Insight Public Affairs
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This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch. |
According to the UK Register of All-Party Groups, the PR and lobbying firm Insight Public Affairs is employed by pharmaceutical firms Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer Schering Pharma and Boehringer Ingelheim to provide administrative assistance (organising meetings, sending invitations).[1]
Insight Public Affairs also works with the National Literacy Trust (NLT) and the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals (CILIP).[2]
An article in The Times (London) of 25 September 2009 notes:
- Insight Public Affairs, which is still dominated by former Labour staff members and has not yet recruited a Tory candidate, has issued a flattering guide to likely stars of the 2010 intake of MPs, with advice on how to lobby them. "So many new MPs," wrote an account executive, Mark Wheeler, "so many lobby interests, so little time."[3]
In February 2015 Insight rebranded itself as Insight Consulting Group in order to reflect its change in focus. MD John Lehal said 'its work has included more than government affairs for a long time and that it reached "beyond Westminster and Whitehall"'.[4]
Contents
Views on lobbying transparency
Following extensive evidence gathering in 2008, the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee published their report and recommendations on Lobbying in early January 2009. The Committee's report recommended the mandatory register of lobbyists.
In a January 2009 interview about lobbying of members of the House of Lords on BBC Radio 5 Live, Insight's accounts director Chris West seemed to agree with the Committee. He emphasised the importance of "being really open", adding, "All we're looking for is transparency in lobbying."[5]
But in a contradiction of this view, Insight's James Tyrrell criticised the Committee's recommendation that all communications between lobbyists and policy makers should be reported. He said:
- The recommendation for all agencies to publish their client list is to be welcomed. But the principal weakness of the report is the proposal - under compulsory regulation - to report all communication between the policymaker and the lobbyist. There remains an inherent difficulty in defining a lobbyist - a fact that risks undermining the committee’s objectives. If we include every group or individual and require them to register every meeting with an MP or civil servant, it will at best be burdensome and at worst a mechanism for disenfranchisement for those least able to meet exacting standards. The public affairs industry needs to uphold exceptional ethics - but discouraging political engagement is not the way to do it.[6]
All-Party Parliamentary Groups
Insight works with:
- the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Libraries, Literacy and Information Management[7]
- the All-Party Parliamentary Thrombosis Group[8]
Clients
September 2014-November 2014
Alcon | All-Party Group on Atrial Fibrillation | All-Party Parliamentary Thrombosis Group | Anti-Coagulation Europe | ARIAD | Atrial Fibrillation Association | Betfair | Bluebird Care | Bristol-Myers Squibb | British Parking Association | Camden Town Unlimited | General Dental Council | Janssen | Lifeblood: The Thrombosis Charity | Look Ahead Care and Support Melanoma UK | Novartis | Outdoor Media Centre | Payplan | Pfizer | Public Fundraising Regulatory Association | PwC UK | Sandoz | Teva UK Ltd | The Institution of Engineering and Technology | UCB Pharma Ltd | UK Clinical Pharmacy Association[9]
June 2014-August 2014
Alcon | All-Party Group on Atrial Fibrillation | All-Party Parliamentary Thrombosis Group | Anti-Coagulation Europe | Atrial Fibrillation Association | Betfair | Bluebird Care | Bristol-Myers Squibb | British Parking Association | Camden Town Unlimited | General Dental Council | Janssen | Lifeblood: The Thrombosis Charity | Melanoma UK | Novartis | Outdoor Media Centre | Payplan | Pfizer | Public Fundraising Regulatory Association | PwC UK | Sandoz | Teva UK Ltd | UCB Pharma Ltd | UK Clinical Pharmacy Association[10]
