Tag: minister

So, you’ve got a meeting with the minister. How do you get the best out of it?

An opportunity to meet with a Minister is a rare thing indeed, so you need to make the very best of it.

Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash

So, your approach to the new ministerial team has worked, and you’ve been invited to meet with the Minister.  This is a rare opportunity, and it’s important that you make the very best of it.  But how do you go about preparing? And how will you make sure that the meeting helps you to achieve your policy influencing objectives?  In this post, I take a look at what ministerial meetings are, how you can prepare for them, some things to think about, and ways to make sure that the meeting is a success.

For the purposes of this post, I’ll be concentrating on one-on-one meetings, rather than broader roundtables or policy forums which you might on occasion be invited to.  I’ll return to those in a future post.  

Over the years, I’ve lost count of the number of ministerial meetings that I have been invited to for governments of all political colours and complexions.  Some have been good, and some have been, well, let’s just say ‘not so good’!  What that has given me is a perspective on some of the key things to look out for. While every meeting is going to be different, there are some common themes and principles that apply universally, and that’s what I’ll take a look at in this post. 

You can, of course, be invited to a meeting for a variety of different reasons.  It might be in direct response to a proactive approach that you have made to the Minister, such as a letter.  It might also be because one of your parliamentary champions has gone out of their way to open the door for you by persuading the Minister that you really are someone worth meeting and talking to.  You might also be invited to a meeting if the ministerial team think that you might be able to help the government with a particular problem or challenge that they are grappling with.   Whatever the reason, it’s really important that you make the very best of the opportunity, and I hope that these tips and tricks will be useful to you. 

Tip 1:  Preparation is key

Preparing properly for the meeting is absolutely vital.  On a practical level, you’ll need to work out who you are going to field for the meeting, and what their roles will be at the meeting.  If you’re able to send more than one person, it’s a good idea to have one person who will be your lead, and to be accompanied by someone who might have, for example, the technical and more detailed knowledge that might be needed in the conversation.  Do your research about the minister and their background and interests, and think about what their current political priorities might be.  And, of course, think carefully about the key messages that you want to land with the minister and their team.  A reasonably detailed briefing note for those attending the meeting is usually a good idea. 

Tip 2:  Try to push for an in-person meeting

In this post-COVID world that we’re all living in, you might find that you are offered a virtual meeting with the minister.  If you can, it’s well worth pushing for a face-to-face meeting if it is at all possible.  It allows for a more free-flowing and natural conversation, as well as allowing you and the minister to get to know one another better than you can ever do online.  If a virtual meeting is the only option available, it’s not the end of the world, but you’ll need to work that bit harder to build a working relationship with the minister and their team. 

Tip 3:  Plan the meeting with the officials

If you can, it’s a really good idea to reach out to the relevant officials to talk about the content of the meeting.  Afterall, they will be preparing a briefing for the minister ahead of the meeting, so if you can agree on the overall shape of the meeting, you’re all going to get a lot more out of it.  It’s a good way to outline what you are looking for from the meeting, and to understand what the minister might be looking for too.  If you’re not sure which officials will be involved, you can ask the minister’s diary office for advice, as they’ll know who else is going to be attending. 

Tip 4:  Events might scupper things

When you’re dealing with ministerial diaries, there is a reasonable chance that external events might pull the rug from under your best laid plans.  It might be an urgent political issue that government needs to resolve, a question in Parliament that the minister needs to respond to, or other diary pressures that mean that your meeting gets postponed, or worse, cancelled altogether.  Don’t be disheartened if that does happen – it happens to everyone at one time or another.  The minister’s diary office will probably try to be quite accommodating in finding a new slot.  To avoid the risk of making a long trip to Westminster only for the meeting to be cancelled at the last minute, it’s a good idea to check in with the minister’s office the day before the meeting in case they can see any potential problems on the horizon (and to check on the location of the meeting in case it might have changed). 

Tip 5:  Don’t be late

Ministerial diaries are tightly managed things, so if you are even a few minutes late, it can get you off to a really bad start.  Arrive in plenty of time.  If you can, it’s a good idea to agree to meet with those you are bringing to the meeting somewhere close by for a final briefing before you all go in to the meeting together. 

Tip 6:  Come with solutions, not just problems

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, politicians generally get quite irritated by people who just bring problems without any potential solutions.  If the meeting is on a particular topic, it’s worth spending time thinking about the politics of that issue, and what you might want the minister, or the wider government, to do.  And don’t forget that not all of the solutions are likely to be within the ministers direct control, so think about what the minister could do to encourage action by other bodies and organisations that are not necessarily under direct government control. 

Tip 7:  Get to the point

In most instances, you’re likely to only have 30 to 45 minutes for the meeting, so you’ll need to make sure that you can get to the meat of the conversation as quickly as possible.  Niceties are, of course, important, but if you spend 15 minutes explaining who you are and what you’re trying to achieve, you could well have used half of the time available before you even get to the issue at hand.  This is particularly challenging if you’re meeting with the minister as part of a small coalition or collaboration of organisations – everyone might want their 5 minutes in the sun, but time is precious, so you’ll need to be prepared to be quite strict. 

Tip 8:  Don’t overpromise

It’s really tempting to offer more than you can actually deliver, but this can be really damaging to your relationship with the minister, and to your reputation.  Make sure that whatever you offer you can actually deliver.  It might be more information, some good data, some other evidence, or your help and support to make something happen.  

