Brexit bulletin

Brexit Bulletin Breakdown

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The latest Brexit Bulletin from Vuelio covers all the recent updates from the Brexit process – sign up to receive the fortnightly political update here.

The week’s bulletin includes a detailed analysis of the following key events:

  • David Davis has updated Parliament on the third round of talks after Parliament returned from its summer recess
  • The European Union (Withdrawal Bill) second reading was voted through Parliament with 157 amendments
  • Lords Constitution Committee has published an interim report on the European Withdrawal Bill
  • Former Prime Minister Tony Blair intervened in the debate around Brexit pointing towards a way in which the UK can stay in the single market and control immigration
  • The Home Office has faced an embarrassing leak of its post-Brexit immigration policy
  • The Government published two position papers – one on science and technology, and the other on foreign policy and defence

The Brexit Bulletin also includes a detailed timeline of future events, the immediate activities around Brexit that are most likely to shape the conversation and a comprehensive stakeholder digest with all the Brexit-related news.

Vuelio’s Brexit Bulletin is a one-stop-shop for keeping on top of everything Brexit. Don’t waste time during Brexit – stay in the know with everything that’s important to you.

The Vuelio Political Team will also be reporting from the major party conferences – find out more here.

 

Vuelio Brexit Bulletin, 21st July

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As Brexit negotiations continue this week, we bring you the latest news, developments and stakeholder reaction in our Brexit Bulletin.  The stakeholder community takes center stage this week, as the Government seeks to engage with business leaders voicing concerns over an uncertain future. 

  • The second round of negations have kicked off this week. While attention was initially focussed on David Davis’ lack of briefing notes at a photo opportunity on Monday, the real hurdle now seems to be a lack of detail around key issues.
  • The Cabinet continues to show division: after a week of leaks focussing on Phillip Hammond, key figures in the Conservative party are calling for unity, or as Michael Fallon has put it, ‘’military discipline’’.
  • One area the Cabinet has agreed on is that of a ‘transitional period’. While the exact time frame is yet to be decided, both the Times and the Guardian have suggested this could include a continuation of freedom of movement, leaving open the possibility of free market access as well.

Want the full bulletin? Sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here. 

Vuelio Brexit Bulletin, 14th July

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With Brexit negotiations set to continue on Monday, Vuelio has launched a fortnightly Brexit Bulletin. We’ll cover policy developments, negotiation proceedings and the global media’s take on events – cutting through the noise with an unbiased overview of the latest information. 

This week, the Government has published what used to be called the Great Repeal Bill; the National Audit Office has criticised the Government’s Brexit approach; and a cross-party rebellion over Euratom has picked up momentum.

  • The Government is showing signs of a change in mood after the general election, with more focus on the negative aspects of Brexit – although Boris Johnson’s insistence that the bloc could ‘go whistle’ over the final exit bill suggests this change may not be substantial.
  • On Tuesday, David Davis MP appeared in front of the House of Lords’ EU Select Committee, making headlines with his claim that, ‘I do not think anybody is likely to follow us down this route’.
  • Theresa May faces stiff opposition from Wales and Scotland over the repeal bill – Nicola Sturgeon and Carwyn Jones have issued a joint statement calling it ’a naked power grab, an attack on the founding principles of devolution [which] could destabilise our economies.’

Want the full bulletin? Sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here. 

What do you need to know about the new select committee chairs?

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The Chairs of the House of Commons Select Committees were elected on Wednesday and these MPs will now guide their respective Committees over the coming parliament. But what do Select Committees do, and why are they important?

Purpose

First and foremost, select committees scrutinise the work of the Government. They focus on three main aspects in this respect: finance, policy and administration. Departmental committees will have at least 11 members who will choose subjects for inquiries, whose evidence will form a report to be presented to the House of Commons and made public.

Composition

The balance of Committee chairs reflects the split of seats in the House of Commons, and which committee is chaired by who can be negotiated by party whips, depending on which policy area the party is most interested in. When Committee chairs are elected the alternative vote system is used, with every MP given a vote on every chair. In the event only one MP is nominated, they will be elected unopposed. For the remaining members of the select committee, the number of seats allocated to each party is also arranged to reflect the split of seats in the House of Commons.

Democratic progress

Select Committees provide a large amount of information to Parliament and can reveal information that would otherwise have simply been the subject of speculation. The more consensual nature of Select Committees also allows more progress to be made when investigating. Only the Crown (this includes the Government), MPs and Lords are exempt from appearing before evidence sessions, so they can take evidence from almost every section of society and draw upon a wide range of expertise.

Select Committees have grown in publicity and influence in recent years. Rupert Murdoch and Philip Green have both made headlines whilst giving evidence, with sessions often gathering far more publicity than PMQs or parliamentary questions. Submitting evidence, either in person or as part of a committee report, can be a powerful way for an organisation to argue for new legislation, changes in policy, or investment in projects. Committee chairs are often seen as more powerful than junior ministers, and have a high profile media presence which means they’re frequently asked to comment on stories.

