LABOUR’S leadership is now actively trying to disappoint Keir Starmer fans by jettisoning plans like his £28 billion “green prosperity investment.” While even Starmer-supporting pundits now feel sad about Labour’s ever-shrinking “offer,” one group remains enthusiastic: corporate lobbyists.

The lobbying firms, who act as hired guns for corporations seeking political influence are rounding up even more Labour insiders to join their posses.

Former Sadiq Khan adviser Ben Johnson is one of the latest examples of this rush of former Labour folk saddling up to ride out with the lobbyists. In February Johnson left London City Hall to join lobbying firm The Blakeney Group. The firm boasted about the hire to clients under the headline “Labour policy chief joins Blakeney.” Johnson joins some other Labour insiders-turned-lobbyists at Blakeney. Former Labour MP Melanie Onn is “senior counsel” at Blakeney, while “former Labour senior policy adviser, Dan Hogan” — a former “aide to Jonathan Reynolds” according to the firm — is also a Blakeney director.

It doesn’t mean this is a “Labour” company — Hugo Sutherland, a former aide to Tory MP Angie Bray, manages Blakeney’s “public affairs” business — just that lobbyists need Labour insiders to offer their clients help with a future Labour government. Johnson said he was “thrilled” to  be joining the company, saying that “after two decades working in Labour politics” he was “excited to join them in supporting our clients through this critical time in the political cycle.” His statement makes it sound like there isn’t really a battle between Labour and Tory  over policy, but rather  a political “cycle,” with parties taking turns to rule. When their parties turn is coming, the party staff can take their turn making money by helping corporate “clients.”

Blakeney represents Pennon Group. Its principal business is owning South West Water, the private water company that was fined millions for illegally pouring  sewage into the rivers in and sea around Devon and Cornwall. Blakeney also represents energy supplier Octopus and property developer St Modwen. The party in power might change, but water polluters, private energy firms and property developers all keep their voices influential regardless of the political “cycle” thanks to insiders-for-hire.

The Blakeney Group are a lobbying firm set up by Gabe Winn. He was head of public affairs for Centrica, the owner of much-disliked privatised energy firm British Gas for many years. Winn was drawn more directly into politics as “director of external relations for Britain Stronger in Europe” — he was one of the PR leaders behind the EU referendum Yes campaign. 

Winn helped to run a corporate-oriented campaign, with businesspeople lecturing voters to stay in the EU, a strategy that was a real failure. Winn lost, but never mind, this failed campaign obviously attracted him   to corporate lobbying. Once the Yes campaign came to a humiliating end in 2016, he set up Blakeney.

The close relations between Labour and the corporate lobbyists is also underlined by staff moving the other way, from the lobbying firms into the party. Also in February Dan Julian, who spent four years as a lobbyist for the awkwardly named company H/Advisers Cicero, became one of Labour’s “regional engagement” managers. His former lobbying company, Cicero, represents everyone from the City of London to privatiser Serco.

In the same month Holly Williamson left lobbying firm Field Consulting to work for the Labour Party in “senior visits, events and fundraising.” Field Consulting is especially known for representing private rail firms like First Rail, Avanti and Govia Thameslink.

Under Keir Starmer, Labour appears to be keen to hire staff who know how to “engage” corporations rather than organise the rank and file. The “political cycle” looks like a closed circle, where parties take turns to be “in charge” without changing any fundamentals, while corporate lobbyists flit between representing big companies and running big parties. 

Maxing out the credit card

Keir Starmer finally killed off his main economic policy by saying he was drastically reducing his “green prosperity investment plans, telling ITV News: “We won’t reach the £28 billion envisaged and that figure is effectively stood down.”

You could tell Starmer is a bit at sea in economic issues by the odd language. Are spending plans often “stood down”? When the are announced, do they stand up ? 

Starmer blamed his reduced plans on the Tory government, which he said was “going to max out on the government credit card” so stopping Labour’s  plans. Starmer liked the “credit card” formula so much that he said it twice.

But of course there is no such credit card. Starmer was criticised for using “household economics,” sometimes known as “handbag economics,” which reduce a national economy to a penny-pinching cartoon version of a household budget. Labour’s leader is unable to make a case for national investment, and reduces himself to artificial Tory spending limits.

To be honest, I think Starmer is making a worse case than actual “household economics,” as “financialisation” means households do rely on debt. The household lesson is that it is OK to borrow 4.5 times your income to buy an appreciating asset. This debt is  called a mortgage, which is usually cheaper than rent, and at the end you own a house. 

Many of us also borrow to buy steeply depreciating assets — cars — and again, this is economically efficient if it makes it possible to create  other income streams, like driving to your job. And while a credit card hitting the “max” might mean it’s time to rein in your spending, it might mean you should ask the bank to increase the borrowing limit. Labour’s leaders are now so scared of justifying investment that they can’t even draw basic lessons from people’s everyday activity, which seems like very bad news for a future Labour government.