Nancy Platts has worked in communications and campaigns for more than 30 years, gaining extensive experience in charities, the trade union movement and the public sector. Since joining Campaign Collective, Nancy has delivered a number of public affairs campaigns. She has also worked in Parliament, twice been a parliamentary candidate and was, until recently, a local councillor, including a year as leader of Brighton and Hove City Council.
With 2024 set to be a busy year for politics, we asked Nancy to share her top five tips for effective lobbying:
1. Seek out champions – securing policy or legislation change means persuading someone of your cause so they influence on your behalf and help make change happen. That might be someone in an elected role such as an MP or local councillor but remember that peers in the House of Lords have influence too. Whilst it’s satisfying to see lots of MPs at your parliamentary reception, you need to question how many will take you a step nearer to your goal. Focus on building effective relationships with a small group of politicians who will consistently champion your cause. It’s always advisable to secure cross-party support if you can. At election time, sign-up pledges for candidates are a good way to identify future champions.
2. Position your problem as a solution – ask what’s the problem you can help government or police and crime commissioners or councils solve? Framing your campaign in this way makes it easier to supply supporting evidence and develop your campaign messaging in such a way that you can pique their interest and get through the door for a conversation. People who get elected want to make change happen. They often know the problems, so you want to focus your time with them, not on restating the problem, but positioning your solution as the best one.
3. Give a licence to say ‘yes’ – most campaign ‘asks’ involve an elected body spending money, changing the law or both. Your job is to give them the mandate to do that, by showing that there is public support for your goal. Find out what they need to see to enable them to champion your cause from the inside. Whether it’s a mass sign up campaign, case studies or a speaking opportunity – this is your chance to deliver for your ally.
4. Follow up – this is an easy one, but it can get overlooked. Thank you letters, post-event publicity including press releases, sharing photos and tagging on social media, offering to draft a piece for a newsletter for your champions – all of this keeps your champions close and on your side, ready for their next action. The second element of follow up is to have the next action ready. Politicians like to campaign and to lead, so involve your champion in what that looks like. By sharing ownership of the campaign, your champions can advise on the best processes to use in order to make progress in their institution and they will generate publicity for you and themselves – it’s a win-win.
5. Stay legal – there are several pieces of legislation that govern how organisations are allowed to campaign. These include charity law, the Lobbying Act and the Elections Act. You need to ensure that you stay on the right side of them all, but don’t feel overwhelmed by them and let them stop you campaigning. The law covers spending on a wide range of campaign activities. If you campaign in the run up to an election and your activities are intended to influence how people will vote or a reasonable person might think that was your intention, then you may need to track and report on your spending as there are strict spending limits. If you need advice about your campaign visit the Electoral Commission’s website and if you’re still not sure, drop them a line to double check whether what you are doing is legal and if so, whether your spending on that activity needs to be registered, recorded and reported.
Good luck with your campaign!
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