Yes, says David Miller, 11 October 2009

It is well known that Alex Salmond was an economist with one of Scotland’s biggest banks in a previous life.   His background is not out of place alongside those of  his colleagues in the Scottish and Westminster Parliament’s. 

In the last thirty years the proportion of elected representatives from working class backgrounds has declined precipitously.  Now we have career politicians.  The expenses scandal is the logical outcome of this corrupting process. The public look on in scorn and bafflement.  Seeing no alternative to business friendly parties they either don’t vote or are pushed into the arms of the far right.  And those that are turned off the most are those at the bottom of the class hierarchy.  The poorest Scottish constituencies are exactly the same as those with the lowest voter turnout.

Some try and pretend that class has been abolished.  They dismiss the fact that most Scots still stubbornly see themselves as working class and wish away inequality by noting the decline of the ‘manual working class’ and the rise of the service sector.  But social class has no more disappeared than a job in a call centre is well paid professional post.

 David Miller, 17 July 2009

'It is sometimes possible to think here in the world of specialised journalism', reads a bracing editorial in Research Fortnight, 'that public relations is closing in for the final kill.'

The editorial surveys the seven research councils, the main science and social science funding bodies in the UK. 'How many communications managers, press officers, science writers and assorted PRs do they employ?' Noting there are 'maybe 50 in total', it also notes that UK universities typically 'must now have between three and 13 communications professionals, depending on how ‘world class’ it is.' This gives a total of perhaps 500 PRs between the 150 of them.

24 March 2009

The following exchange of emails between Spinwatch's David Miller and Ben Atfield, a partner in Ellwood and Atfield - a recruitment agency specialising in political and regulatory communications - first appeared on the Communicate Magazine website as part of a series of debates on the question "What should be done about the lobbying industy?"
 
Dear Ben,

Public trust in politics is at rock bottom and barely a day goes by without a scandal about undue influence on politics. Th e other week it was the House of Lords, last week it was the revolving door between the banks and the financial regulator, the FSA, whose deputy chair has just resigned. Common to each scandal is the question of privileged access and vested interests. It is time we cleaned up politics. But we cannot do it just by tightening the ethical behaviour of MPs and civil servants and regulators. It takes two to tango in the lobby dance besmirching the name of democracy. The activities of the vested interests represented by lobbyists need to be opened up to the light of day as well.

That is why we think that a register of lobbyists needs to be introduced. It would force lobbying consultancies, in-house corporate lobbyists, lawyer, accountants and others to reveal who they are working for in an easily accessible public register overseen by an independent body. What have the lobbyists got to hide?

Yours, David

 

David Miller, 5 December 2008 

A special correspondent attended the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Scotland 'PRide' awards in Edinburgh on the 20th of November. They sent Spinwatch this report.  To keep their job our correspondent has to remain anonymous. 

You didn’t have to be drunk to make it through the 25 awards presented at the 2008 CIPR Pride Awards in Scotland, but it would have helped. Thankfully, there were at least ten bottles of wine on every table, and that came after the champagne reception in the Ballroom Foyer of the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh. So, most prestigious potential prize winners were well oiled by the time local radio presenter Grant Stott, John Leslie’s brother, took on the formidable task of holding their attention for 4 hours. Between several sshhh's, he managed to slip in a joke when the Prime Minister’s brother took to the stage to present the Public Affairs Award for ‘campaigns designed to inform the public policy agenda or influence the legislative process.’ Irony aside, Stott’s gag which only slightly embarrassed John Brown, the former head of public relations at Glasgow City Council turned independent consultant and treasurer of the CIPR, went something like this: 'We've got something in common. We both know what it's like to have brothers battered in the press.’ There wasn’t that much laughter.

David Miller, 28 November 2008

Giles Chichester is the Conservative MEP who had to stand down as the leader of the party in the European Parliament over a breach of expenses rules in June 2008. He wrote to Spinwatch objecting to my Guardian article Reining in the influence industry.

His email complaining about the article, and an open letter to Giles Chichester inviting him to sever his ties with the nuclear industry are reproduced below:

*Date: *6 November 2008 15:08:17 GMT
*To: * This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it *Subject: **FAO David Miller*

Your piece entitled “Reining in the influence industry” dated 31st October 2008 makes certain references to me which are out of date or incorrect.

First, and most importantly, I have been unequivocally cleared of the allegations of conflict of interest and misuse of allowances by the Secretary General of the European Parliament.