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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Messages from the archive of Rutherford Hall, critical communications strategist
WhatsApp to Stephen: Happy days. New Labour, new opportunities. Clients are looking for a guide through the thickets. Also Labour lost a couple of good people on election night so we should try to snap them up. We need to be quick. Strand Partners has already snaffled that bloke who wrote the Starmer biography.
WhatsApp to Stephen: That’s very interesting. One of the things I like about defence firms is they aren’t penny-pinching, though I think that’s one of the issues the government has with them. Let’s organise a sit down with Clive ASAP. Labour’s new defence review is a big opportunity but also a worry for that sector.
Mind you, when it comes to lobbying, there’s few better. The defence industrial lobby, the armed forces lobby; these people are my heroes. They have ex-generals on tap and every editor on speed dial. And they are just as good at working up the unions to lobby Labour on their behalf. Have you seen that giant BAE advert that seems to be permanently above the escalators at Westminster tube station? Those guys don’t miss a trick.
WhatsApp to Stephen: What time is Clive coming in tomorrow? I’ve got a couple of morning meetings with clients who fancy board roles on Labour’s new quangos.
From [email protected]
Clive, great to speak earlier. The public pressure for more defence spending is a real opportunity. As I always say, if you can’t make money from war, what’s the point of it?
We just need to stop this becoming a demand for something you don’t make, like more soldiers. The army boys are already out there talking about troop numbers so we need to ensure this review is more forward looking and focuses on advanced systems. Drones, anti-missile systems, generative AI and so on. We are working to get outside organisations and independent experts who share our vision feeding into the review. If we can help shape the threat it will be far easier to shape the solution.
Also we really don’t want this to become a long look at all the money wasted on defence projects. It is vital to national security that we go on wasting money on defence projects because every now and then one of them works out and it’s hard to know in advance which it will be.
One thing that does concern me is that I’m hearing the new defence secretary, John Healey, is planning a major shake-up of MoD bureaucracy and procurement so we need to make sure we aren’t wasting time on the wrong people and help shore up our people in the MoD.
Best, Rutherford.
Find me on Strava, KoM Sydenham Hill, PR Al Jubailah/Bawdah Loop — 42 mins
WhatsApp to Jim Greene: Hi Jim, I haven’t heard a name to chair GB Energy so it might still be in play. But I’d worry that for something as central as that to their plans they’d have someone in mind. And yes, that was Clive you saw me with. I agree he’s first rank, best of the new breed. I’d be happy to arrange lunch. I know he’s an admirer of yours.
WhatsApp to Stephen: We’ll do our best for Jim and he’s a very big name but truthfully he’s left it far too late. Other candidates will have been manoeuvring for months now.
WhatsApp to Jim Greene: Hi Jim, With your background in the sector you’ve got high credibility. What we need to do is put you out there, get you into some minds. How about trying to write an opinion piece for the FT on the clean energy strategy Britain needs or how you’d run GB Energy?
WhatsApp to Jim Greene: Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone really knows how it is going to work so you aren’t likely to make the wrong suggestions. I don’t want to get your hopes up. You need to campaign early for these plum roles. Unless you’re a human rights lawyer that is.
WhatsApp to Stephen: I’ve had a brainwave.
WhatsApp to John Healey: John, many congratulations. I know you’ll be brilliant. On which subject I wanted to mention a conversation I had with Jim Greene, whose time at Big Energy made him just about our most respected business leader. He’s got some v interesting views on defence procurement, bags of experience running long-term projects and I’m sure would be worth involving in some way in your review. He has no defence interests of his own and I know he’s keen to help the government.
WhatsApp to Clive: Glad you and Jim hit it off. He’s great. But maybe hold off putting him on your board just yet. Trust me on this.
