This week the CIPR launches another celebration of its 70^th anniversary. Platinum is the story of the institute as told by its volunteer members, who have recorded its outstanding history, showcasing excellence in modern public relations.

By Paul Beckford,

As a Council member, I felt it was important to make a contribution to a project that strategically (as if by design) reinforces the CIPR’s 2018 theme of public relations as a strategic management discipline. As a former Chair of the Public Affairs Group it will come as no surprise that my piece focused on lobbying and its professional evolution.

While lobbying itself has existed as long as politics itself, founding member of the CIPR, Tim Traverse-Healy suggests that the origins of the UK lobbying industry can be found in response to the 1945 Labour Governments nationalisation proposals.

Yet it is only really in the past 25 years the emergence of the professional lobbyist has become evident. The expansion of the lobbying industry during the 1980s is where we encounter the modern industry, as we now know it. This expansion occurred without any statutory or self-regulation.

The ‘cash for questions’ scandal in the early 1990s was the first time that a light was shone on the industry. This provoked a coordinated response with the establishment of the Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) to reassure Parliament and the public about the industry’s ethical standards.

The CIPR and other industry bodies operate codes of conduct that govern the behaviour of their members, publish registers of members and their clients and have well established disciplinary procedures.

In 2014 the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act established the first statutory register of lobbyists in the UK. However, this (widely criticised) register only applies to consultant lobbyists who lobby for third parties, thus omitting the majority of the professional lobbying industry. Conversely the UK Lobbying Register (https://www.lobbying-register.uk/) operated by the CIPR is open to all those who lobby, operates in real time and is free.

The broader professionalisation of the lobbying industry has been accompanied by a wider organisational understanding of the importance of communications; engaging political stakeholders and managing reputation proactively. This is reflected in the both the growth of dedicated political communications agencies and the vast increase in the number of organisations with in-house government affairs capabilities.

The skill set of the professional lobbyist is constantly evolving in a world of increasingly integrated communications campaign. The professional lobbyist also requires a detailed understanding of the regulatory and policy frameworks within which the organisations they lobby for or on behalf of, operate.

Professional lobbyists must now possess a keen commercial acumen in order to understand the organisations they represent and the way that political objectives can support and enhance business priorities.  The greater and more detailed the understanding, the wider the opportunities for engagement and the higher the chance of successful advocacy.

The current political uncertainty will surely help to fuel a further evolution of the industry, which will hopefully involve increasing numbers of lobbyists in management and leadership roles. The continuing journey to ever greater professionalism means that the next 7 years let alone the next 70 have the potential to be even more fascinating than the previous 70.

Platinum is a new book from the CIPR showcasing excellence in public relations. Edited by Stephen Waddington Found.Chart.PR Hon FCIPR, Platinum is the story of the CIPR as told by its members. It is out today.

Photo by Bruno Vieira on Unsplash