The truth about lobbying and why your voice matters
The myth of lobbying There is a popular misconception that lobbying is all about access and that a single conversation with the right person will make it all happen. Real lobbying is about credibility. It’s about showing up repeatedly, with evidence, consistency, professionalism, and slowly earning trust. It’s about understanding how government actually works, how policy is formed and where the real pressure points are. When I started with FBUK, policymakers treated family businesses as a footnote. We were a novelty – lumped in with SMEs one minute and large corporates the next. We were listened to politely but not always heard and rarely understood. That is changing. Not because we’ve shouted louder, but because we’ve done the hard yards, the unglamorous work of building engagement and reputation over time. The long game Our work on IHT and BPR is a case in point. I have put this on the agenda of every government since joining FBUK in 2013. Our engagement with what is now the Treasury team began while they were still in opposition, explaining how the relief works and why it matters to family businesses. When they entered office, the new government inherited an extremely challenging economic situation and BPR (along with other policies) inevitably got caught up in the process of trying to balance the books.
The fact that BPR was not completely abolished was a win in itself – a decision that was likely influenced by our early conversations with MPs and Treasury officials. They had accepted the argument that some form of relief is needed for family businesses. Where we disagreed – and still do – is on how that relief should operate and the impact of the changes they proposed. Since then, we’ve remained deeply engaged on the technical, nitty-gritty aspects of the policy. This isn’t the sort of work that grabs headlines. But it matters – enormously. Throughout the process, the door has remained open to us because we are seen as serious, evidence-led and constructive. We vehemently disagree with decisions that have been made, but we have continued to make the case for change, even when the answer has been “no”. The concessions we have helped to secure are certainly not everything we would have wanted, but nor are they insignificant. What they are is evidence that we and the sector have been listened to, and that didn’t happen by chance. Where Members make the difference Our strength and influence does not come from a building, a brand or a small team in an office. It comes from the collective weight of FBUK’s Members – and from the willingness of those Members to share their experiences. This is a critical piece of the puzzle which often gets overlooked.
Fiona Graham COO Family Business UK
I am often asked: what does lobbying actually involve? The answer is: less drama than you’d think and a lot more persistence. The work that really matters happens quietly, behind the scenes, long before MPs turn up for a photo opportunity or announce a shiny new policy. For more than a decade, I have been responsible for advocacy at FBUK, representing family businesses with policymakers and lobbying for a supportive policy landscape. In that time, I’ve witnessed an enormous shift in how our sector is perceived (although the job of educating policymakers is never done) and the impact we can have when we act together. That’s particularly true of our recent work on Inheritance Tax and Business Property Relief. There’s no getting away from the fact that the policy changes are bad. But the truth is, they could have been much worse. And that’s no accident.
FBUK Issue 6 18
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