I spent my first rotation at Edelman in Public Affairs (PA) – unfairly represented in the press as evil plotting lobbyists, PA is all about providing political agendas, research and intelligence and facilitating political dialogues for companies and organizations. It should be recognized in its true light as an essential part of the British political process. I arrived at one of the busiest periods of the year for Public Affairs – Party Conference time. I worked on research and preparation for Party Conference briefings; I put together agendas and called MP’s offices to arrange meetings. I also helped on research for a new business pitch. I saw the pitch process through from its outset to delivery, which was really valuable experience. PA deal with some extremely varied and interesting client accounts. I worked on a wind farm company which with the current drive towards sustainable green energy is a particularly relevant and topical account. I also worked on some renowned worldwide companies, including a leading software company and a number one drinks and snacks manufacturer.

With everyone going blogging crazy around here, PA recently organized a talk and casual Q&A event with Ian Dale the renowned Conservative MP blogger extraordinaire. He talked about his opinions of blogging in general, the advantages and dangers of this spontaneous new media. With specific mention to how blogging empowers the ordinary individual and the implications for greater democracy and freedom of speech. In my opinion, blogging is particularly relevant to British politics, because politics here is centred on exchange and debate – blogging greater enables this. The public are not interested solely in reading endless information on Parliament or party websites, they want the opportunity to discuss and respond to what is going on. Ian Dale confirmed this by telling us that more people visit Conservative blog sites than the official Conservative Party website!

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