Westbourne was involved in creating Campaign for High Speed Rail, a group promoting the HS2 transit line in London, whose spokesperson was Lucy James, a Westbourne employee. Westbourne organized a conference in 2011, it was attended by Transport secretary Philip Hammond, at which rail companies were asked to contribute £10,000 each to the launch of the campaign. Westbourne chose not to emphasize the government's position that the project would speed transit times, instead seeking to redefine opposition for the £33 billion project in terms of "posh nimbys" in the Chilterns worried about hunting rights. Posters for the campaign asked people to choose between "their lawns or our jobs". The company toured northern working-class cities by bus, working with politicians and celebrities to promote the project. The efforts were praised by transport minister Simon Burns, and Lord Adonis.[2][3]
The tactics were denounced by opposing group Spinwatch as "astroturfing", and cited as a case of the "triumph of vested interests and the power of their lobbying companies". Tactics described as "keeping a lid on protests" in a campaign involved a confrontational approach against the "insurgency tactics" of online campaigners. VICE quoted Bethell: "You've got to fight them on every street corner... You can't just sit and watch your opponents run around doing what they like. You’ve got to get out into the bush, using their tactics and being in their face." In comments made at a conference with U.S. high speed rail advocates in 2012, Westbourne had advised lobbyists to "pick off" opponents with "sniper-scope accuracy" and "shut them up" with aggressive rebuttal campaigns, which Bethell called an "exhausting but crucial" part of successful lobbying.[2][3]
The role of the government in spending public money on the lobbying was criticized, with Westbourne receiving over £80,000 from HS2 Ltd, with an additional £84,480 spent for two Westbourne staff working on secondment to HS2 Ltd, and a further £24,000 paid to the firm by the Department for Transport. Another firm, Tomboy Films, was paid £86,000 to create two informational videos supporting the project.[4]
Other campaignsedit
The company also conducted a "Nothing British" PR campaign against the British National Party, enlisting military figures to promote their cause, and launched "Doctors for Reform", organizing 1000 doctors to call for changes to the National Health Service.[2] "Nothing British" is described as "a viral video campaign led by Westbourne Communications and hosted by The Sun to counter the rise of the BNP following their success in the 2009 European Parliamentary elections." It is described in a video featuring Simon Weston, one of four people profiled, as "a campaign against racism and extremism".[5]
Infrastructure campaignsedit
To aid HM Treasury aim of delivering at least £25 billion of investment in UK infrastructure [6] Westbourne infrastructure practice sourced, structured, and negotiated on behalf of Legal & General's British infrastructure £15 billion vehicle [7] direct investments into the UK. The unique combination of political and financial expertise in the infrastructure investment space pioneered new financial structures leading the adoption of Private Finance 2 (PF2) type vehicles.
Referencesedit
^"Press release announcing merger". from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
^ abcJames Jamie Doward (6 April 2013). "High-speed rail opponents 'portrayed as posh nimbys' by peer's lobbying firm". The Guardian. from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
^ abTamasin Cave and Andy Rowell (24 March 2014). "The Corporate PR Industry's Sneaky War on Internet Activism". Vice.com. from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
^Mark Leftly (25 August 2013). "The wrong side of the tracks: Lobbyists for HS2 rail line funded by the taxpayer". The Independent. from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
^"www.woodhousetv.com/portfolio-item/nothing-british/". from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
^The UK insurance growth action plan. UK: HM Treasury. 2013. p. 15. ISBN978-1-909790-47-6.
^"Annual Report 2014" (PDF). Legal & General Group plc. 2014. (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
April 12, 2024
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This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view October 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Westbourne Communications is a public relations firm founded by James Bethell 5th Baron Bethell Westbourne CommunicationsIndustryPublic relationsFounderJames Bethell 5th Baron BethellParentCicero Communications from 2018 In June of 2018 the company was sold to Cicero Communications 1 Contents 1 Campaigns 1 1 Campaign for High Speed Rail 1 2 Other campaigns 2 Infrastructure campaigns 3 ReferencesCampaigns editCampaign for High Speed Rail edit Westbourne was involved in creating Campaign for High Speed Rail a group promoting the HS2 transit line in London whose spokesperson was Lucy James a Westbourne employee Westbourne organized a conference in 2011 it was attended by Transport secretary Philip Hammond at which rail companies were asked to contribute 10 000 each to the launch of the campaign Westbourne chose not to emphasize the government s position that the project would speed transit times instead seeking to redefine opposition for the 33 billion project in terms of posh nimbys in the Chilterns worried about hunting rights Posters for the campaign asked people to choose between their lawns or our jobs The company toured northern working class cities by bus working with politicians and celebrities to promote the project The efforts were praised by transport minister Simon Burns and Lord Adonis 2 3 The tactics were denounced by opposing group Spinwatch as astroturfing and cited as a case of the triumph of vested interests and the power of their lobbying companies Tactics described as keeping a lid on protests in a campaign involved a confrontational approach against the insurgency tactics of online campaigners VICE quoted Bethell You ve got to fight them on every street corner You can t just sit and watch your opponents run around doing what they like You ve got to get out into the bush using their tactics and being in their face In comments made at a conference with U S high speed rail advocates in 2012 Westbourne had advised lobbyists to pick off opponents with sniper scope accuracy and shut them up with aggressive rebuttal campaigns which Bethell called an exhausting but crucial part of successful lobbying 2 3 The role of the government in spending public money on the lobbying was criticized with Westbourne receiving over 80 000 from HS2 Ltd with an additional 84 480 spent for two Westbourne staff working on secondment to HS2 Ltd and a further 24 000 paid to the firm by the Department for Transport Another firm Tomboy Films was paid 86 000 to create two informational videos supporting the project 4 Other campaigns edit The company also conducted a Nothing British PR campaign against the British National Party enlisting military figures to promote their cause and launched Doctors for Reform organizing 1000 doctors to call for changes to the National Health Service 2 Nothing British is described as a viral video campaign led by Westbourne Communications and hosted by The Sun to counter the rise of the BNP following their success in the 2009 European Parliamentary elections It is described in a video featuring Simon Weston one of four people profiled as a campaign against racism and extremism 5 Infrastructure campaigns editTo aid HM Treasury aim of delivering at least 25 billion of investment in UK infrastructure 6 Westbourne infrastructure practice sourced structured and negotiated on behalf of Legal amp General s British infrastructure 15 billion vehicle 7 direct investments into the UK The unique combination of political and financial expertise in the infrastructure investment space pioneered new financial structures leading the adoption of Private Finance 2 PF2 type vehicles References edit Press release announcing merger Archived from the original on 19 July 2018 Retrieved 18 July 2018 a b c James Jamie Doward 6 April 2013 High speed rail opponents portrayed as posh nimbys by peer s lobbying firm The Guardian Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 18 December 2016 a b Tamasin Cave and Andy Rowell 24 March 2014 The Corporate PR Industry s Sneaky War on Internet Activism Vice com Archived from the original on 25 March 2014 Retrieved 18 September 2017 Mark Leftly 25 August 2013 The wrong side of the tracks Lobbyists for HS2 rail line funded by the taxpayer The Independent Archived from the original on 5 September 2017 Retrieved 18 September 2017 www woodhousetv com portfolio item nothing british Archived from the original on 26 March 2014 Retrieved 26 March 2014 The UK insurance growth action plan UK HM Treasury 2013 p 15 ISBN 978 1 909790 47 6 Annual Report 2014 PDF Legal amp General Group plc 2014 Archived PDF from the original on 5 September 2018 Retrieved 5 September 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Westbourne Communications amp oldid 1182789448, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
