Public Affairs: Labour 'not a PR priority'

PR Week UK, Friday, 28 January 2011, 12:00am,

Many senior comms professionals have lost interest in courting the Labour Party, according to new research.

Newly formed public affairs agency Pagefield commissioned a poll by BritainThinks of comms opinion formers in the City, the media, politics, NGOs and the public sector.

Sixty-six per cent of respondents felt the need for 'a new approach to public affairs' under the coalition. But only 30 per cent agreed 'maintaining a close relationship with the Labour Party should be a priority for UK businesses in 2011'.

BritainThinks polled 119 senior PROs. Pagefield founder Mark Gallagher said: 'I'm very surprised at the suggestion that engagement with Labour can be put on a back-burner.'