Labour Directorate

Helping business to understand Labour, and Labour to understand business.

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unrivalled insight

Arden is one of only two UK agencies led by former Labour Cabinet Ministers. Our Labour Directorate brings together a wealth of experience of former Labour politicians, Special Advisors in ten different departments and senior parliamentary staffers with real-life knowledge, insight and understanding of Labour.

Labour Party conference

For the first time since 2005 Labour may win a General Election. It is essential that Labour and business continue to strengthen their relationships and their shared agendas. Labour Party Conference is a unique opportunity to engage with the Labour Party.

Arden has hired the most prestigious lounge at Labour Party conference and we are delighted to be hosting a range of events including panel discussions, drinks receptions, breakfast meetings, roundtables and dinners. Speakers at our events include trade and industry experts, and Shadow Cabinet members. You can find out more and book your place at our events on our Labour Party Conference page.

We also offer a comprehensive support package for companies attending the Labour Party conference, including arranging meetings and fringe events, supporting you in organising an exhibition stand, and providing briefings and insights ahead of specific business engagement events. For more information please contact us.

OUR SERVICES

High-level strategy sessions to help you understand how the Labour Party works, its influences and policy priorities.  
Comprehensive mapping and analysis of political stakeholders that share your company’s interests.
Unrivalled expertise in the workings and dynamics of Labour, to help you understand how to interact with Labour politicians, including in local government, Metro Mayors and devolved administrations.
Reporting and analysis of politicians and advisors’ perceptions of your business and recommendations for improving perceptions.
A comprehensive support package for companies attending the Labour Party conference, including arranging meetings and fringe events, supporting you in organising an exhibition stand, and providing briefings and insights ahead of specific business engagement events.
Demystifying the Labour Party's policy making processes and manifesto development.

proven expertise

“What would a Labour government do?” is the question that many business leaders are now asking, and which has led Arden to establish our dedicated Labour Directorate.

For the first time since 2005 Labour may win a General Election. If they do, they will govern a country much changed since they were last in power and facing enormous economic challenges. It is essential that Labour and business continue to strengthen their relationships and their shared agendas.

Arden is a non-partisan agency with a deep understanding of the Labour Party. We are one of only two UK agencies led by former Labour Cabinet Ministers.

At Arden, we support UK based and global corporate clients with unrivalled insights into Labour policies, priorities, and personalities. We also combine our proven expertise in corporate advisory work with our team’s combined understanding of how Labour operates and thinks.

Our Labour Directorate brings together a wealth of experience. Former Labour politicians, Special Advisors in ten different departments and senior parliamentary staffers bring real-life knowledge, insight and understanding of Labour.

Insights

Labour Reshuffle: Keir’s Own Team

06/09/2023

In a long-anticipated Labour reshuffle Keir Starmer has changed his top team and now has the lineup he expects to take into an election victory.

The Latest on Labour’s Manifesto: An Assessment of Labour’s National Policy Forum

28/07/2023

As proud graduates in their gowns and mortar boards huddled under umbrellas along the roadside, a rainy university campus in Nottingham set the scene for Labour’s biggest policy show-down in a decade.

Two Record Defeats And Yet, a Claim of a Score Draw

24/07/2023

This parliamentary cycle began with one of the Conservatives’ greatest ever by-election results, their gain of Hartlepool from Labour in May 2021, yet last week they narrowly escaped the fate of Harold Wilson’s Labour government in March 1968 of losing three seats in one day.

This note takes a careful look at each of the recent by-election results and analyses what each means for the main parties involved.

Our Labour Directorate

Rt Hon. Jim Murphy
Managing Director

Jim is one of the UK’s most experienced government Ministers. He was a Labour MP for almost two decades and has held multiple ministerial portfolios including as a cabinet minister. He was leader of the Scottish Labour Party and Secretary of State for Scotland. Jim was a senior member of Labour’s election winning teams. Jim is also a member of His Majesty’s Privy Council.