Tip 9:  Follow up with the officials

The minister will almost certainly be accompanied in the meeting by the relevant officials – usually someone from the minister’s private office plus the relevant ministerial policy lead.  Ministerial meetings are a great way to open a channel with the officials, if you’ve not already got one, and to strengthen that channel if you do.  It’s a perfect reason to follow up with the officials after the meeting to emphasise any points that you want to underline, to provide any further information, and to pick up any other actions that might have arisen from the conversation.  

Tip 10:  Update your stakeholders

If it goes well, the meeting will have moved your relationship with the minister and the officials forward, so it’s important to update your key stakeholders on the outcomes of the meeting so that they’re aware of what was discussed, what the minister’s priorities are, and what you might have agreed.  That’s even more important if your key stakeholders might have their own interaction with ministers and officials.  

What would your top tips be for preparing to meet a minister? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. 

If you or your organisation are looking to do more policy influencing work, and would like some advice, I’d be happy to have a chat. Just drop me a line via the ‘Contact’ link above, or email me at hello@thepolicycoach.co.uk  

Hello, Minister! Making contact with incoming politicians

Your initial contact with an incoming ministerial team will set the tone for your relationship for months or years to come.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

With the latest round of ministerial musical chairs in full swing, many people involved in policy and public affairs will be thinking about how to make initial contact with ministers as they take up their new portfolios.

First impressions count, and this is equally true when it comes to making contact with an incoming ministerial team.  Your initial contact is likely to set the tone for the relationship that you will build with them (and their officials) in the following weeks and months.  Get it right and you’ll have a powerful tool in your policy influencing armoury.  Get it wrong, and you could find yourself out in the cold. 

In this post, I provide some tips on how best to make that initial contact with newly appointed ministers. 

Tip #1:  You might not yet know who to write to, but start with the Secretary of State

When there is a big change of government, such as after an election or following the appointment of a new prime minister, it takes a bit of time for the ministerial dust to settle.  Cabinet positions are the first to be filled, meaning that you should have a pretty good idea pretty quickly of the Secretary of State that will be most closely aligned to your area of interest or your cause.  When it comes to more junior ministerial roles, it often takes a bit of time to fill those, and even when they are filled, it may take even longer for portfolios to be allocated within the new team.  It’s normally a good idea to write initially to the incoming Secretary of State, and to follow up with initial contact with more junior ministers as and when things become clearer. 

Tip #2:  Keep it positive

When a new minister is appointed, they can expect a deluge of introductory letters from a variety of stakeholders and interest groups.  Lots of those contacts will be quite forthright, highlighting a particular problem that the author wants the new minister to prioritise.  In my opinion, it’s really important to keep the tone of that first introductory letter positive.   While you will certainly want to highlight the importance of your issues or interests, you also want to leave them with the impression that you are helpful and constructive, and a credible stakeholder for them to engage with.  

Tip #3:  Make it relevant

In your introductory letter, it’s always a good idea to make sure that you frame the issue within the context of what it is that the government has said that it wants to achieve.  For example, if the government has published a strategy relevant to your issue or cause, talk about how you can help them to deliver on that, or how solving the issue that you are highlighting with them will help unblock progress against the strategy.  

Tip #4:  Less is more

While it is hugely tempting to provide lots of detail and background, an introductory letter should be relatively short and to the point.  I normally aim for no more than a side and a half of A4 as a general rule. 

Tip #5:  You are introducing yourself as well as the issue

An incoming minister is unlikely to know very much about either the issue that you are most interested in, or who you are as an organisation.  Don’t forget to give them some insight into who your organisation is, its role and its purpose.  And importantly why your organisation is an important stakeholder that the new minister can work with.  

Tip #6:  A letter or an email?

As a general rule of thumb, introductory contact with an incoming minister is better in the form of a letter.  The formality and respect that a letter brings will go a long way to setting the right tone.  For efficiency, you may choose, of course, to send the letter electronically rather than as a hard copy, if you have an email address to use. 

Tip #7:  Have a clear ask

Be clear in the letter what it is that you want the new minister to do.  For example, are you asking for a meeting?  Or asking them to consider a specific policy change?  As it is an introductory letter, it’s quite likely that it will be reasonably top-level rather than focused on a specific policy ask at this stage.  

Tip #8:  You might get a reply from someone else

While ministerial portfolios are allocated and agreed, your initial letter to an incoming Secretary of State is quite likely to be passed on to the relevant junior minister for a reply (once they are known).  So when you are putting your letter together, it’s worth bearing in mind that it might effectively double-up as your introductory letter to the relevant junior minister too. 

Tip #9:  Getting on the radar is key

If you’re fortunate enough to already have an existing positive relationship with the relevant officials, that is going to help you enormously.  It is the officials who help an incoming minister to prioritise who to reply to, and the tone of that reply.  Writing an introductory letter to an incoming minister is as much about getting on the radar with the relevant officials and it is about getting on the radar of the minister themselves.  

Tip #10:  Decide whether your letter is public or private

Some organisations will choose to make their introductory letter to an incoming minister public – publishing it or issuing it to the media.  There is a view that such ‘open’ letters can themselves be an effective influencing tool, by raising wider public (and political) awareness of the issue involved.  Personally, I’m not a fan of making such letters public (unless there is a specific campaign need).  Open letters have a place, but in my opinion using that tactic in an introductory approach is unlikely to be well received. 

What is your experience of reaching out to an incoming ministerial team?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. 

If you or your organisation are looking to do more policy influencing work, and would like some pro bono advice, I’d be happy to have a chat. Just drop me a line via the ‘Contact’ link above, or email me at hello@thepolicycoach.co.uk