April 21st 2023
Taking care of business
John Major was not really, personally, particularly unpopular. He was way below Blair in the run up to the 1997 General Election, sure. But he wasn’t hated. His party, on the other hand, was widely...
March 24th 2023
Obvious
What does ‘obvious’ mean? That’s the crux of the case against Boris Johnson, which played out this week as he faced the Privileges Committee. Is it ‘obvious’ that you are breaking the rules - *your*...
March 20th 2023
B Corp month - coordinating a sustainable event
As part of B Corp month, the Lodestone team has put together some key tips for how your organisation can coordinate a sustainable event. The thoughtful movement toward sustainability and protecting the environment is reaching...
March 20th 2023
Candidate Tracking
Ahead of the next General Election, we are tracking candidate selections to get insight into the make-up of the next Parliament.Using disparate sources of publicly available information, we have created a structured spreadsheet that helps...
March 16th 2023
Too Little, Too Late?
Margaret Thatcher famously used the parable of the prudent housewife to explain her approach to the nation’s finances. In 1998 she told a Conservative women’s conference that “I can’t help reflecting that it’s taken a...
March 8th 2023
Founders Journey
Fran O'Leary, Co-Founder & Director, Client Services, tells her Founders Journey for Lodestone Communications. When Martha Dalton, David Wild and I first set up Lodestone 10 years ago, we knew we wanted to provide a...
February 28th 2023
Surprise, Surprise
That strange feeling you may have experienced whilst watching the news last night might have been surprise. Here was a Prime Minister announcing a deal on the trickiest bit of the Brexit riddle. Here was...
February 27th 2023
Flesh on the bones: Labour’s economic mission takes shape
As if to make a point about the short term volatility they so frequently criticise the Conservative government for – illustrated today by intense Westminster speculation over the nature and political viability of Rishi Sunak’s...
February 24th 2023
Question….?
This week the pollsters over at YouGov reported a 28 point lead for Labour, with the party reaching the deeply symbolic 50% mark with the public. Whether you are a Sir Keir enthusiast or a...
February 23rd 2023
Britain on a mission: Starmer’s five priorities
In a landmark speech, Keir Starmer has aimed his Labour party squarely at a different concept of government: active, long-term, and purpose-driven. Of his five stated ‘missions’, the target for economic growth – to...
February 15th 2023
You Can Run On For A Long Time
Resigned we must be while we're parting. Nicola Sturgeon was a cunning politician. She often took the low road but always managed to package her politics as the exemplar of ‘high-road’ progressivism. Her electoral...
February 9th 2023
What does 2023 hold for technology
Jo Dalton, Associate Director at Lodestone and former Political Secretary to Lord Tom Watson (during his time as Deputy Leader and Shadow SoS for DCMS), gives her take on the outlook for technology this year...
February 7th 2023
Standing in the way of control
Last week, the authors of these notes stated that, ‘the Government isn’t working’. Unexpectedly, Rishi Sunak has today announced that he agrees. Rather than simply reshuffle his ministers, the Prime Minister has decided on a...
February 3rd 2023
Working 9 to 5
Britain isn’t working. This week teachers joined the long list of workers - train drivers, paramedics, nurses, bus drivers and more - who have downed tools to demand wage rises that compensate for rampant inflation...
