HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR LOBBYIST!

Back in 2004, Tom Spencer, UK MEP from 1979 thru 1984 and from 1989 thru 1999 wrote an open letter to new MEPs, which we’re reproducing here below and hope you will enjoy.  The text has been edited and adapted to the 2014 context.

Dear Colleagues,

“Congratulations! You have done the difficult bits – getting elected and surviving your first Strasbourg Plenary – now for the next five years. Get the basics right first. Find comfortable accommodation in Brussels and some way of making sure that you don’t over-sleep and miss those important moments at the beginning of Committees. A good parliamentary assistant is essential. Invest time in understanding how the parliamentary expenses system works. Do this not for the sake of your bank balance, but because it will be the first subject which every journalist asks you about

Don’t worry about any damage you inflict on the English or French languages. EU “Corridor Franglais” is your language – use it, invent it, enjoy it!

Happily you are not alone in this strange new world. There are hundreds of lobbyists keen to help. If they are any good they are already programmed to understand your problems and provide you with a tailor-made set of views that will ensure your effortless rise to the pinnacle of parliamentary power. These helpful people will offer you cocktails. They will make you feel both grand and guilty. They may frighten you, but they also promise a tantalising whiff of celebrity to help fuel your career.

All they want in return is that you take an interest in their ideas. They are traders in the most important commodity in the European Union – information. Although they are often too shy and self-effacing to say so, they are fulfilling an important part of the democratic process. All of them have agendas.

Remember lobbyists come in different guises. Corporate lobbyists are worried about jobs in your area. Non-governmental organisations are worried about your eternal soul. National governments are simply worried that you may discover the weakness of their case when you have seen twenty-seven other governments making the same mistake. Then there are voices from your political party reminding you of future selection procedures and the desirability following every word of your Manifesto, however ignorant or badly drafted.

To survive all this attention from lobbyists you need some clear rules for your own conduct. Be selective. You cannot take up every cause. You cannot follow every amendment in a four-hour voting session. Get used to depending on your colleagues who write the whips in subjects you know nothing about. Divide issues into those you can ignore; those where you need enough knowledge to survive; and those where you want enough knowledge to change policy yourself.

Audit your own interests. What do you really care about? Seek out the more influential parliamentary Inter-Groups, because they set agendas and influence voting outcomes.

Consider your parliamentary career in the round. Do you wish to shine in your Committee, in your Delegation, in your political Group or in the Plenary? There will be lobbyists keen to help you in all settings.

It is generally wise to start by building a few lasting relationships with lobbyists who share your interests and whose company you enjoy. Beware the exotic, the exuberant or the overly generous.

Bear in mind that the lobbyist you are talking to is the smile on the face of a very extensive tiger, much of which may not be visible to you. The civil servant on the telephone from your national capital will have spent months negotiating in Council and knows exactly what he wants Parliament to do. The innocent civil society activist is talking from a script that may well have had to be agreed at national, European and global level. The company representative will already have made her case to Commission and Council and may well be a veteran of internecine warfare in trade associations or employers’ groups. This lobbying is just the tip of the public affairs iceberg. It represents the conclusion of months or years of research, coalition building and strategy formulation.

Listen to the lobbyists, use them to bring you information and to hone your debating skills. Enjoy their company, but treat them with respect. They are as much a part of the political process as you are. Remember one of the golden rules of public affairs - “There is always tomorrow”. Today you are the Member and they are lobbying you, but tomorrow … ? "

Good luck,