Lobbyist and proud of it

It has been an interest week, with David Cameron turning his attention to my industry, when he warned about the dangers of political lobbying and the "far-too-cosy relationship between politics, government, business and money". Interesting indeed. Now, I know what I am about to say will be tinged with a touch of "well, she would say that, wouldn't she?" but that doesn't make it less true. So here goes - there is nothing wrong with lobbying per se. Lobbying plays an important and fundamental part in the workings of our democracy. We lobby when we sign a petition, write a letter to our MP, go on a demonstration, or give a local councillor a hard time about rubbish collection times. In my experience the most effective lobbyists are in the voluntary sector. Macmillan Cancer Care, Royal British Legion and Oxfam - all brilliant at it, all know who to speak to and want to say to make their point, getting their funding, change the policy. And no-one objects to it - and nor should they. They are just doing their job. It is the work I do that some would have you believe is inherently wicked. Somehow, helping organisations understand how policy is made and how best to influence it, is being positioned as a bad thing. I don't agree. With so few politicians having experience of the world beyond politics, I see it as essential that organisations, be they PLCs or NGOs, help them understand the implications of their policy thinking. That is why disgraced MPs quitting the Commons following the expenses scandal like Andrew MacKay (a member of Cameron's inner circle) are being employed by political consultancies. Yes, I know there have been one or two cases of bad behaviour in the past - cash for questions being the obvious example - but in the vast majority of cases the work that lobbyists like me do is ethical, open and for the good.

AVS - What's it all about?

Can someone please explain to me why the Alternative Voting System is such a good idea? I am honestly interested. Ok I understand the politics of it - Gordon Brown is trying to woo Lib Dem voters. I have never really understood the appeal of AVS or proportional representation. As far as I can tell AVS will have no real impact in constituencies with large majorities and I fear that in marginal seats it will encourage candidates to be as vanilla as possible in the hope they can pick up second preference votes. Doesn't an AVS system result in the triumph of the least worst candidate, rather than the best or indeed most popular candidate? As someone recently pointed out to me, it was the system by which Harriet Harman became Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

And while I am at it, I would love to know why we are thinking giving the vote to 16 and 17-year olds. With fewer and fewer under 24s are bothering to vote, it seems slightly odd that we would wish to the extend an invitation for apathy to school children.

Instead of trying to tinker with the voting system, shouldn't the political parties be seeking to engage effectively with voters to restore confidence in politics and the political institutions?

The truth about MMR

Once again, Dr Andrew Wakefield, the author of the report which sought to link the MMR jab with autism, has been discredited. The General Medical Council has today found that he acted "dishonestly and irresponsibly" in doing his research. It will now decide on his penalty. In coming to their decision, I hope the Council Members take into consideration the huge damage his flawed findings have done. Take up rates of the vaccine plummeted, herd protection dropped and cases of measles soared. In 2008 for the first time in 14 years, measles was declared endemic in the UK. But if Wakefield was dishonest and irresponsible, so were many within the media. Wakefield's opinion was persistently presented as having equal validity as that of the Chief Medical Officer and the World Health Organisation. It wasn't. Repeated research by respected health professionals around the world found absolutely no link. Nevertheless, media scaremongering was rife. After all why present the truth when you can exploit a fear? Let's see how the case is covered in tomorrow's papers.

Remember Toussaint Louverture

As the representatives of the Friends of Haiti gather in Montreal to establish "a clear and common vision for the early recover and long-term reconstruction" of the country, the Haitian authorities have estimated that the final death toll on the earthquake is likely to be in excess of 150,000. It truly is a blighted place. On the day of the earthquake I described it as god forsaken, but i quickly decided that was entirely the wrong adjective. Its plight is not in the hands of god. Yes earthquakes and hurricanes are natural phenomena but the ability of a country to withstand the ravages of such disasters and the speed at which they recover is entirely up to people. Brutal and corrupt regimes which were tolerated (some might even say encouraged) by the West have taken their own toll on Haiti and the governments that have followed have not been strong enough to change matters. Over the last week or so I have been thinking about Toussaint Louverture, the black revolutionary leader who liberated Haiti from French colonial power. A former slave. this brilliant strategist, gifted politician and immensely charismatic leader effectively brought about the birth of the Haitian nation in 1804. Those meeting in Montreal would do well to reflect upon Toussaint Louverture and focus on what needs to be done to restore his legacy.

A less taxing experience than you would imagine

I spent last night completing my tax return. Yes I know I have left it very late. Every year I promise myself that I will do it earlier to avoid having the terrible dark cloud hanging over me in early January, when let's face it life is grim enough. But at the risk of sounding like Moira Stewart, once I waded through the darkness and got going, it really wasn't too bad. Alright I did have to turn two drawers to find my "i must keep this safe because it contains information i will need for my tax return folder" and another hour to find my P60 (because it wasn't in the folder) but once I had gathered together all the necessary bits and pieces it took less than an hour. Clearly this in part reflects that fact that my finances are not what you could call complex. But it was also easy because the online system is genuinely really good. At a time when politicians and the media are queuing up to criticise government IT projects, can I commend this one? Easy, accessible and delivering an excellent service to the citizen.

Battling in the middle

It was at Saturday's Fabian Conference (did I mention I got up at the crack of sparrow to attend this?) that the Dear Leader set out to woo the middle classes. Not necessarily a bad strategy and certainly one that Peter Mandelson is determined the party should follow. What was slightly odd about Gordon Brown's speech was how crude the woo-ing was. I had expected him to talk about so-called middle class values and how Labour would meet middle classs aspirations. What I hadn't anticipated is that GB would actually talk about "middle class jobs", "middle class families" and the "threat to middle class Britain". It felt forced and inappropriate, not least because many of those the party is trying to court don't necessarily regard themselves as middle class. His pledge to protect the "squeezed mainstream middle" literallybrought water to my eyes. My plea to camp GB - more subtle messaging, please.

Fabians on a Saturday

Spent yesterday (yes a Saturday) at the Fabian Society New Year Conference. It was an all day affair, requiring me to get up at the same time as a do for work. Those of you who know me that this is not something i do lightly. My standard Saturday regime definitely involves rising late and in a leisurely fashion. I dislike running about on a Saturday morning desperately drying my hair and praying that it won't frizz (to be honest i hate it every day but a girl has got to work). But the Fabians had secured an impressive array of speakers from both left and right and I was keen to hear the views of the likes of Peter Mandelson and Douglas Carswell on how to win the next election. By far the most interesting session was on the economy (although a smug young man from the Fabians tried to prevent me getting in, a misjudgement James, a misjudgement).Will Hutton was as always marvellous(could he be Prime Minister?) and his whose views on progressive entepreneurism were very compelling. Hutton was on a platform with Phillip Blond, Red Tory extraordinaire, and the level of consensus between these two thinkers was striking. Equally striking was that much of their thinking seems to be informed by NESTA, the innovation incubator which I think has over the last few month produced some of the most interesting, intellectually demanding and thought-provoking solutions to this country's social and economic challenges.

Two footnotes on the day's events. First, yes I was mistaken for the good Baroness Vadera at least twice!!

Second Nadine Dorries was by far the least impressive of the speakers I heard, indeed I thought she was truly awful but I did think she bears a remarkable resemblance to Heather Mills, indeed you never see them in the same place.