Arden Strategies proves we need more restrictions around lobbying

On the evening of this incident, I was scheduled to do a public debate with Murphy. He arrived at the venue still proudly wearing his egg-splattered white shirt like a martyr for the Unionist cause. Murphy proceeded to berate the audience on the implied threat to democracy and public order. But the audience was more preoccupied with the smell. I won the debate.

Murphy’s abrasive style did not help him in the subsequent 2015 general election, when he led Scottish Labour to oblivion. The SNP famously won 56 seats and Labour were reduced to a single Scottish MP, with Murphy losing his own East Renfrew constituency.

In the aftermath of this debacle, Murphy gave up the leadership. Characteristically, he blamed everyone but himself for Scottish Labour’s woes. Murphy does a good line in martyrdom.

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So how has the Rt Hon Jim Murphy been occupying himself in civilian life?

For one thing, he is a member of the advisory council of the infamous neoliberal, neocon Henry Jackson Society (HJS). This is an Anglo-American “think tank” named after a fervently anti-Communist US senator.

According to its own website, the HJS is dedicated to promoting a Western alliance with “a robust foreign policy” and “armed with expeditionary capabilities with a global reach”. The HJS also “gives two cheers for capitalism”. As an advisor to the HJS, Jim Murphy keeps good company. Other named advisors include Priti Patel, Nadine Dorres and Nadhim Zahawi, plus the right-wing philosopher Roger Scruton.

But an ex-politician still has to earn a crust, so Jim set up – surprise! – a consultancy, doubtless to capitalise on his contact book. His lobbying firm was christened Arden Strategies. In a crowded market, it initially did little business. One job was advising a Finnish non-profit on conflict resolution in Asia. Well, I’d say Jim Murphy knows a bit about conflict.

READ MORE: Jim Murphy earned £150k as political consultant following 2015 election

Here is what Arden Strategies offers cash-paying clients, according to its own website.

First it will sell you a “unique insight into the Labour government’s people, policies, and priorities”. Second, it will “connect clients to the influencers, trade unions, and think tanks who help shape Labour’s ideas”. And there are “support packages for companies wishing to engage at Labour’s annual conference”.

Clearly, Murphy intends to capitalise on the election of the new Labour government.

In fact, Jim Murphy and Arden Strategies make no bones about access to the Starmer administration. The website boasts: “Arden is one of only two UK agencies led by a former Labour cabinet minister.”

It goes on: “Our unparalleled Labour directorate brings together a wealth of experience of former Labour politicians, advisers and senior parliamentary staffers with real-life knowledge and understanding of the new Labour Government.” This is utterly shameless political prostitution. Yet in the aftermath of the “clothes for influence” scandal and Cabinet ministers grabbing free tickets to Taylor Swift concerts, what do you expect?

Except that the Taylor Swift freebies and being given buckshee spectacles by Lord Ali are small beer compared with the determination of Arden’s self-styled “Labour Directorate” to provide the corporate sector with the entry code to Number 10.

The “Labour Directorate” includes Ellie Miller, the former head of Keir Starmer’s business relations team, and a clutch of other Labour insiders. Arden was also prominent at Labour’s recent annual conference in Liverpool. Arden sponsored panels featured guest appearances from Health Secretary Wes Streeting (below), Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and the business leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell.

All of this is making for a very cosy relationship between Arden, the Starmer administration and big business. According to leaked emails published by the respected website Politico, Arden Strategies was involved in inviting business chiefs to a “private roundtable meeting” inside the Treasury itself on September 17. The meeting was chaired by banker Ian Corfield, a Labour donor who was subsequently appointed to a top Treasury advisory job by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The invite read: “Ahead of the International Investment Summit on October 14, this meeting will provide an opportunity for you to hear from Ian about the Government’s investment priorities.”

The point here is that the Treasury is also using Arden as a backchannel. Murphy is working for both sides of the street.

Arden Strategies’s client list has just been published in the UK’s lobbying register for the first time since Labour’s election victory in July. For the previous quarters, it made a nil return.

Among the 29 companies suddenly listed is the US defence giant Northrop Grumman. Arden hosted an event for Northrop Grumman at Labour’s Liverpool conference. Clearly Murphy takes his advisory role for the Henry Jackson Society seriously. Arden’s oil and gas clients include NEO Energy, Equinor, Jersey Oil and Gas, and Serica Energy. It also represents the Sumitomo mining and trading conglomerate, as well as Rolls Royce.

Arden Strategies is a private company – Murphy is the only listed director – so it does not have to publish detailed accounts. However, its October 2023 accounts (filed lastin July) show there was £2,442,087 in the bank.

This compares with £1,039,060 in October 2022. Not bad for a year in which Labour were coasting to electoral victory. However, if we go back to October 2020, there was only £158,534 in the company bank account. It’s safe to say Arden’s business has certainly taken off in the last couple of years.

Cynics will say this is just the normal way of things. But there are serious negative consequences for Scotland. Jim Murphy is again active behind the scenes in Scotland.

In October last year, in the run-up to the General Election, Murphy invited “clients and colleagues” for a discrete dinner in the Stephenson Room, a venue in Westminster favoured by politicians and lobbyists. Jim’s guests included the now Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

Murphy was coy about naming which Arden clients were present, but photos published on LinkedIn revealed Nick Chaffey, the European and Middle East boss of Northrop Grumman and Basil Scarsella, chief executive of UK Power Networks, one of the largest electricity distribution firms in the UK.

But it gets worse. According to a recent filing, one of Arden’s key clients is Ineos, which is privately owned by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. Next summer, Ineos is set to close Scotland’s only oil refinery, at Grangemouth, with the loss of 400 jobs.

This is a catastrophic blow to the Scottish economy which also does nothing to reduce global carbon emissions. Instead, refined oil products will be imported, creating jobs elsewhere. Both Murray and Sarwar have pledged to maintain jobs at the Grangemouth complex. Murray has pontificated about new “bio jobs”. But the truth is, they are being courted by Murphy, and Murphy works for Ineos.

It is time that the Scottish Parliament toughened its lobbying rules. In particular, the official lobbying register needs to record how much each client spends and what time the lobbyist invests in each project. We also need a monthly register of activity.

On another note, I wonder if Jim Murphy ever washed his shirt ...