Everyone wants the ear of government. Far fewer stop to ask what they are going to say once they have it.
Former pensions minister Paul Maynard recently made the point in Pensions Expert that getting government’s attention is harder than it looks. He’s right. Ministerial diaries are rammed. Officials are drowning in writing and summarising responses to consultations, analysing the latest policy whim, dealing with meeting requests and slide decks promising a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”.
Access is scarce and hard to achieve. But credibility is scarcer, and probably harder.
Your reputation arrives before you do
This is where positioning matters. Not the shiny-brand-deck version. Not your logo. Not your latest want or great idea dressed up as an industry solution, but solely designed to improve your own bottom line. Your policy positioning is the label people attach to you when you’re not in the room.
Are you thoughtful problem-solvers? Reliable experts? Relentless self-promoters? Just out for a quick headline? Or the people who declare a fresh policy emergency every other Tuesday?
Government quickly works out who is genuinely trying to solve a problem and who is simply dressing up a commercial ask in the fancy dress of better member outcomes… we’ve all seen that before and rolled our eyes! No amount of research, roundtables or tastefully branded PDFs can completely disguise a vested interest.
That doesn’t mean organisations shouldn’t advocate for themselves. Of course they should. But credibility comes from being honest about your interests, acknowledging the trade-offs and understanding the problem from the government’s side of the table.
Consistency matters
If you champion consumer protection on Monday but oppose greater transparency on Wednesday, people notice. If your definition of “good policy” always happens to be whatever benefits your business model, they notice that too.
The most credible organisations aren’t necessarily the loudest, biggest or best connected. They are the ones that bring useful evidence, offer practical solutions and occasionally say something inconvenient. They understand political priorities, try to solve problems, without shapeshifting every time the minister (or the priority) changes.
And they contribute before they need something.
Credibility is built before the ask
Policy positioning is earned over time through consultation responses, public statements, meetings, alliances and the way you handle disagreement. It can’t simply be switched on when a Bill or new consultation appears, when you have a business issue affected by policy of legislation, or when a ministerial reshuffle creates a promising new name in the contacts book.
The gold standard isn’t getting a meeting with government. It’s government calling you when it has a problem.
Access might get you through the door. Your positioning determines whether you’re invited back, and whether you have influence.
Darren Philp, Co-founder, Untamed Consulting
