Latest news with #cashforaccess
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour faces questions over £30,000 ‘cash for access'
A Labour group is facing questions over 'cash for access' after offering businesses private meetings with 'an influential Labour figure' in return for thousands of pounds, it has been reported. The Labour Infrastructure Forum (LIF), which is run by lobbyists and has an advisory council of senior party figures, has reportedly been offering sponsorship packages to businesses since it launched last summer. Companies are said to have been approached and offered the chance to sponsor events at which they can meet 'key policymakers' in private and ' shape the discussion '. Deals on offer have included £7,850 plus VAT for a 'private breakfast/dinner roundtable with an influential Labour figure', £11,750 plus VAT for a 'parliamentary panel event with key policymakers', and between £21,500 and £30,000 plus VAT to sponsor a 'Westminster drinks reception', according to The Times. LIF describes itself as a think tank on its website and said its mission was to develop policy proposals focused on 'getting Britain building and growing again'. The group was launched in September at an event that featured speeches from Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Varun Chandra, a business and investment adviser to Sir Keir Starmer. Its advisory council includes three Labour MPs – Mike Reader, Kirsteen Sullivan, and Bill Esterson – alongside Ruth Kelly, a former transport secretary, and Lord McNicol of West Kilbride, who served as general secretary of the Labour Party from 2011 to 2018. Baroness Blake of Leeds, a government whip in the House of Lords, was also involved in the group until several months ago. According to The Times, the group is not a lobbying company or part of the Labour Party, meaning it does not have to abide by rules for lobbying firms or political parties. It also has no legal obligation to publicly disclose details of payments it has received from sponsors, or of who has attended its private events. It also does not have to register with the lobbying watchdog, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL). Gerry McFall, the group's director, is also the director of the lobbying firm Bradshaw Advisory, which is said to have a strong relationship with government figures. He reportedly told undercover reporters that one of the firm's clients had been able to have a meeting with Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, at last year's Labour Party conference. However, the LIF claimed it had told the undercover reporters it does not engage in consultant lobbying activity. An LIF spokesman said: 'LIF is a think tank, does not engage in consultant lobbying and does not have clients, and is therefore not required by law to register with the ORCL. This is clear on LIF's website and in any communications or contractual arrangements with potential sponsors. 'Like all think tanks, LIF seeks sponsorship to operate and cover costs, and does so on a case-by-case basis. 'LIF does not endorse any of its sponsors' products or services. LIF's policy work is entirely editorially independent from any sponsorship and solely expresses the views of LIF's executive.' The Times also reported that the Labour Party's events team offered lobbyists the chance to pay £15,000 plus VAT to partner with the party for winter receptions at which their staff could meet MPs. Officials reportedly emailed the companies saying any payments would not have to be publicised as they were a 'commercial transaction' rather than a 'gift to the party' and so was 'not a recordable donation'. A Labour Party spokesman said: 'Commercial partnerships at events are a longstanding practice and have no bearing on party or government policy. The party fully complies with all rules relating to the reporting of donations.'
