been voting from the Caribbean while he works a lucrative second job advising the government of the British Virgin Islands. His international law firm Withers is representing the tax haven as it faces a Foreign Office inquiry.
It gets worse: The Times has found video of Cox taking part in a remote inquiry hearing in September from what appears to be his Westminster office. House of Commons rules say MPs cannot do work for an outside interest while on the parliamentary estate. Deputy Leader of the Opposition Angela Rayner has written to Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone this morning asking her to investigate.
The Cox defense: Cox’s office finally put out a statement on Wednesday morning saying he believe it was “up to the electors of Torridge and West Devon whether or not they vote for someone who is a senior and distinguished professional in his field and who still practices that profession.” He has a majority of 24,992. On using his office he said he would “fully cooperate” with an investigation but did not believe that he breached the rules.
Elections watchdog probe: Also on the horizon, and another potential headache for the PM, is the Electoral Commission’s report into the refurbishment of the prime minister’s flat — the so-called Wallpapergate controversy. The watchdog confirmed reports its initial findings have now been put to the Conservative Party for a response.
And then: There is the case of Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski who is being investigated for “actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its members generally.” Earlier this year, Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone found him guilty of bullying. He apologized, but later said he had “no alternative.”
Now read this: My colleagues Esther Webber and Emilio Casalicchio ask how corrupt is Britain in the wake of the latest scandals. “If you talk to corruption specialists, some would say, ‘yes, it’s already acting corruptly,’ and some would say it’s not quite,” Robert Barrington, a professor of anti-corruption practice at the University of Sussex told them. “My personal view is it’s teetering on the edge.” Nonetheless, insiders are worried. One former No.10 adviser said: “I think this is the worst it’s been and they should be worried — it’s the perfect storm of the old guard with no promotion prospects worried about losing second jobs, and new guard worried that their best years may be spent in the wilderness if this continues.” Full story here.
AND FINALLY: Influence has been enjoying the Conservative masterclass in how not to handle an ethics crisis. Here are a few picks for the tone deaf hall of fame:
Considering positions: In the immediate aftermath of the Paterson vote storm, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng decided it would be a good idea to question the future of the independent parliamentary commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone: “I think it’s difficult to see what the future of the commissioner is, given the fact that we’re reviewing the process, and we’re overturning and trying to reform this whole process, but it’s up to the commissioner to decide her position,” Kwarteng told Sky News. Stone is very much still in place, investigating Kwarteng’s colleagues, the government has since U-turned and Paterson has resigned.
Do it again: In the aftermath of the angry vote last week, with Conservative colleagues under fire for voting to park his suspension, Paterson went out on the airwaves. Quizzed about his conduct by Sky News, Paterson said: “I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again tomorrow, absolutely no question.”
More tea, Vicar: Environment Secretary George Eustice breezily misjudged the public mood, calling the whole affair a “storm in a teacup.”
QUICK HITS
WHITEHALL DIVERSITY: Policy Exchange has called for a dramatic overhaul of the appointments system to end an era of “personal patronage,” in a report this week. The self-regulation of civil service appointments has failed, Nick Macpherson, former permanent secretary to the Treasury, said in the foreword. The paper wants the Civil Service Commission to have new powers to investigate internal recruitment competitions, and annul appointments made improperly.
COP LOBBYING: The Global Witness campaign group has totted up the participants at the COP26 climate summit and found there are more delegates associated with the fossil fuel industry than from any single country. They found 503 people with links to fossil fuel interests had been accredited for the United Nations summit. The BBC wrote up the story.
GLOBAL GLANCE: Tech companies do not have an outsized voice with EU policymakers, the leader of major tech lobbying group DOT Europe told POLITICO’s Lili Bayer and Clothilde Goujard. In fact, tech lobbyists can have trouble grabbing attention, Siada El Ramly said, rebutting criticism that the industry wields too much control over pending digital policy changes.
