Hired guns take aim at target Tory seats
Activer le mode zenTom Baldwin and Alice Fishburn
"Dozens of Conservative parliamentary candidates are working in the lobbying industry that seeks to influence their party's leadership.
"An investigation by The Times has found that 28 prospective candidates who have a good chance of becoming Tory MPs are working as lobbyists or public relations consultants on behalf of businesses and other interests. More than a quarter got their jobs after being selected to fight seats.
"Several acknowledged that they had set up meetings for clients with Shadow ministers, MPs and officials. More said that they had been asked to provide advice on the party's direction. A few admitted to having pressed clients' cases to Tory frontbenchers.
"The disclosure challenges David Cameron's promise to usher in a new politics. More than a fifth of his 150 candidates most likely to win seats for the first time will have done public affairs work, although a handful have since left the industry. By contrast, only seven Labour and three Liberal Democrat prospective candidates with realistic hopes of victory have jobs in public affairs or communications."
Pour citer cette ressource :
"Hired guns take aim at target Tory seats", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), septembre 2009. Consulté le 26/04/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/hired-guns-take-aim-at-target-tory-seats