We’ve picked our top picks of the newly elected chairs – download our infographic now to find out more.

 

Select Committees Infographic - Vuelio

 

 

Brexit – what’s next?

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With the Repeal Bill scheduled to be published on Thursday and EU negotiations continuing on the following Monday, there’s going to be a lot of Brexit related noise in the media and online.

That’s why Vuelio is creating a non-partisan, unbiased Brexit Briefing. Every fortnight, we’ll cover key players, the latest negotiation proceedings and what it all means for the stakeholder community. To put it simply, we’re hoping to provide some clarity during what is an uncertain time.

The first copy will be sent out on Friday – sign up to Vuelio Political Updates to receive yours.

Queen’s Speech: A Day of Firsts

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Yesterday, the Queen’s Speech, a key date in the parliamentary diary, set out the Government’s legislative programme for the year ahead. Theresa May was forced to face the Speech without the guaranteed backing of the Democratic Unionist Party, ten days after her announcement of a deal.

It is the first time since 1978 that a government without a majority has presented their agenda in the Queen’s Speech. It was also the first time that a government had proposed an agenda over two years instead of one.

Expectedly, the legislative programme was dominated by measures on the UK’s exit from the European Union, including bills on immigration, customs and trade arrangements. However, after the Tories threw away their majority in the unnecessary snap election, the position from which their Brexit plans were presented was far from one of strength.

More noteworthy was what was not mentioned in the Speech, the Tories having scrapped several key manifesto pledges, including capping energy bills for pensioners, introducing the “dementia tax” to fund social care, bringing back grammar schools and legalising fox hunting. As members of Parliament are elected on their party’s manifesto, the legitimacy of May’s government is now being questioned even further.

The programme has been characterised by the opposition as “threadbare”, a symbol of May’s weak government. Indeed, the meagreness of the government’s agenda was demonstrated through greater interest in the Queen’s hat. Other people chose to highlight May’s defeated demeanour in comparison to Jeremy Corbyn, such as Labour MP Toby Perkins’ remark “Has she shrunk or has he grown?”.

Six days have now been set aside for the contents of the Speech to be debated in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. May needs all her own MPs to support her programme as well as eight additional MPs. At present, the Tories have still not reached an agreement with the DUP.

Want to know more? Download your copy of the Queen’s Speech: Summary, Analysis and Reaction.

Engaging with new MPs after #GE2017

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So, on the 8th of June, there’ll be some brand new faces sitting in Westminster. Knowing who they are, their political interests and, most importantly, the best way to engage with them is crucial to the success of your public affairs strategy in the coming parliament.

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If you want to keep ahead of the game why not tune into our upcoming webinar ‘’Engaging with new MPs after #GE2017’’ for a complete guide to identifying, engaging and influencing the new MP intake which takes place on Tuesday 20 June at 11:00 am BST.

During the webinar we’ll be covering everything from:

  • Identifying the right MPs to engage with based on their political interests, such as select committee membership.
  • Access over 4,000 political contacts including MPs’ staff– the most effective way of reaching MPs.
  • Achieving ROI on your engagement with email tracking and comprehensive reports that measure the success of your campaigns.

Save your spot now on our up and coming webinar to see how our political database can help you!

Vuelio General Election Briefing 5th June

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Sadly, our election briefing again starts with news that campaigning was suspended owing to a terrorist attack. This suspension was relatively brief: perhaps due to the proximity to polling day, perhaps due to the sense that the attack was targeted at the election itself and that the best way of demonstrating resilience was for campaigning to resume as soon as possible. What this means in terms of the election is that the focus remains firmly on security. 

Here’s a quick summary of what happened last week:

  • YouGov published a poll that shows we are heading towards a hung parliament, per YouGov the Conservatives will be 16 seats short of a majority.
  • Both leaders struggled in the leaders’ Question Time, with Theresa May falling short of a convincing answer about nurses’ pay. Jeremy Corbyn came under tough questioning (again) relating to his views on nuclear weapons.
  • Jeremy Corbyn made a surprise appearance at the leaders’ debate which Theresa May didn’t take part in, sending Amber Rudd in her place. As we can see from social media mentions of Theresa May during the debate below, her absence was very much noted online:

 

theresa may q time

Sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here to receive the full General Election Briefing

Vuelio General Election Briefing 30th May

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Despite the election campaign being suspended for a few days as a mark of respect to the victims of the attack in Manchester, it’s been an eventful week on the election campaign trail. With UKIP’s manifesto launch on Thursday, May’s ‘dementia tax’ U-turn and Paxman interviews with May and Corbyn, there’s a lot to catch up on.