The Sun
7 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Keir Starmer faces new sleaze row over Labour caught offering access to influential figures for cash
SIR Keir Starmer faces a new sleaze row over Labour offering access to 'influential' figures for cash. Since last summer a group linked to the party has been flogging sponsorship packages costing £9,500 to private firms. In exchange business leaders are invited to private meetings with 'key policymakers' where they can 'shape the conversation'. Sponsorship packs offered to companies include a £7,850 deal, where buyers can enjoy a 'private breakfast/dinner roundtable with an influential Labour figure'. There's also an £11,750 option to sponsor a 'parliamentary panel event with key policymakers' or £30,000 choice to pay for a 'Westminster drinks reception'. The cash for access, revealed by The Times, is organised by a group called the Labour Infrastructure Forum (LIF). Because it's run by lobbyists and a council of Labour bigwigs, but isn't itself a lobbying company, it is exempt from usual anti-sleaze rules. The organisation so far refuses to reveal which firms have signed up to its lucrative deals and who the influential Labour figures are that have taken part in back-room meet ups. A spokesperson for LIF said the group uses sponsorship cash to cover costs and 'any LIF activity that is supported by sponsors will be made publicly available at the time and in our annual report, as is common across the industry'. A Labour Party spokesman said: 'Commercial partnerships at events are a longstanding practice and have no bearing on party or government policy. The party fully complies with all rules relating to the reporting of donations.' Sir Keir Starmer red-faced AGAIN after Commons opens sleaze probe into his earnings 1
Times
05-08-2025
- Business
- Times
Revealed: Labour group's £9,500 ‘cash for access' breakfasts
The Labour government faces questions over 'cash for access' after a Times investigation found that businesses have been offered private meetings with 'an influential Labour figure' as part of sponsorship packages costing almost £9,500. Since last summer, a Labour group has been approaching companies and offering them the chance to sponsor events at which they can meet 'key policymakers' in private and 'shape the discussion'. The companies have been sent a prospectus with a list of sponsorship packages, including a deal costing £7,850 plus VAT for a 'private breakfast/dinner roundtable with an influential Labour figure'. They have also been offered the chance to pay £11,750 plus VAT for a 'parliamentary panel event with key policymakers', and between £21,500 and £30,000 plus VAT to sponsor a 'Westminster drinks reception'. The day-to-day running of the group that has been offering these deals, the Labour Infrastructure Forum (LIF), is done by lobbyists, alongside an advisory council of senior Labour figures. It says that its mission is to develop policy proposals focused on 'getting Britain building and growing again' and it was launched in September at an event with speeches from Darren Jones MP, the chief secretary to the Treasury, and Varun Chandra, a business and investment adviser to Sir Keir Starmer. Its members have included Baroness Blake of Leeds, a government whip in the House of Lords, and its advisory council includes three Labour MPs — Kirsteen Sullivan, Bill Esterson and Mike Reader — as well as Ruth Kelly, a former Labour cabinet member, and Lord McNicol of West Kilbride, who was general secretary of the Labour Party from 2011 to 2018. Although the LIF is run by lobbyists and has an advisory council of senior Labour figures, it is not itself a lobbying company or part of the Labour Party. This means that it does not have to abide by any rules for lobbying firms or political parties, and has no legal obligation to publicly disclose details of payments it has received from sponsors, or of who has attended its private events. The Times asked the LIF to disclose details of the companies that had sponsored its events, the amounts they had paid, which organisation had received the money, and which Labour figures had attended, but the group declined to share all of this information. A spokesman for the LIF said the group used sponsorship money to cover its costs and that 'any LIF activity that is supported by sponsors will be made publicly available at the time and in our annual report, as is common across the industry'. The Labour Party also did not provide details of any Labour figures who had attended private LIF events, saying that it had no connection to the group and did not endorse its activities. When the LIF was approached by undercover Times reporters, its director, Gerry McFall, who runs the group alongside his regular job as a director of the lobbying firm Bradshaw Advisory, discussed the strength of his relationships with figures in government. Speaking about his work at Bradshaw Advisory, he said that one of the firm's clients had been able to have a meeting last year with Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary. He said the meeting, at last year's Labour Party conference, had been to discuss 'opportunities' and 'inward investment' and added that his client — a big player in the nuclear industry — had been able to meet 'all the key people in government'. However, when reporters checked ministerial records, they found that this meeting between the Bradshaw client and the business secretary had not been declared publicly. Transparency rules say that ministers' meetings during party conferences often do not need to be disclosed when they do not relate to government business. However, if these meetings held on the margins of party conferences are in an official ministerial capacity, they should