Taking a stand

With the UK party conference scene set to kick off, it's time for significant budgetary decisions to be made in public affairs departments across the land.

After a client or company has decided whether to go to one (and if a recent ComRes survey is anything to go by that one will be the Tory shindig in Birmingham) or the whole lot, there's then the vexing question of what to do when you get there. Specifically, should one hire a space and stand from which to sell your case to the political hoi polloi?

Well, if early indications are anything to go by, probably not. Stands don't come cheap - up to £11,800 at Labour's party, £10,050 with the Conservatives and £7,400 with the Lib Dems - easily a month's public affairs spending to many smaller pressure groups. And the lobbyists themselves aren't convinced of there value. A recent survey reported in PA News says that just 17% think there is value in having a stand at the Conservative conference. Before you think this is bad news for Cameron, one should bear in mind that the figure for Labour is a miserly 13%.

Moral of the story? Stay on your feet at the conferences, but don't stand still.

Back from the break

We're sorry. We know this blog hasn't been updated for a embarrassingly long time. But then you'll also know from looking at the site that we've not spent all our summer idly sunning ourselves - the new EU and US portals are up, with loads of new information contained within and our exciting new vacancy bulletins are coming to an inbox near you.

It's an exciting tiome politically too. In the UK, party conference season is edging ever closer, as is a potentially cataclysmic Scottish by-election. Across the Channel, lobbyists are watching the progress of the new transparency register warily. And in the US, there's the small matter of a presidential race.

Should be a busy autumn...