Blair McDougall
Senior Strategist

Blair is one of Labour’s sharpest strategists and has served as a Senior Special Adviser in five UK government departments in the previous Labour governments. A former member of Labour’s National Executive Committee he was also an adviser to the Chair of the Labour Party. Blair was the Chief Executive of the winning anti-independence campaign in Scotland. He has worked for Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Institute. Blair provides highly valued senior counsel to Arden’s clients on their strategy and communications.

Anna Turley
Associate Director

Anna is an experienced senior executive with a distinguished record of achievement as a Member of Parliament, civil servant, government advisor and pioneering leader across local government, think tanks and Whitehall. Anna’s experience includes serving as the Member of Parliament for Redcar, a Shadow Minister as well as a member of two Select Committees including the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

Kieran Simpson
Associate Director

Kieran worked for Labour’s economic team under Gordon Brown, and has served as a Special Adviser in three government departments. He has extensive knowledge of Whitehall’s interactions with business and trade bodies. Kieran has built a career as a leading communications and strategic adviser helping clients build their corporate reputations.
His knowledge extends across a range of sectors including the food & drink, agriculture, energy and health.

Ellie Miller
Director of External Affairs

Ellie has more than 15 years’ experience working in senior roles with Labour. Since Keir Starmer became Leader, she, more than any other senior staffer, has led the party’s engagement with corporate Britain. As Head of Labour’s Business Relations team, Ellie has helped Keir Starmer rebuild connections with business. She has also worked as an advisor to a Labour Minister as well as the Deputy Speaker of the Commons. Ellie joined Arden from Make UK (one of the ‘Big 5’ business groups) where she was Head of Stakeholder Engagement.

George McGregor
Director of Projects

George was a Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Scotland in the last Labour Government and is a former member of the Labour Party National Policy Forum. He worked for almost two decades in public affairs providing senior counsel to many of the country's leading companies, delivering government relations strategies and campaigns to help them achieve their objectives. George's work has won him an array of awards including Best Public Affairs Campaign of the Year.

Toni Sword
Director of Digital

Toni has a wealth of experience in digital campaigning and communications. She previously led the Labour Party’s digital and social media activity in Scotland, and has brought her knowledge and understanding to successful political campaigns around the world. Toni has worked with senior political figures, including former PM Gordon Brown, and many high-profile companies, delivering innovative and creative campaigns to help them achieve their objectives.

Adam Scott
Account Director

During his eight years in Westminster, Adam briefed and advised more than 20 Labour Shadow Secretaries of State across a range of policy roles. For six years, he played a pivotal role in the Labour policy unit, overseeing a diverse portfolio of domestic policies including transport, housing, culture, and energy. His contributions directly influenced the development of the last two Labour general election manifestos. Adam will serve Arden’s growing corporate client base, as well as contribute to finding and winning new contracts.

Alec James
Account Director

Alec has worked with and for some of the most senior figures in the Labour Party including the then Deputy Leader, Tom Watson. He also worked at the heart of Labour’s HQ in the General Secretary’s office giving him a ring-side seat on all major developments in Labour politics in recent years.
Alec has policy expertise in energy, finance and technology policy.

Marie Birchall
Account Director

Marie has a decade of experience in senior roles at the Labour Party, working as a political advisor for Ministers and Shadow Ministers, including Yvette Cooper. Marie has worked across a broad range of policy areas in both Westminster and Holyrood. As Head of Policy for Scottish Labour, she steered the Party’s policy-making process. She also has experience in education research and working for INGOs and her particular policy expertise includes equality, education, justice and international development.

Shonagh Munro
Account Director

Shonagh is an experienced Labour adviser. Across the past six years she has worked with Labour politicians in the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament as well as working at the Tony Blair Institute. Shonagh is networked across the Labour Party, particularly in Scotland where she led the office of Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader.
At Arden her policy specialisms include health, defence and technology.

Eda Cazimoglu
Account Manager

Eda has experience working with senior UK politicians and has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of UK politics and the Labour Party. She has vast experience of local, general, and regional elections across the country, as well as internal party elections. Eda has developed a political network within the Labour Party, most recently working in the Shadow Chancellor's office.