Here’s a quick summary of what happened:

  • The polls have narrowed in the wake of the so-called ‘dementia tax’, with Labour closing the gaps on the Conservatives – but still several percent behind
  • In the wake of the Manchester attack, attention has moved to security – an area where both Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May have weaknesses which the parties will be hoping to exploit
  • Last night, both Corbyn and May appeared on television, answering questions from voters and Jeremy Paxman
  • UKIP’s manifesto was launched on Thursday, and as the graph below shows, this gathered around 550,000 mentions on social media. While it firmly positioned itself as the party to vote for to avoid compromise over Brexit, there was also dismay online over UKIP’s pledge to ban the burka due to their impact on Vitamin D levels.

 

ukip

Sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here to receive the full General Election Briefing

Vuelio General Election Manifestos Infographic

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We’ve updated our Manifesto Infographic with the key policies from UKIP’s manifesto launch yesterday. How do they stack up against the other major parties’?

Manifestos GE 2017 Infographic - Vuelio

 

Vuelio General Election Briefing 22nd May

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This week saw the three main UK-wide parties launch their manifestos, and the first votes being cast, as postal voters receive their ballot papers. It’s also seen a surprising turn around in the opinion polling, with Labour seemingly narrowing the gap on the Conservatives. Today has also seen a dramatic U-turn from the Conservatives on the so called ”dementia tax”. 

Here’s a quick summary of what happened last week:

  • The Conservatives, Lib-Dems and Labour launched their manifestos and postal voting began
  • The Conservatives saw a drop in support in opinion polls, something party figures are attributing to policies such as the  ‘’dementia tax’’
  • The first leader’s debate was held – with notable absences from Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn
  • As the graph below shows, the ”dementia tax” has started picking up traction on social media after a weekend where the phrase was used across the Sunday political shows by opposition parties.

dementia tac

Sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here to receive the full General Election Briefing

Vuelio General Election Briefing 15th May

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It’s always the case with election campaigns that the parties’ plans will be disrupted by events outside of their control. This weekend, for example, the opposition parties have been using the cyber-attack which affected the NHS as a means of highlighting funding problems. Labour have been suggesting that Conservative funding cuts led to the use of outdated and insecure technology,  whilst the Conservatives have been defending their record on cyber-security and blaming individual NHS trusts.

Here’s a quick summary of what else happened last week:

  • The Conservatives continue their journey into Labour territory with policy announcements on an energy cap, social housing and worker’s rights
  • Speculation continues over both the source and motivation of the Labour manifesto leak, which overshadowed all policy announcements last week
  • The Conservatives maintain their lead in the polls, currently sitting at 47%
  • Both Labour and the Lib-Dems made education announcements, with Labour’s making significantly more traction on social media. The graph below shows the increase in online conversation over its announcements, although this coincides with Angela Rayner’s LBC appearance where she failed to answer simple questions on the policy

Labour manifesto

 

For all the latest election news, policy announcements and social media reaction, sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here 

 

Vuelio General Election Briefing 8th May

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As the general election gets underway, we’ve compiled all the news, policy announcements, stakeholder reaction and social media analysis to keep you up to date. Arriving in your inbox on Monday, you’ll have a round-up of the Sunday political shows as well as media analysis, so you can get the full flavour of how the campaigns are going. 

Here’s a quick summary of what happened last week:

  • The Conservatives made gains in local elections, while UKIP was left with only one councillor
  • Theresa May gave a disastrous performance on Marr, only to be overshadowed by Diane Abbott on LBC
  • Both Labour and the Lib-Dems made tax policy announcements, while the Conservatives announced their first manifesto promise, relating to mental health
  • The Conservatives have 47% of the vote share based on the most recent polls
  • The British Chambers of Commerce, British Medical Association and Institute for Government have all released their own manifestos
  • As we can see below, Labour’s pledge to increase police numbers gained the most traction online out of the manifesto announcements so far – although this is most likely in response to Diane Abbott’s LBC performance

Reaction

 

Sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here and get your free weekly copy

How PRs Can Stop Wasting Time At Work

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Do you feel as if you’re wasting vital time at your job?

How much time do you spend on tasks without knowing just how, exactly, they contribute to your work?

Our new tipsheet “How PRs Can Stop Wasting Time at Work” looks at some of the clever ways in which PRs can eliminate time-wasting tasks from their day-to-day activities and focus on what matters most in their job – connecting with their audience.

Download our tipsheet now and discover how you can get rid of the biggest time-wasters at work and become more efficient through the use of technology and automation.

Are you struggling with public affairs?

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If you want to ensure your organisation influences the political agenda, a public affairs strategy will be crucial to your wider stakeholder engagement. And if you’re struggling to identify who to engage with and how, our upcoming webinar ‘’Influencing Public Affairs’’ will give you the full toolkit for success.