CAMPAIGN CORNER
Child protection charity the NSPCC scored a big win when the government published its draft Online Safety Bill in May. It is a leading voice in the growing call for Big Tech to do more to protect children from harm online. It called for a legal duty of care in 2017, and some of the recommendations in its subsequent “Taming the Wild West Web” report have been taken on by ministers. The charity is “grateful” the government has listened, says NSPCC senior policy officer Alison Trew — but their fight is not over.
Evolution of the campaign: “I think at the beginning we were definitely asking for the government to take any kind of action at all,” Trew says, explaining the charity dubbed the internet the “wild west” because there was “genuinely nothing out there to protect children.” Now the government has listened, the focus is on “making sure the legislation is right because this kind of legislative process isn’t going to come around again for a very long time,” she adds.
Lobbying on: There are still “gaps” in the draft when it comes to child protection, Trew says. The charity published a report in September outlining some of its concerns. The charity is still concerned the regulation does not do enough to address the risk of abusers using social networks to contact children, before they move across to encrypted messaging and live-streaming sites. “We need to make sure that the bill properly addresses how companies work together to tackle these harms,” Trew says.
Director liability: The NSPCC is also supportive of the campaign to see more senior management liability baked into the legislation, something Trew says will “really focus the minds of the big companies to think ‘how does this design change affect children, is there the potential that it could cause harm?’”
Lobbying tactics: The NSPCC has used a variety of tactics to get its message across. Most recently it mobilized 2,000 of its campaigners to send letters to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport which is responsible for the legislation, urging the U.K. government to go further. The campaign coincided with the day new Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries took up the post.
Backbench MPs: It is a cause MPs are “really engaged” with and “really receptive” to making sure that the bill is as strong as possible, says Trew. “I don’t think there is a better group of 650 people that are fully aware of what online harms means, and the potential for the kind of abuse and harm that they can get on social media,” she said. “They can see that the kind of harm they face what it must be like for vulnerable children as well,” she adds.
Not everyone agrees: The Online Safety Bill has proved controversial, and opponents include vocal civil rights campaigners who are concerned there could be consequences for freedom of speech. Trew admits it is a space that can get “really polarized,” but insists the NSPCC focus comes back to protecting children. “Everyone needs protection, but this is a really vulnerable group of people that need protection,” she added.
Anyone listening? Trew is optimistic the government is listening. She thinks “children’s voices are being heard” in the pre-legislative scrutiny process, and the “government are listening to what we and the public are saying on this as well.”
DCMS turnover: The high turnover of ministers at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport — it has had six culture secretaries since July 2017 — “comes with challenges,” says Trew. But she thinks Dorries has brought a “renewed emphasis on making sure we get this right.” “Whenever there’s someone new, there’s a new focus on the bill,” Trew adds.
What next? The NSPCC work will not stop when the bill passes. It will be “making sure we’re working with Ofcom [the regulator] so that they are getting the regulation right,” she said. “We need to make sure within regulation there’s specific measures in place so that children have a formal advocate so they can talk about what are children’s experiences, what’s happening to them, and what needs to be made better, so that is a role we see for ourselves going forward,” she said.
THINK TANK LAND
Two senior researchers from think tank land are on a mission to get more women working on policy ideas for the future, and to raise the profiles of those already there. Motivated by seeing a dearth of job applications from women, Bright Blue’s Phoebe Arslanagić-Wakefield teamed up with Demos’ Rose Lasko-Skinner, and their project was born.
WiTT wisdom: Their new network — the Women in Think Tanks Forum (WiTT) — has already hosted two mixer events and is gearing up for a third drinks party with journalists later this month. The aim: To bring together female think tankers from across the political spectrum to share ideas and improve the diversity of the sector.
Light-bulb moment: While think tankers from across the spectrum are doing many of the same things day-to-day — from holding focus groups to heading to the annual party conferences to promote their ideas — their paths rarely cross. “Because think tanks don’t work together very much, if you are one of one or two women in your organization you’re really not going to meet other women in the field. I just became interested in forming a network” Arslanagić-Wakefield says.