November 2009
Bayer Healthcare/Bayer Schering Pharma | Celgene | Circle Anglia | CDFA - Community Development Finance Institutions | CRFP - Council For The Registration Of Forensic Practitioners | Foundations | Genzyme | Harrahs | ITM | Lifeblood - the thrombosis charity | Local Government Information Unit | Lloyds Pharmacy | National Autistic Society | National Literacy Trust | N.O.W. | National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society | Payplan | Pulmonary Hypertension Association | Rentokil Initial | Sanofi-Aventis | Skills for Care | St Mungo's | Total Politics | Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation[11]
People
As at January 2015:[12]
- John Lehal - managing director
- James Tyrrell - deputy managing director*Jim Rothwell - associate director
- Neil Gadhok - associate director
- Sarah Jones - associate director
- Daniel Cambers - associate director
- Ed McRandal - account director
- John Higginson - head of corporate communications[13]
Former people
- Louise Phillips - head of media (November 2013-December 2014). Has worked as a media assistant during Brian Paddick's Mayoral Campaign in 2008, has worked for the Liberal Democrats as a senior election broadcast officer during the 2010 General Election and a senior press officer from 2008 to 2010, a consultant at Open Road is currently global media relations manager at Unilever.[14]
- Victoria Parker - former account executive/manager 2012-2014. Former parliamentary researcher to David Amess MP from 2007 to 2010. Is currently a senior account manager at MHP Communications.[15]
APPC register
September 2014-November 2014
Sophie Brammer (intern) | Daniel Cambers | Jonathan Duell (intern) | Rob Fuller | Neil Gadhok | Rebecca Godfrey | Elizabeth Gutfreund-Walmsley | Sarah Jones | Richard Kelly | Laura Kennedy | James Le Grice | John Lehal | Ed McRandal | Laura Newby | Victoria Parker | Louise Phillips | James Rothwell | Vibha Sharma | Katie Thurston | James Tyrrell | Lewis van Diggele | Ben Wheatley[9]
June 2014-August 2014
William Black | Daniel Cambers | Fred Cotterill | Rob Fuller | Neil Gadhok | Elizabeth Gutfreund-Walmsley | Sarah Jones | Richard Kelly | Laura Kennedy | James Le Grice | John Lehal | Ed McRandal | Laura Newby | Victoria Parker | Louise Phillips | James Rothwell | Vibha Sharma | Katie Thurston | James Tyrrell | Lewis van Diggele | Ben Wheatley[10]
Resources
Insight Public Affairs, APPC Register Entry for 1 June 2009 to 31 August 2009
Notes
- ↑ Register of All-Party Groups, UK Parliament website, accessed 20 Nov 2009
- ↑ Register of All-Party Groups, UK Parliament website, accessed 20 Nov 2009
- ↑ Tom Baldwin and Alice Fishburn, "Movers and shakers who are working to become your MP; Tom Baldwin and Alice Fishburn on a blurring of the fine line between business and politics", The Times, Sept 25 2009
- ↑ Ian Griggs Insight Public Affairs rebrands as Insight Consulting Group PR Week, 3 February 2015, accessed 6 May 2015.
- ↑ Chris West, interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live, Jan 2009, archived at By Us, IPA website, accessed 20 Nov 2009
- ↑ James Tyrrell, quoted in Inside: News from Insight's Political and Media Consultants, March 2009
- ↑ Register of All-Party Groups, UK Parliament website, accessed 20 Nov 2009
- ↑ Register of All-Party Groups, UK Parliament website, accessed 20 Nov 2009
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Register 1st September 2014 - 30th November 2014 APPC, accessed 20 January 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Register 1st June 2014 - 31st August 2014 APPC, accessed 19 October 2014
- ↑ Clients, IPA website, accessed 20 Nov 2009
- ↑ Our team Insight Public Affairs, accessed 20 January 2015
- ↑ Rod Muir Insight swoops for Higginson Public Affairs News, 4 May 2015, accessed 6 May 2015.
- ↑ Louise Phillips Linkedin, accessed 20 January 2015
- ↑ Victoria Parker Linkedin, accessed 20 January 2015
