In Conversation: The Balance of Power in Parliament, with Toni Pearce (Former Head of Government Relations at Oxfam)

by Warren Madlin, Director MadlinHanna Consulting

Over the past few months, I have spent some time with senior government relations figures to gather insight into the key issues of the day and how Brexit, Covid and a flurry of Government standards issues have affected their work. I spoke to Toni Pearce, former Head of Government Relations at Oxfam, now Special Advisor for advocacy and campaigns to WWF UK, about how the dynamic and sometimes fragile balance of power in Parliament shaped her engagement strategies over her six-year tenure at Oxfam.

Centralised Governing vs. Grassroots Influence

After taking office in 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May was quick to unintentionally overturn her predecessor’s small majority, leading to a sensitive confidence-and-supply agreement with the DUP. Oxfam’s public affairs team had to react - individual MPs could make or break the success of a piece of legislation - “on-the-ground lobbying of MPs became vital, they needed to understand Oxfam, our priorities and how we worked. Oxfam as an organisation has always been committed to engaging with parliamentarians (our work being part of the conversation between local MPs and their constituents is vital), but in 2017 this became front of mind… a handful of MPs on the wrong side of the argument could spell disaster”.

Johnson’s Landslide

Theresa May’s intended election outcome finally came to fruition in 2019, under the leadership of Boris Johnson, in the form of his 80-seat majority. Whilst parliamentary engagement is a permanent piece of the strategic puzzle, post-2019 eyes at Oxfam were focused more acutely on Downing Street and its neighbours. The coronavirus emergency quickly meant those doors were a lot less open and attention was concentrated domestically. For example, a huge movement mobilised by the development sector, including Oxfam, was not enough to stop game-changing cuts to the aid budget. The power was truly being held by the few.

"Engagement strategies cannot be static"

It’s well known that times of crisis speed up innovation, and never was this truer in how quickly Parliament adopted video meetings – a longstanding plea of Toni and her team. Connection issues and security risks previous cited we no longer a hurdle and Oxfam were able to get those on the ground, with direct experience, to bear witness in front of decision makers and provide testimony to select committees. This great leveller shows that when something really needs to happen, Parliament can make it work. The status quo does not have to prevail.

Thank you to Toni for her contribution.

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