The past is a foreign country: in May 2021, when The Mace published its inaugural index of top political consultants, the lobbying industry was emerging from a once-in-a-century pandemic, the Conservatives were polling at 42 per cent and, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s honeymoon was over, no one believed Labour was on course for a landslide at the next general election. The Brexit Party, polling at 2 per cent, had recently rebranded as Reform UK and Nigel Farage had just stepped down as its leader. The United States was still reeling from the January 6 riots.

The last 15 months have shown that a large parliamentary majority is no guarantee of political, social or economic stability. Businesses are navigating increased political polarisation, declining levels in trust in mainstream media and the death of two-party politics. With each day bringing fresh speculation on taxes and tariffs, no wonder they are seeking sophisticated strategic counsel to protect and promote their license to operate.

But who is best placed to guide you through this quagmire? When The Mace began compiling its 2025 Index, our starting point was a long list of over 250 names based on desk research and personal recommendation.

Rules of Engagement

To be included in this list, a consultant needed to be working in consultancy either for an agency or for themselves. We cross-referenced initial recommendations with sources including the Register of Public Affairs Consultants, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, Companies House records, company websites and social media feeds including LinkedIn.

We assessed whether the primary focus of their client work could be characterised as public affairs, political consultancy, lobbying and/or stakeholder engagement, and the primary geography in which they advise is the United Kingdom.

Making the Cut

Of the initial 250 names checked, around 170 met the criteria. This list was then subject to peer review. A panel of five public affairs practitioners with combined industry experience of over 100 years separately reviewed the list. They also had the opportunity to propose new or alternative names. This process identified around 25 new names who were then subject to the same background checks as the consultants who were initially recommended.

For a consultant to proceed to the final index, at least three members of the panel had to answer yes to the following questions: “Would you recommend them?” and “Would you hire them as a colleague and/or as a client?”

There were broader discussions on how their experience and careers so far would be compelling and useful to clients needing to navigate the current political landscape.

This is not a “one size fits all” list. There are consultants included here who are sector specialists and some who are generalists. Some would be ideally placed to help a client navigate a challenging planning application – but would never advise on a healthcare campaign. Others would expertly prepare a CEO to appear before a select committee in Westminster, but might have limited knowledge of how Holyrood operates. Some are known for smart, creative campaigns that move public and parliamentary perception on a business-critical issue – while others have encyclopaedic knowledge of how a bill passes – and the points at which legislation can be amended.

While most of the people in the index are senior, we have steered away from only including éminences grises – and from including at all revered consultants who now primarily run agencies and are not involved in advising clients. In wanting to ensure that those included were still fully active and engaged in the business of politics, some big industry names who might have been included previously are not listed below. Instead, we have found room for people earlier in their careers identified as offering impressive insights and delivery in the face of today’s rapidly evolving political landscape. Some 43 per cent of entries in this index are appearing for the first time.

The Rise of the Labour Lobbyist

For years they made their clients’ case to Conservative ministers without indicating their own political leanings. Now there’s a set of highly experienced political consultants who have reframed their personal narratives since the last general election and are presenting impeccable Labour Party credentials. There’s also been a concerted and predictable push for agencies to hire Labour advisers, researchers and former MPs – although this process hasn’t been without its challenges.

“In reality, it’s a rather shallow pool,” reflects one agency owner. “Some Labour lobbyists found themselves elected to parliament. Others want to experience being in the power and serve as advisers at the heart of government while there’s an opportunity. I’ve seen freelance consultants with Labour leanings popping up on the websites of two or three agencies as ‘senior counsel’. Then, there are special advisers from the Blair and Brown eras who are being enticed out of semi-retirement with lucrative part-time gigs.”

Some consultancies are positioning themselves as ‘Labour-led’ (like Arden, for example) and have grown fast on the back of this as clients seek to recalibrate how they engage. Others, like Lexington, have always been Labour-led – and thrived anyway during the coalition and Conservative government years because of smart specialisms, great hiring and transferable skills.

“Eighteen months ago, agencies were keen to hire Labour consultants, and Labour will be in power for another four years,” says a senior practitioner. “But look where they are in the polls now. Look what is happening in local government elections. If you have a Labour specialism, does that mean you don’t engage with opposition parties, even though they might be best placed to raise the issues that matter to your client – or have control of the council in the area your client is seeking to develop?”

Nick Faith, co-founder of WPI Strategy, agrees this is a dated approach. “Public affairs has pivoted from being solely about contacts to an industry where the best practitioners know how decisions are made and use insights and data analytics to inform their work,” he says. “They create campaigns, coalitions to shift opinion. At WPI, we use objective evidence to inform our campaign strategies, producing our own research and other content to evidence our clients’ arguments.”

Transferable skills

Perhaps this is why Tory lobbyists (and some remarkably resilient Lib Dems) are not going anywhere. Not all consultants wear their personal political leanings on their sleeves, but our analysis suggests that 42 per cent of those featured in our Index are Conservatives, compared to 22 per cent who are Labour supporters, while 20 per cent remain undeclared. “Address books are important, but ideas, credibility and knowing parliamentary process still count whatever the colour of the government,” explains one senior figure. Another is more tribal: “Tories are more commercial and more pragmatic: of course, Labour activists and supporters are working as lobbyists: you’ll find them in-house at charities, housing associations, trade unions and trade associations. Some seem to think protecting and promoting a business is grubby, even though it’s businesses, not governments, who need to deliver economic growth – and are better placed to shift the needle on, say, green energy or building more homes.”

