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Why I chose a B Corp accredited political consultancy – and you should too

One of the most powerful but unusual traits in politics is consistency. The public responds to people who look like they might actually do what they say they’ll do. Unfortunately, this just as often leads to the election of ‘straight talking’ people (usually men) who simply tell whoever’s in the room what they want to hear.

Consultancies advising clients on how to engage and interact with the political process must therefore make frequent decisions about who to advise, and how to advise them, and for what purpose. There is serious temptation for boards and executives – whether in the public, private or social sector – simply to mirror back the inconsistent, irrational behaviour they see in the political sphere.

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April 13th 2016

Pirates of the Caribbean

One of the most durable sources of progressive frustration in UK politics has been the steadfast refusal of the electorate to accept that it is not rich. Logical, Fabian arguments for higher taxation have often...
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March 21st 2016

From a Whisper to a Scream

Back in 2003 Iain Duncan Smith, fresh from delivering a 'back me or sack me' turn at his party conference, was digging in as Leader of the Conservative Party. His close advisors, including a...
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March 16th 2016

Budget 2016

This afternoon’s Budget 2016 was a far cry from George Osborne’s triumphant Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review 2015 just a few short months ago, where he ringfenced numerous government departments, u-turned on tax...
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January 22nd 2016

Up all night to get lucky

For understandable reasons, the attention of the Westminster bubble (and indeed, of these notes) has been captured of late by the ongoing shenanigans at the top of the Labour Party. Every day has brought...
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January 8th 2016

He's behind you!

A lot of politics is theatre. There's the story-telling, of course. You have to recite other people's words with freshness and sincerity but also learn how to improvise when it all starts to go...
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December 18th 2015

Look to the future now, it’s only just begun

MPs depart for their Christmas break after an extraordinary year in British politics. Like a failing, long-running TV show, democracy has served up a series of increasingly unbelievable and outlandish plot twists in 2015. It's...
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