Crossing the political divide: She said that finding a co-chair from a think tank in a different political space was important so she approached Demos CEO Polly Mackenzie, who put her in touch with Lasko-Skinner. Arslanagić-Wakefield didn’t want the new organization to be pigeonholed as a “right of center type organization.” WiTT’s 30-strong membership already boasts women from a broad group of policy institutes ranging from the IPPR and the Entrepreneurs Network to the Henry Jackson Society and Onward.
Ambitions: While the initial idea for the network was to get more women involved in the sector, the ambition has grown. The researchers want the forum to be used as a platform to support each other’s work and “go beyond just gossiping and peer support,” Lasko-Skinner says. The co-chairs have already put this into practice, comparing notes on hosting focus groups — something Bright Blue has been moving into, but Demos has been doing for a while.
But aren’t they competitors? Lasko-Skinner acknowledges think tanks are often seen to be competing for airtime, and competing for similar pots of money, but insists it appears more competitive than it actually is. Think tanks share a goal of “better policy making,” she said, adding that sharing resources and comparing notes could make sense for everyone. “It’s much better for us to be communicating over what we’re doing to make sure that we’re not doing the same thing. Keeping on top of each other’s work will actually make the sector a better sector,” she adds.
Next political generation: Gender diversity is not just important for think tanks themselves. Policy institutes are often a “feeder pool” for jobs as MPs and special advisers, says Arslanagić-Wakefield. “If you have a diversity issue in think tanks, you could end up having a diversity issue in those other places. Think tanks can really, at quite an early stage, help to diversify the future corridors of power,” adds Lasko-Skinner.
Shifting the dial: “Politics can still feel really male dominated and I think the main thing we want to see is that shift — whether that’s through just making small spaces where women are more comfortable to share resources and network, or whether that’s actually going to schools and encouraging more women into the sector,” Lasko-Skinner says.
Beyond SW1: The pair are already talking about how they can widen the network beyond Westminster, where many of the big think tanks are based. “On the diversity point, it is also about location. Westminster is obviously very London-centric, and that’s also a bit of an issue. We are talking about how we can use the home working revolution to encourage a network that covers more geographical locations,” Lasko-Skinner says.
ON THE MOVE
Former Director General responsible for Clean Growth at BEIS Julian Critchlow has been cleared by ACOBA to take up a post at high-tech battery company Nyobolt Ltd.
Laura Squire has started as chief healthcare quality and access officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Nina Hingorani-Crain has been appointed as a non-executive director to the board of National Savings & Investments, the U.K. government announced.
Senior economist at New Economics Foundation Sarah Arnold is starting a new Economics Unit at the British Medical Association, she announced on Twitter.
Former Downing Street SpAd Jonathan Stock is joining the Charity Commission as assistant director for external affairs.
Lorna Branton has returned to NHS Digital as head of comms for GP data, planning and research, PR week reports.
Jobs jobs jobs: Full Fact is looking for a philanthropy officer … The Royal College of Nursing is looking for a policy manager … the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime is looking for a briefings officer … The Ministry of Defence is looking for an external affairs manager … the Department for Transport is after a chief press officer … the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is looking for a senior policy adviser in its Cyber Resilience Team … Hanover is looking for an account director.
Events horizon: The Centre for Policy Studies has rescheduled its data, connectivity and government in the digital age event for 1 p.m. on November 15 … and is holding its Margaret Thatcher Conference on Trade on November 22, with big names including International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser Crawford Falconer … Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street will be at the Institute for Government on November 16 at 10.30 a.m. … The IFG will also be hosting former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and defense committee chairman Tobias Ellwood on December 8 at 11.30 a.m.
Thanks: Influence is being kept on course by the unassuming Ian Geoghegan and POLITICO’s production pros.
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