Lobbying firm selling access to ministers for £30,000 💸

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Firms can get direct access to the UK's technology minister and No 10 advisers in exchange for sponsoring July's Future of Tech Summit, a brochure says.

The brochure was sent to lobbying agencies and in-house public affairs teams in the tech sector. It has not been made public or reported elsewhere.

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Revealed: Lobbying firm selling access to ministers for £30,000

Ethan Shone

A Labour-linked lobbying firm is selling access to government officials, including tech secretary Liz Kendall and "top advisers to the prime minister", for tens of thousands of pounds, openDemocracy can reveal.

Businesses looking to sponsor July's Future of Tech Summit, which is coordinated by Arden Strategies and tech industry lobbying group Startup Coalition, can choose from a tiered range of packages, according to a brochure sent out to prospective sponsors this week.

The most expensive costs £30,000 and entitles the sponsor to make a speech at the reception, be introduced to key policymakers and attend a "private post-conference tech dinner" with senior advisers to Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The half-day summit will take place at County Hall in Westminster and involve two panel discussions, private roundtables with MPs, a "fireside chat" with Kendall and a drinks reception. It will "bring together the brightest minds in policy, business and technology to discuss and shape a long-term vision for the UK's role in the global tech landscape", the brochure promises.

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openDemocracy understands that the document, which we have reviewed, was sent to lobbying agencies and in-house public affairs teams in the tech sector. It has not been made public or reported elsewhere.

Arden Strategies and Startup Coalition hosted a similar event last year, where tech firms, venture capitalists and consultants mingled with then-tech secretary Peter Kyle and a dozen other Labour politicians and aides. One company that attended last year's event now sits on a government panel shaping data policy.

Founded by former Labour minister Jim Murphy, Arden established itself as arguably the lobbying firm with the best connections to Starmer's Labour Party in the run-up to the 2024 general election, when it hosted numerous private meetings introducing clients to members of the shadow cabinet.

While this year's event is unlikely to breach parliamentary rules, 'cash-for-access' style arrangements are controversial as they allow companies and interest groups with significant resources opportunities to influence government policy. This is especially concerning on issues like AI and social media, where companies stand to gain significantly from light-touch regulation or government backing.

Campaign group Spotlight on Corruption described the arrangement as "hugely problematic" and has called for the government to review "cash for access schemes".

'Guaranteed access?' 'Yes'

An FAQ section in this year's brochure foresees prospective sponsors asking, "Will we be guaranteed a policymaker?" The answer is simply: "Yes". The level of access afforded to a business, though, appears to depend on which sponsorship package they opt for.

For £7,500, companies can sponsor and co-host a 90-minute roundtable with a "VIP guest". At last year's event, the guests were generally MPs with an interest in tech and AI policy, including now-AI minister Kanishka Narayan and the chair of the influential Labour Growth Group of MPs, Chris Curtis, a former aide to Starmer.

For £20,000, a senior representative from a sponsoring business can join or introduce one of two panel discussions taking place on the day. The topics up for discussion are yet to be confirmed, but could include AI regulation and "cybersecurity in a time of geopolitical instability", the document says.

It adds that while "the vision for the day [is] set in stone… different topics can be approached in different ways and we are happy to work with you to ensure the content is the best it can be".

For £30,000, businesses can sponsor a drinks reception where attendees will network after the fireside chat with Kendall. This package includes the chance to make a "three-minute" speech during the reception and pose for photos with the minister.

Sponsors who have paid at least £20,000 will also receive "stakeholder introductions" at the reception – likely meaning they will be introduced directly to influential politicians and advisers.

The summit will be followed by an exclusive post-conference dinner for 25 guests, which the brochure describes as "a VIP dinner with top advisors to the prime minister, chancellor and other senior tech policymakers for sponsors and top UK business leaders."

There are seemingly three seats at this dinner available to sponsors, one each for the businesses that spend £20,000 to sponsor one of the two panels or £30,000 to sponsor the reception.

Another question in the FAQs asks: "Are package pricing set?" To which the response is: "No, we are open to a conversation."

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While transparency rules will require any ministers attending the event declare their attendance, the vast majority of the engagement that will take place will not be captured either by government transparency rules or lobbying regulation.

"When access to politicians is packaged and priced, it shows yet again that it is wealth that determines who gets influence," Kamila Kingstone, senior campaigner at Spotlight on Corruption, told OpenDemocracy.

"Not only does it fuel public cynicism about who politicians really listen to, it risks distorting major policy decisions in favour of the tech sector rather than the public interest.

"The newly created Ethics and Integrity Commission should conduct a review of cash-for-access schemes to ministers, MPs, and advisers, examining who is selling access, who buys it, and the impact it ultimately has on decision making," Kingston added.

These concerns were echoed by Jim Killock, the executive director of Open Rights Group, who said: "In recent years, the tech industry has successfully lobbied UK governments to halt AI regulation, weaken data protection rights and undermine competition law. The voice of the public and civil society, meanwhile, is kept out.

"The odds are already stacked in corporates' favour. Promising paid access to policymakers entrenches that imbalance and is harmful to the public, effective policymaking and the wider economy."

Arden Strategies

The document describes Arden Strategies as "an advisory and communications firm founded and led by former cabinet minister Jim Murphy", which works to "ensure exceptional professionals from across the public and private sector get their voices heard by the right people at the right time".

As openDemocracy reported in September 2024, Arden Strategies organised and sponsored fundraising events for around 40 prospective Labour MPs ahead of that year's general election, the vast majority of whom were elected successfully.

In all but a handful of cases, these donations were never declared due to a loophole that allows a single donor to give several MPs donations that all fall just under the registrable threshold – even if the total amount donated is significantly above the threshold for individual declaration.

The firm was later criticised for arranging private access to an event at the Treasury to meet with Ian Corfield, a Labour donor employed as a Treasury adviser after the election, but later stepped down.

"If we had a government meeting, we would always choose the cast list ourselves. We wouldn't ask a lobbying firm to curate it," said Henry Newman, a former political adviser to Tory ministers including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, at the time.