be recorded and published in the normal way. Reynolds declined to comment. The Times's investigation also found that, in the run-up to Christmas, the Labour Party's events team offered lobbyists the chance to pay £15,000 plus VAT to partner with the party for winter receptions at which their staff could meet MPs. Officials emailed the companies saying that the receptions would be for 'members from the front and back benches' and that the companies' payments to the party would not have to be publicised, saying: 'This is a commercial transaction and not a gift to the party, it is not a recordable donation.' No payments for any Labour Party winter receptions in partnership with lobbyists last year have been publicly disclosed. Electoral Commission rules say that donations to central parties of more than £500 — including sponsorship payments — have to be recorded by the parties, and if they are above £11,180, they have to be declared to the commission for publication on its website. The Labour Party does not disclose these payments publicly because it deems the payments for these events to be general 'commercial partnerships' rather than sponsorship for anything specific. The law appears to allow these payments not to be considered donations — so they do not have to be disclosed to the public. A Labour Party spokesman said: 'Commercial partnerships at events are a longstanding practice and have no bearing on party or government policy. The party fully complies with all rules relating to the reporting of donations.' Under the UK's lobbying rules, lobbying firms are not compelled to publicly disclose details of their meetings with politicians. The Electoral Commission said it was assessing the evidence from The Times. There have long been concerns about the influence of paid lobbying in parliament and that it could potentially allow some businesses and individuals to have unfair influence on policy for their own commercial benefit. Lobbying can be an important part of politics when it is done transparently, allowing an individual or a group to openly try to persuade someone in parliament to support a particular policy or campaign. There are rules to govern lobbying, and they are meant to ensure that the opportunity to lobby is fair. Political parties should be transparent about the money they accept and the meetings that lobbyists have with ministers and senior officials. The lobbying watchdog, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL), is meant to ensure transparency in the work of consultant lobbyists. Although businesses registered with the watchdog regularly have to publicly declare general lists of the clients they are actively lobbying for, they do not have to publicly disclose details of any of the lobbying meetings they have. The register also applies only to consultant lobbying firms, not to in-house lobbyists employed directly by companies or to other organisations such as think tanks. The ORCL said it was considering the findings and renewed calls for legal changes to force lobbyists to be more transparent with the public about their work. It has said that there are 'significant deficiencies' in the UK's lobbying laws. The LIF has made some changes since The Times started its inquiries into the group. Its website has recently been updated with a new 'sponsorship policy' page. This says that the group does not lobby for its sponsors and that 'acceptance of sponsorship of the LIF does not imply any form of endorsement of the sponsor's products or services by the LIF, or by the Labour Party'. The group's homepage used to describe it as a network including Labour policymakers, but now says that it is a 'think tank'. The LIF's website has always included print at the bottom saying that the secretariat, research and policy work for the group is supported by Bradshaw Advisory. Lady Blake ended her involvement with the LIF several months ago. After McFall's call with the undercover reporter, he emailed to say that the LIF did not do lobbying and was 'editorially independent from commercial interests'. In the days afterwards, a version of the LIF's prospectus that did not include the page detailing its sponsorship deals was removed from the internet. McFall then met undercover reporters to discuss Bradshaw Advisory's work, stressing the importance of transparency, and told them 'nobody can promise that somebody's going to meet'. A spokesman for the LIF said it was 'an independent left-leaning think tank' that did not engage in consultant lobbying and so was not required to register with the ORCL, and that this was made clear to potential sponsors. He said that the LIF was 'an independent legal entity to Bradshaw Advisory' and that its advisory council members had never received payment for their involvement with the group and had no involvement in operational or sponsorship matters. The spokesman said the group made regular changes to its website and that, like all think tanks, it sought sponsorship to cover its costs. He said the group was 'committed to transparency' about its funding, journalists had attended its launch and that the group was 'trying to boost UK growth and create well-paying jobs around the country'. Bradshaw Advisory said it was proud of the work it had done with the LIF, that it had taken appropriate legal and compliance advice before doing the work and that it had 'complied with the law and disclosure rules at all times'. It said that it registered all relevant clients in the normal legal way, including its nuclear client. A spokesman added: 'All matters of government competition and transparency disclosures are a matter for the government. It will surprise nobody that a public affairs firm assists organisations in meeting politicians and senior civil servants.'
