How Public Affairs Agencies Are Adapting to a More Fragmented Political Landscape
by Chardonnay Bradshaw-Shallow, Associate Consultant
The UK political landscape is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Support for smaller parties such as Reform is growing, Labour is not entirely unified internally, and the possibility of coalition government is becoming more realistic. As a result, public affairs agencies are having to think more carefully about how they position themselves and where they focus their engagement.
To understand this further I conducted interviews with 10 senior representatives from different public affairs agencies and asked them a series of questions about their political engagement strategies and how they are influenced by the political climate.
The results showed that cross-party engagement is now widely seen as a given. Agencies are placing a strong emphasis on being politically balanced, both in how they present themselves and in how their teams are structured. Being closely associated with a single party is far less commercially viable than it once was, and there is also a general view that a broader mix of political perspectives leads to stronger advice for clients.
However, this doesn’t mean that engagement is evenly spread across the political spectrum.
In practice, there is a clear shift towards more selective and forward-looking engagement, particularly when it comes to Reform. Despite not holding significant power, the party is increasingly being taken seriously. Many agencies are investing time in building relationships, attending events, and developing a clearer understanding of its direction. What is notable is that this activity is often happening ahead of direct client demand, driven more by a sense of needing to be prepared than by immediate necessity.
That said, while there is broad agreement that engagement with emerging parties is important, there is much less consistency in how agencies are approaching it.
Some are taking a more proactive and visible approach, openly building relationships and demonstrating their reach across the political spectrum. Others are far more cautious, choosing to engage in a quieter and more measured way. In many cases, this comes down to how different agencies think about reputation and how their activity may be perceived by clients.
This creates a slight disconnect. On the surface, there is a shared narrative around cross-party engagement, but underneath that, strategies vary quite significantly. Decisions are being shaped by different client bases, different levels of risk appetite, and different views on how influential parties like Reform may ultimately become.
What makes this moment particularly interesting is the level of uncertainty involved. Unlike previous political shifts, there isn’t a clear direction of travel. Reform’s long-term role is still taking shape, and the broader structure of the political landscape is not yet settled. As a result, agencies are not just responding to change, but trying to anticipate it, often without a clear sense of what the end point will look like.
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For further details on this research, or the full report, please email chardonnay.bradshaw-shallow@madlinhana.com
MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us in London on +44 (0) 20 8088 4102 or in Brussels on +32 (0) 2 586 38 98 for more information or a confidential conversation about these services and more.