In a year where the best connection any consultant could wish for was decent broadband, the public affairs industry has come through three lockdowns in robust shape. Great advice which protects and promotes a business is always highly prized, perhaps even more so during a pandemic. Add to this the legal and regulatory uncertainty triggered by Brexit and, for the best lobby firms, business is booming.

The Mace compiled its list of the Top 100 Political Consultants with the input of specialists who had a combined 100 years of industry experience. We asked senior practitioners: who do you admire? Who do you find yourself up against in pitches? Whose work has changed policy and politics? While a list like this will always be subjective, the consultants we have included have been endorsed by their peers. To keep its credibility, the list will continue to evolve, and form part of the 2021 Westminster Index, to be published later this year as the definitive Who’s Who guide to British politics and public affairs. Changing times The list’s dynamic nature reflects not only how practitioners move between in-house roles and consultancies, but also how the industry is evolving. According to Francis Ingham, director general of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), there have been significant changes in the last five years, with “a lot less relying on personal contacts, and a lot less direct engagement between lobbyists and politicians.

“Then there’s the rise of digital. [Initially] there was slow take-up by the public affairs industry, but it’s now a key part of most lobbying campaigns.” Nick Williams, managing director at BCW Global, agrees: “We are only now just starting to come to terms with the enormous impact that technology is having on all types of communication,” he says. “It may be trite, but no one could have predicted the rise of Facebook 20 years ago, and technology is moving much faster than that now. Being ahead of the curve and embracing it will be key.” Charm offensive Only a handful of consultants on the list started their careers in public affairs. But it’s not a given that a hotshot political journalist or special advisor will make a success of switching to consultancy. “Some simply aren’t commercial – or don’t have the requisite people skills to charm demanding clients,” says one executive involved in the Mace 100 selection process. “Others struggle with the changing dynamics: morphing from being someone who many politicians court – whose calls are always taken – to someone who might be perceived as no longer useful to them and on the periphery.”

For those who can make a successful transition, the goal is often not just to change career but to run their own businesses. An impressive 35 per cent of our list are entrepreneurs, while a handful of others have now sold up but are staying in the game in senior advisory roles. These new political start-ups are eschewing traditional agency models in favour of high-margin, specialist consultancies employing fewer analysts and account executives and more senior-level advisers. “[Political consultancy] attracts so many self-starters because it appeals to ambitious, clever, intellectually curious people who at some point realise they’re making a lot of money for their bosses and would rather make it for themselves,” adds Ingham.

Special treatment The skills and experience gained as a special adviser remain prized by the private sector: 22 per cent of our list has served as spads in the last ten years, and if that time scale is extended and stints supporting the shadow cabinet are acknowledged, the figure is closer to a third. However, spads can’t just waltz out of their departments with the inside track on government thinking and immediately commercialise that knowledge. Before taking up a new role, former advisers, senior civil servants and ministers must seek guidance and approval from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. The aim of its rules is “to avoid any reasonable concerns that a civil servant might be influenced in carrying out his or her official duties by the hope or expectation of future employment... or on leaving the civil service, a former civil servant might improperly exploit privileged access to contacts in government or sensitive information.”

Clearly, if you have previously advised prime ministers, you can credibly be placed before a FTSE board member and provide strategic counsel on political and reputational risk. But one industry leader warns against vanity hires. “You want your consultants to deploy the skills and insights they’ve learned on the campaign and in office to effect change. If it’s just about a name for your letterhead, there’s a law of diminishing returns: like Love Island, there’s always someone from the new season who could do that role. If you want anecdotes, hire an after-dinner speaker.” In reality, CEOs are often just as connected as their advisers and may have relation...