Peter Hastie

Most lobbyists insist they are not simply there to arrange meetings between politicians and their clients, although this is hard to swallow when you catch a glimpse of a contacts book like Peter Hastie's. The 29-year-old used to be Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's man in the Livingston constituency, working tirelessly to handle constituents' complaints and queries, organise his diary and fight the last general elec-tion. He has also been a youth representative on the Scottish Labour Party's executive, election manager for former Edinburgh councillor David Pickering, and a trainer of Oxfam volunteers wanting to lobby politicians. But despite being tipped as a future Labour Party politician in his own right, nine months ago Peter de-cided to cross the tracks -taking with him a list of political friends as long as his arm. That he would ever tell a client he could "fix up a meeting with a minister" is something he vehemently denies. "People do think we phone up a mate who's a special adviser to a minister and he gets a meeting arranged," he says. "Nine times out of ten a straight-forward letter by the company director gets a meeting. Especially just now, as so many MSPs have never been lobbied before. They want to meet people and businesses and hear what they've got to say and if you're a big business it's unlikely that a minister would ever turn down a direct approach. "I don't believe that's the role of lobbyists in Scotland. It's a small place and I don't think there's going to be the same pressure to speak directly to ministers as there is in Westminster. It's the committee members who will be influencing decisions here. And, of course, the most powerful lobbyists are still the trade unions and charities." He adds: "Our job as lobbyists is to know how MSPs stand on certain issues and advise clients of that, to let them know what's being said in Parliament that might affect their business and to tell them which MSPs they should be talking to. Then they do the arranging of meetings - not the lobbyists. "But I admit to being a political animal. I think most lobbyists are, although some are drawn to it because of its powerful image. "I love it, all the chopping and changing and deals being done." Although now a lobbyist with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Peter's first lobbying job was with GPC Scotland, the firm which used to employ the now-notorious Derek Draper in London, the former aide to Peter Mandelson accused of offering special access to ministers. "That was a real setback in London but, because of Jane Saren and George Edwards who run GPC up here, there's been no problem," he says. Jane Saren's name is also well-known in political circles, after all she was on Labour's list of potential MSPs. She may not have been selected but it's this close association between lobbyists and politicians which tends to arouse public suspicion. It's one Hastie is keen to play down. "GPC has a good spread of people. Devon Scobie used to be a Liberal Democrat councillor and there was Geoff Mawdsley, who left and is now working in David McLetchie's office, so they try to cover all bases."