Something Special

A key trend in Mace’s 2025 Index is a significant rise in the number of political consultants who have served as special advisers: around 39 per cent if we include those who worked for cabinet ministers and Downing Street in political roles the last time there was a Labour government. While there’s usually a blanket two-year ban on former advisers lobbying after they leave office, the skills and experience gained as a special adviser remain prized by the private sector. If you have previously advised prime ministers, you understand the anatomy of a reputational crisis, you have experienced the pressure of intense media scrutiny and you have shaped narratives and messages in often chaotic circumstances.

“A former spad can credibly be placed before a CEO and provide strategic counsel on political and reputational risk,” says one practitioner. “No sensible consultancy will hire someone out of Downing Street simply as a name for their masthead, however. They need to deliver, and deploy the skills, instincts and insights they’ve learned on the campaign, and in office, to effect change. Their value is that they’ve been in the room where it happens.”

Spads can’t just waltz out of their departments with the inside track on government thinking and immediately commercialise that knowledge. In fact, as part of a standards overhaul that ministers hope will help improve public faith in the system, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) has recently been scrapped and a tougher regime introduced.

Designed to be an independent post-ministerial jobs watchdog, Acoba had been criticised as “toothless” and was even deemed “dead in the water, next to useless, utterly pointless and in need of reform” by its final chair, the Conservative peer Eric Pickles. There was no obligation for those leaving government to follow the guidance issued by Acoba to ensure there are no conflicts of interest or that lobbying did not take place, and the body had no ability to issue punishments.

Under the changes, which came into force in October, the functions of Acoba have been split between the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards and the Civil Service Commission. Former ministers and senior officials found to have seriously breached the rules will be asked to repay any severance payment received.

The Rise of the Proprietor Politico

Once, an adviser would leave Downing Street and find a safe and lucrative berth with a big-name consultancy – and some still do. Increasingly, however, advisers are turning entrepreneurs straight out of government and setting up their own shops rather than creating value for others. Their chosen business model more closely resembles an investor relations firm or a management consultancy, offering senior advisory for hefty fees. “They can see for themselves how they can commercialise the data analytics, behavioural insights and campaigning techniques they learnt and applied at the heart of power,” observes one senior consultant. “Generalist, behemoth agencies that can be a one-stop shop for an international client still exist but they’re on borrowed time. A smart, in-house public affairs lead will have other, cheaper ways to source monitoring and event support.”

Apart from the personal satisfaction of working for yourself, these new agency founders cannot fail to be inspired by a previous generation of communications supremos who have grown rich from the spike in mergers and acquisitions in UK public affairs and PR firms over the last five years, of which we share some examples in the box opposite. According to Thomas Borwick, founder of College Green Group, it’s easy to see why private equity is interested in the sector. “Corporates are operating in an increasingly complex business environment, with heightened levels of stakeholder scrutiny and reputational challenge,” he says. “With rising demand for communications services, UK firms offer stable revenue and clear business trajectories, making them attractive to investors. As a business owner, you may consider an approach from private equity if you’re looking to sell – or if you’re looking to grow through acquisition and quickly scale your business. From the conversations I’ve had, you might be looking at a 7 to 10 per cent return year on year, which is a safe bet.”

Mergers can also help PR firms attract more business, allowing them to strengthen both their financial and political offer. But a speedy and lucrative sale is far from inevitable – and the amount of consolidation has certainly slowed over the last 12 months. “If you’re an agency which aligns yourself very strongly to a particular political party, then a potential investor might be more wary,” warns Borwick. “Polls move. Governments fall. It’s the proposition rather than the political leanings of a consultancy which will make it attractive.” Borwick is “often approached” by boutique firms interested in selling. “It’s not just owners looking to cash in. There are concerns of the impact of AI on the market.”

The Rule of Law

On Capitol Hill, lobbying has long been the preserve of US law firms. Now in London there is a growing trend for law firms to supplement core regulatory work with issues management, public affairs, policy and legislative affairs offers. From Hogan Lovells hiring the super-smart Nikki da Costa as director of legislative affairs to George Pascoe-Watson co-founding Schillings Communications, former Westminster high-flyers are thriving in the law. According to Nick Faith, legal firms are increasingly entering this space because it feels like a natural read across. “We’ve worked alongside law firms when we’ve been advising clients in highly regulated sectors,” he says. “We might be working together on a deal or take-over which requires engagement with the Competitions and Markets Authority, for example.”

While Faith is characteristically discreet about the challenges of co-working, he does highlight that political advisory can be more nuanced than legal advice. “If you’re operating in a political landscape, be sure you have a set of options,” he says. “Just because a government has said it should happen doesn’t mean it necessarily will.” Other consultants are more plain-speaking. “Some lawyers act as though they know it all,” says one. Another points out that law firms work on a totally different financial model: “It can be perplexing for them when they arrange a meeting for the client with an MP, and all that MP wants to discuss is finding a solution to a constituency issue, which is not in the firm’s remit and will require unpaid consultancy to resolve.”

Reform and Renewal

In less than two years, Reform UK has gone from a marginal party with a handful of councillors and not a single MP to being a significant political force. A surge in the party’s popularity, reflected in its recent electoral victories, drove public affairs specialists to attend Reform’s national conference at Birmingham’s NEC. It also attracted big corporate sponsors, including Heathrow. At the time for going to press, polls are predicting a Reform victory at the next general election, with 400 seats. However, that election is at least three years away and, with only four Reform MPs, the lobbying industry is still considering how best to engage with the party nationally. There’s clearly a more pressing need to understand the impact of Reform-led councils on planning, development and infrastructure.

As The Mace revisits this index over the next 12 months, it is possible – perhaps likely – that a consultancy will have a “Reform offer”, or that we will be able to include consultants of sufficient seniority and reputation who define themselves as a Reform supporter – or Reform specialists. While there have been some recent activist hires, however, these consultants are unproven.

Click here to view the index.