When it comes to influencing MPs, a new poll suggests that less may sometimes be better than more. Research organisation nfpSynergy asked 150 MPs about their views on the campaigning effectiveness of 36 charities. Politicians were also surveyed on which charity had impressed them the most over the past six months. The Royal British Legion topped the vote.
Director general Chris Simpkins told Total Politics that the RBL has been making a concerted effort to highlight its activities beyond remembrance activities in recent months.
"We work underneath the radar screens, sometimes through quiet conversations with ministers," Simpkins says. "It's not about hatching deals. It's about an open and transparent discussion based on, hopefully, mutual respect and understanding.”
Joe Saxton of npfSynergy places similar emphasis on the importance of relationship-building. He told Total Politics that time and resources spent building individual relationships can be more important than publicising a campaign.
He said that the average MP will be contacted daily by around 100 different organisations, 20-30 per cent of which would be charities. While topical and eye-catching campaigns like the RBL’s Time To Do Your Bit and the NSPCC’s Full Stop campaign can be effective in drawing attention to an issue, organisations are often better off avoiding expensive party conferences and instead concentrating resources on targeting 10 to 20 MPs, Saxton claims.
In a previous poll, npfSynergy found that face-to-face meetings at Westminster were the most popular form of contact among MPs by some way. When asked what they would spend a limited campaign budget on, were they to work for a charity, politicians put building a relationship with MPs at the top of the list.
It is estimated that there will be over 250 new faces in Westminster when Parliament returns. Their inboxes will no doubt be filling-up with shrewd campaigners wanting to make friends as soon as they switch their computers on.