association of professional

political consultants

APPC ANNOUNCES RECORD NUMBER OF MEMBERS

ASINDUSTRYGEARS UP FOR A CHALLENGING YEAR AHEAD - AGM

At its Annual General Meeting this week APPCannounced a record number of members - 85 - and Iain Anderson was re-elected unopposed as chairman for a further twelve months.

The results of elections to both the Management Committee and Young Consultants' Committee (YCC) were also announced at the meeting, which was open to all APPC members (see below).The APPC Management Committee will elect a deputy chair at the APPC's strategy day on 22nd June. The new chair of the Young Consultants' Committee will be decided at the next meeting of the YCC.

Following his re-appointment, Iain Anderson,Chairman ofAPPC,said:

"It's great to see competition to secure election to both committees - huge congratulations to all those elected.I'm particularlyencouraged that young members of our industry are willing to roll their sleeves up and get involved and I look forward to working with the Young Consultants' Committee in the coming year.

"Now thatwe're beyond the general election cycle APPC's over-riding priority is to engage the new Government as we gear up for the full implementation of the statutory lobbying register properly into a new Parliament. There's not long before ORCL's latest consultation oncompliancecloses,which is why we're encouraging all of our members to let us know their thoughts so that we can make a powerful case on behalf of third-partylobbyiststo the CabinetOffice and the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL).

"We remain of the view that the Register is flawedand will be seeking a meeting with new Cabinet Office ministers and the Shadows team. Wehope that byfully engaging with the Registrar at this crucial juncture that we can both influence the way theregister operates as well as ensuring that our members are able to comply with the new regime.

"Our Management Committee will also be meeting later this month to agree APPC's long-term strategy. The key focus of this discussion willbe to address how we continue to help raise standards of professionalism inthe sector, how we continue to be a strong voice for our members andhow we can mosteffectively work with the Government and officials as the new register gets up and running."

"It's also fantastic news that APPC now has 85 members - more than ever before - and it goes without saying that, as third-party lobbyists navigate their way around the newregistration system, we'll be doingeverything we can do represent theirinterests in this challenging and changingregulatory environment."

Peter Duncan, Chairman of APPC Scotland also addressed themeeting to update members on theprocess oflobbying legislation in Scotland. Following thepublication of a consultation by the Scottish Government on proposals for a Lobbying Transparency Bill, Mr Duncan said:

"APPC Scotland and its members support sensible measures to improve and ensure transparency in the political process. Any statutory register should seek to achieve this aim but in a proportionate manner which does not become overly burdensome on the industry. We also welcome the consultation’s acknowledgement that industry codes, such as the APPC’s code of conduct, are extremely robust and should not be impeded, but complemented, as part of any statutory code that may form part of the Bill."

The AGM alsoapproved unanimouslychanges to the organisation's Articles,to allowfor the first time a memberof the Young Consultants'Committeetojoin the Management Committeewithfull voting rights.

The AGM was followed by a members' meeting at whichDeborah Mattinson, founder of 'Britain Thinks' presented the findings of their pre-election focus group work, exploring the views of swing voters in five key constituencies.

Members of the Management Committee as of 1 June 2015

  • Darren Caplan
  • Mark Glover
  • Havard Hughes
  • Ralph Jackson
  • Richard Jukes
  • Nicholas Lansman
  • Rhoda MacDonald
  • George McGregor

Members of the Management Committee in their capacity as former chairs:

  • Michael Burrell
  • Helen Johnson
  • Robbie MacDuff
  • Gill Morris
  • Warwick Smith

Members of the Young Consultants' Committee as of 1 June 2015

  • Joshua Eldridge
  • Toby Hannam
  • James Moseley
  • Simon Richards
  • Laura Sainsbury
  • Sarah Ward
  • Becca Wright
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  • Clare Fraser
  • Laura Kennedy
  • Matthew Palutikof
  • George Robinson
  • Matthew Sutton
  • Roisin Watson
  • Matthew Young