A Quiet Word: Lobbying, Crony Capitalism and Broken Politics in Britain

Softcover

ISBN 10: 009957831X ISBN 13: 9780099578314

Publisher: Vintage UK, 2015

An explosive and revelatory account about the British lobbying industry and how it affects us all at every level of our lives.

When protesters pitched their tents at St Paul's Cathedral in October 2011, as they did in Wall Street and cities around the world, they demanded one thing, first and foremost. To be heard. The financial sector they oppose doesn't have to sit for weeks under canvas, with banners waving, in order to get the ear of government. It peddles its influence quietly, behind closed doors with friends and former colleagues in government, which it looks after with fine dining, direct funding and promises of jobs in retirement.

'The best PR is never noticed' so the saying goes and corporations, lobbying firms and many politicians are keen to keep it that way. The corporate takeover of democracy is not a paranoid nightmare of conspiracy theorists -- it affects us all at every level of our lives. The food we eat, the medicine we use, the air we breathe, the wars fought in our name, how our natural resources are used, the temperature of our planet, how we spend our money, and how our money is spent for us by those who control the public purse.

Britain's influence industry is worth £2billion, employs upwards of 15,000 people and operates out of public sight. It is accountable to no one. The protestors with the slogans 'we are the 99%' reflect a society that increasingly feels it has little or no control over how our lives are shaped. The government has ceased to listen. To us, at least. They listen to the hidden persuaders of the influence industry. They listen to the one per cent.

About the Author:

TAMASIN CAVE is an investigative journalist, campaigner and commentator. She is a director of SpinWatch, which investigates and reports on corporate PR and lobbying, as well as government spin. Since 2007, she has also led the campaign for a statutory register of lobbyists. Her work has made the front pages of "The Sunday Times, The Observer, ""The Guardian" and the "Mirror."

Review:

"Fascinating... [Cave and Rowell] lay bare the tricks of the trade, from "astroturfing" (whipping up what looks like grassroots protest against new regulatory threats, but is in fact a front for industry interests) to using thinktanks as "wonk whores" that can push helpful ideas" -- Gaby Hinsliff * Guardian * "Indispensable" -- George Monbiot * Guardian * "Demonstrates beyond doubt how lobbyists distort democracy and ensure that elite opinion crowds out public views" * New Statesman * "A chillingly accurate description of how presentation and spin trumps substantive argument in the upper echelons of power... A Quiet Word is important and, generally, right" -- Mark Leftly * Independent on Sunday * "A timely account of how voters are conceding power to a silent industry" -- JP O'Malley * Mail on Sunday *