The Coalition: Five Lessons For Lobbyists

When the Coalition Government came to office there was a good deal of head scratching by politicians, commentators and lobbyists alike about what this new, for Westminster, style of government would mean.  However, after nearly three years we can draw a number of lessons about how this Coalition has behaved and what it means for engagement with government.

1) The power of the public - the Coalition has shown that it is particularly susceptible to reversing policy decisions if it believes that large numbers of people are actively against a policy.  It would be naive to suggest that other governments haven't listened to public opinion but the Coalition will perform abrupt u-turns if pressed.  Just look at the forest sell off - proposed, being consulted on and then unceremoniously dumped part way through the consultation!