Difference between revisions of "LLM Communications"
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Lawson Lucas Mendelsohn is a Lobbying company set up by Neal Lawson, Ben Lucas and Jon Mendelsohn. | Lawson Lucas Mendelsohn is a Lobbying company set up by Neal Lawson, Ben Lucas and Jon Mendelsohn. | ||
| − | They spent more than | + | They spent more than ,000 on 'Tickets for Dinners' for their clients to attend Labour Party functions in 1998. Their clients include Rupert Murdoch's News International, Tesco, [[Orange]] and [[KPMG]] (the consultants who have a large number of Government contracts). |
| − | LLM became notorious in July 1998 when they were caught up in the 'Lobbygate' secrets-for-cash scandal. It was revealed that [[Ben Lucas]] gave away details of one of Gordon Browm's speeches to a client before the speech was made and knew details of public spending announcements in advance. LLM said that they were a conduit from the Labour Government to business (as well as the other way round), procuring a steady stream of executives to feed the Labour Party's appetite for business contacts. This process included [[News | + | LLM became notorious in July 1998 when they were caught up in the 'Lobbygate' secrets-for-cash scandal. It was revealed that [[Ben Lucas]] gave away details of one of Gordon Browm's speeches to a client before the speech was made and knew details of public spending announcements in advance. LLM said that they were a conduit from the Labour Government to business (as well as the other way round), procuring a steady stream of executives to feed the Labour Party's appetite for business contacts. This process included [[News International]], where Ben Lucas said that the Government had sought out business, rather than business asking the lobbying firm for Government contacts. |
Neal Lawson is a former adviser to [[Gordon Brown]] and was a strategist for Tony Blair during the 1997 election. He is the Managing Editor of the Blairite [[Renewal]] magazine and the founder of [[Nexus]], a Blairite internet discussion forum. He has boasted of helping [[GTech]], the discredited Lottery company, to win their Lottery contract. | Neal Lawson is a former adviser to [[Gordon Brown]] and was a strategist for Tony Blair during the 1997 election. He is the Managing Editor of the Blairite [[Renewal]] magazine and the founder of [[Nexus]], a Blairite internet discussion forum. He has boasted of helping [[GTech]], the discredited Lottery company, to win their Lottery contract. | ||
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Rupert Murdoch's Union-busting [[News International]] hired LLM in 1998. They wanted advice on getting the Government to change the Fairness At Work legislation that allowed Unions to ballot for workplace recognition. [[Ben Lucas]] suggested that News International should base their strategy on 'selecting aspects of the Bill which can be argued are unworkable.' Ben Lucas was the Head of research for building worker's Union [[UCATT]] for 5 years until 1992. Now he is advising Rupert Murdoch on how to beat the Unions! When he was asked how he could square such seemingly conflicting interests he said 'It's like in the movie, The Godfather. We tell them, its just business.' | Rupert Murdoch's Union-busting [[News International]] hired LLM in 1998. They wanted advice on getting the Government to change the Fairness At Work legislation that allowed Unions to ballot for workplace recognition. [[Ben Lucas]] suggested that News International should base their strategy on 'selecting aspects of the Bill which can be argued are unworkable.' Ben Lucas was the Head of research for building worker's Union [[UCATT]] for 5 years until 1992. Now he is advising Rupert Murdoch on how to beat the Unions! When he was asked how he could square such seemingly conflicting interests he said 'It's like in the movie, The Godfather. We tell them, its just business.' | ||
| − | When the Government proposed a tax on supermarket car parking spaces, which would have cost [[Tesco]] millions, they brought in LLM who advised Tesco to change their approach (by playing off a contribution to community transport against paying the tax) and sponsor the Dome. The tax was dropped in July 1998, in circumstances that The Observer's undercover journalist Greg Palast described as 'they were able to get out of [the] tax by a fix that LLM made, which saved them | + | When the Government proposed a tax on supermarket car parking spaces, which would have cost [[Tesco]] millions, they brought in LLM who advised Tesco to change their approach (by playing off a contribution to community transport against paying the tax) and sponsor the Dome. The tax was dropped in July 1998, in circumstances that The Observer's undercover journalist Greg Palast described as 'they were able to get out of [the] tax by a fix that LLM made, which saved them million a year.' |
[[Steve Rubin]], the multi-millionaire businessman who once owned [[Reebok]], is the main backer behind LLM. He put the initial money into LLM which allowed them to buy prestigious offices in Soho. | [[Steve Rubin]], the multi-millionaire businessman who once owned [[Reebok]], is the main backer behind LLM. He put the initial money into LLM which allowed them to buy prestigious offices in Soho. | ||