Stephenson-Mohl Group’s Post

We’re delighted to welcome Simon Henig and Joseph McKenna to Stephenson-Mohl Group. After a busy summer, SMG are excited to announce our two new hires to support and advise our growing client base. Simon has been appointed as Head of Government Relations and will lead SMG’s work in Westminster, bringing a wealth of experience to the business following three decades in frontline politics. Joseph joins SMG as a Public Affairs Manager after starting his career in Parliament. Visit www.stephenson-mohl.co.uk to find out more about how we can support your organisation. 

This afternoon Housing Secretary Angela Rayner MP set out more details of her plans to build 1.5 million homes over the course of the parliament. 🏡 🏗 See our overview of today's announcement. 👇 https://lnkd.in/eRFhmsdt

Today, Keir Starmer’s Labour Government set out its legislative agenda to “Get Britain Building Again” in the King’s Speech. Planning and development issues often transcend party politics, depending on the local circumstances, so it remains to be seen how local Labour MPs and councillors adapt to a new, much more pro-development national policy position. Read our blog on the key bills related to planning and development announced today.👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/dYMyyEM5

The General Election is done and dusted...what next? We've taken a look at the results and what is next for the new Government including the first 100 days, policy priorities and who is in the top team. Want to understand how the new Government will impact your business? Get in touch: contact@stephenson-mohl.co.uk

Political commentators and observers are agreed - Labour will win tomorrow’s #GeneralElection. Even the Conservatives appear to agree - their recent campaign communications focussing on warnings about how big Labour’s majority could be. On the question of the scale of majority things are far less certain. The BBC’s poll tracker which includes figures from 19 separate polling companies including Opinium, Redfield & Wilton, Savanta, Survation & YouGov has Labour on 40 points in the final week of campaigning. How this lead relates to seats won is open to interpretation. Don't Call it a ‘Super-Majority’ Pollsters have a Labour majority ranging from around 150 seats up to 400+. Some projections have the Conservatives falling short of 100 seats - an extinction level event claim some hyperbolic interpretations. Others talk of an American style ‘super-majority’ for Labour - not an entirely applicable phrase in the UK but a useful descriptor nonetheless. Sir Keir yesterday made the case for for a strong mandate to - "seriously change" the country so that people would have "more money in their pockets”. Meanwhile Rishi Sunak has again warned that if Labour won a big majority - "they will be unchecked and unaccountable". Does size matter? The size of the majority WILL make a difference going forward. A new Labour Government that is seen to have under-performed at the polls will feel it’s had its wings clipped. Decisions around policy delivery and governance will feel harder, perhaps more politically risky. By contrast a new Government flying high having delivered the biggest majority in 10, even 20+ years will be emboldened. This could effect the speed of change. While its always tricky to deliver anything meaningful in terms of policy in the the fabled ‘first 100 days’, a landslide this week will provide the impetus to give it a good try. A huge majority will also trigger a certain degree of internal pressure to go beyond the manifesto pledges. While the Labour manifesto is as the New Statesman describes ‘quietly radical’ - parts of the party will want the leadership to take the mandate and run with it. Bellwether Seats On election night there will be a number of results to look out for which will signal the scale of Labour’s win. Some of these seats switched to Labour in 1997 but have voted with the Government since 2010. Others have never returned a Labour MP and doing so this time around will signal a huge sea-change indicative of a major landslide. Results Swindon North, Hexham, Cannock Chase, Aldershot & Torbay will give a good idea of how things are progressing through the night - read more here: https://lnkd.in/ewMx7c-g