InfluencingPublicAffairs_Lionel Zetter

Our guest speaker, Lionel Zetter, is the former President of the CIPR and the CIPR Government Affairs Group, and is the current Chairman of the PRCA Public Affairs Group. Lionel will explore the fundamentals of public affairs and show you how to achieve tangible results from your political engagement.

Save your spot to see how our public affairs tools can help you:

  • Target your outreach by tracking your open rates and logging engagements with MPs and their staff
  • Stay on top of your team’s external interactions with a searchable, real-time overview of conversations
  • Measure the impact of your activities and see ROI from your public affairs by organising, sharing, tracking and evaluating all your stakeholder activity

The webinar will take place on Tuesday 25th April at 11:00. Make sure you Register now! 

How Live Video Can Help You Grow Your Brand

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Brands such as BMW, Nestle and Starbucks have all used live video to connect with their audiences, as part of brand-building, recruitment and breaking down barriers to better interact with customers and potential customers.

Our new guide, How Live Video Can Help You Grow Your Brand, breaks down the key elements you need to consider when planning live video as part of your comms strategy – from the technology required, to content planning, to measuring success.

Download our guide ‘How Live Video Can Help You Grow Your Brand’ now.
 

Supercharge your public affairs strategy- engage with MPs

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Engaging with MPs is a vital part of any public affairs strategy, but it’s also one of the biggest challenges that public affairs professionals will face. Identifying who to approach is one thing, but getting your voice heard is another. How do you stand out, given the huge number of emails landing in MPs’ inboxes every day?

  • Be clever with contact. Once you’ve identified the parliamentarians you want to engage with, it may be tempting to jump straight in and email the MP directly. However it’s rare that they will be the first to read their emails, and the high volume of correspondence that is sent to their main address may limit the impact that yours has. A far more effective way of getting to MPs is through contacting their staff – an event invitation sent directly to a parliamentary assistant will have far greater chance of being seen by the right person.
  • Do your research. A successful public affairs strategy will have a foundation of engaged MPs who you can work with to inform the political debate. To build this base, you need to identify the right MPs to engage with based on which select committees they sit on, which APPGs they’re part of, and which issues they speak out on during debates. Social media is also a great way to keep track of interests which MPs may not necessarily list officially, but which could be a key part of your engagement strategy. This could be which sports team they support, their favourite charity or recent events they’ve attended.
  • Never lose track of your interactions. This is crucial, as the last thing you want to do is duplicate efforts across your team or engage with a new staff member when your organisation already has strong relationships with another. By tracking and saving all communications taking place across your team, you can rest assured that no one is left out of the loop.

Find out more or request a demo of the Vuelio political database here.

Social and online media react to #Budget2017

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Philip Hammond’s first (and last) Spring Budget pulled few punches, with the main surprises coming in the form of tax increases for the self-employed and a notable absence of Brexit. The online press, social media and blogger-sphere were quick to respond – how did they react to the policy announcements?

While it certainly wasn’t a groundbreaking Budget, Hammond’s tax hike for self-employed earners overshadowed all other policy announcements online. The NIC increase came as a surprise to many given the dominance of self-employed workers in Conservative constituencies, and the more conservative press has today rounded on the Chancellor for betraying the ‘typical’ conservative value of entrepreneurism.

There have been suggestions that social care funding, which Hammond was criticised for supposedly ignoring in the Autumn Statement, has been allocated at the expense of the NHS. While sentiment analysis of “social care” mentions suggests that the increase in funding was generally well received online, corresponding mentions of the NHS were far more negative – indicating that the public saw the social care investment as part of a zero-sum game for UK health.

 

Social media response to budget issues graph (002)-1489069465413

 

For more analysis and reaction from journalists, opposition MPs and stakeholder organisations, download Vuelio’s 2017 Budget Summary here.

 

Spring Budget 2017 | Summary, Media Analysis & Stakeholder Reaction

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While it certainly wasn’t a ground breaking Budget, Hammond’s tax hike for self-employed earners overshadowed all other policy announcements on social media.

So, what were the other main takeaways from the budget according to the media and stakeholders?

Spring Statement 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve included a full summary of the Spring Budget and analysis of the media reaction, as well as an overview of assessments and key takeaways from experts. See what issues grabbed the media’s attention with our analysis of the media and stakeholder reaction to the Budget.

Fill out the form to download it now.

The 3 Steps to Building Influencer Relationships

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Building relationships is not easy.

Whether you are looking to connect with journalists, bloggers or other influencers, we can show you how to increase your chances of being heard, create lasting partnerships and get great results in 3 easy steps.

Our tipsheet will help you:

  • Increase your chances of being heard
  • Create lasting partnerships
  • Improve your influencer campaign results

 

Download ‘The 3 Steps to Building Influencer Relationships’ tipsheet now.