Lobbying: don’t tar everyone with the same brush please, Mr Werritty...

Andrew talks in a soft, well-spoken voice as we chat over a cup of tea in a first-floor office looking out above the grounds of IOSH headquarters. His eyes fixed on a ring-stained coaster of a rather unflattering caricature of Gordon Brown with sagging jowls, bulbous red nose and bags under his eyes. (In the interests of political neutrality, Nick Clegg stares out from beneath my cup and I’m sure David Cameron is suffering from a similar fate somewhere else in the building...)

Andrew emphatically shakes his head with disapproval when I, perhaps mischievously, mention the recent Adam Werritty affair and how it’s damaged the image of lobbying.



“The Liam Fox/Adam Werritty story has caused great public concern – quite rightly too,” he says putting down his cup. “It would be completely wrong though, if it tarred all lobbying with the same brush – for instance, our work is as far away from this as you could possibly get.”Andrew joined IOSH six months ago as a Public Affairs Adviser and has already built up an impressive contact list of MPs and Ministers. Andrew, alongside Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Richard Jones, was instrumental in the recent successes IOSH had at the recent party political conferences – many of which were highlighted here on the IOSH blog.

For those who maybe unfamiliar, I start by asking Andrew to explain the differences (if any) between lobbying and public affairs.

“Public affairs describes our relationship with a whole range of stakeholders”, he explains, “including MPs, civil servants, trade associations, think tanks and unions. Lobbying, however, is how we use those relationships to bring about change and is only one part of our work, albeit an important one.

“We use lobbying to explain IOSH’s policies, provide facts and statistics and influence change. One example was the amendment to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill which would have exempted the police from the Health and Safety at Work Act. We briefed various Lords to let them know what we thought about those proposals, and what we thought the likely result would be. We then let them come to their own decision, but enough Lords were convinced by our argument to speak against it and it was dropped.”

Is there statutory legislation or best practices surrounding lobbying and public affairs work?

“Not exactly. It’s a relatively new industry, but the Government is considering a register of lobbyists so MPs know who they are meeting. They are hoping to get a Bill in place within this Government.”

Andrew pauses for a second to look out of the window. “Personally, I’d be in favour of that as it will improve transparency and public confidence. Members of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations are also bound by a code of practice.”

What does IOSH do to safeguard itself around the whole issue of meeting politicians?

“We’re very open about who we meet. We feel it’s important to members to know what we are doing. We tweet through IOSH_tweets, write blogs, publish interviews as well as letting members know through Connect and ‘policy matters’ in SHP.

“The important thing to remember is that we’re lobbying as an apolitical charity hoping to reduce the number of people killed or injured at work.  Promoting health and safety is part of our charitable objects. The motive isn’t enrichment – it’s saving lives, and if one life is saved through an amendment to a Bill that we’ve lobbied for, then, for me, it’s worth it.”

And what about transparency? Do you think we can do more to publicise our meeting with politicians?

“We’re already very transparent and our positions and campaigns are generally well-known to members, afterall, they help develop and promote them! But we want to do far more on this and we’re hoping to produce a Public Affairs section of the website in the future, where we can let our members know all about what we are doing.”

And finally, say I’m an IOSH member and I’m worried that my subscription, or at least part of it, could go on courting politicians whom I’ve not voted for...

“Well, we certainly aren’t ‘courting’ anyone,” he laughs.

“We do occasionally fund dinners or receptions, however these aren’t targeted at any particular MP or Party – we aim to get as much cross-party attendance as we can. The purpose is always to promote the health and safety cause. We use an evidence-based approach to point out IOSH’s position, but we expect MPs to go away from the meetings and make their own decision, based on the evidence. We give our side of the argument and those with different views give theirs.

“Perhaps I’m idealistic but I like to let the evidence speak for itself!”

Shaun