Pitch Economics over alignment: Navigating Britain’s interest-first foreign policy
The old London playbook is officially obsolete. Driven by tight domestic budgets, cost-of-living pressures, and shifting global trust, Westminster has traded moralistic, values-first internationalism for a tough, transactional pragmatism.
To secure trade deals, attract investment, or build strategic influence today, our Account Manager Tom Bromwich argues that those vying for it should stop appealing to Whitehall’s altruism and start solving its domestic economic puzzle. From framing aid as mutual self-interest to leveraging soft power and reliability, here is how diplomats can adapt to Britain’s pragmatic turn and move from asking for favours to securing a seat at the table.
A sixteen year Odyssey ends. Burnham reaches Ithaca. Who will be Burnham’s Eurylochus and what will this mean for UK PLC?
Our Senior Account Manager Christopher Herman takes a deep dive into the latest developments following Burnham’s move to No.10, with a particular focus on his new cabinet and what it means for business. Sixteen years in the waiting and he has finally met his lifetime ambition. The question now is whether he will succeed in turning around the trajectory of government, tackling the cost of living and allowing UK business to grow the economy.
From rhetoric to reality: mapping the business landscape under Burnham
With Andy Burnham’s role as the next Prime Minister and Labour leader now cemented, Alfie Owen and Henry Howarth examine his recent speech, interviews and publications, revealing his priorities for different sectors.
Drones over destroyers: What does Burnham’s Britain mean for defence?
As we edge closer to a new occupant at No 10, our Senior Account Manager, Pierre Shepherd, takes a closer look at the DIP and explores how devolution, social value and ongoing fiscal constraints are likely to shape what comes next.
The EU and the UK… ten years on
Ten years on from the Brexit referendum, Katharine Quigg explores where EU relations sit in party policies now and what our future could look like concerning the EU.
All hail the returning hero? How industry should prepare for Burnham’s march to Downing Street
When a Roman General won a major campaign or secured a new territory, the Senate would prepare a triumph. This was a parade where the returning hero, crowned in laurel, rode a chariot through the cheering streets of Rome. What modern television and cinema adaptations often omit in these historic occasions, however, is the presence […]
Influencing the unpredictable: the role backbench MPs play in delivering policy
The industry of influencing politics is a funny old game. It takes the most bizarre, archaic and eccentric elements of elected life, elevates the natural absurdity of the Westminster village and adds a necessary seasoning of commercial value. For those navigating SW1, our brand of advocacy is a surprisingly modern invention compared to our transatlantic […]
Trains, brains and policy gains: reflections on this year’s UKREiiF
The College Green Group team made tracks back to Leeds for this year’s UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF). Armed to the teeth with branded lanyards and some fiercely in-character CGG umbrellas, we were fully prepared to experience the famously unpredictable weather in “God’s Own Country” while reuniting with some brilliant colleagues across […]
Governing through crisis: what the King’s Speech means for you
Reports suggest the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, may launch a leadership campaign within the next 24 hours. If so, others will follow. But with the Royal Standard raised high above the Palace of Westminster, MPs sharing niceties as they trundle from the Commons to the Lords and the door being firmly shut in Black Rod’s […]
‘Securonomics’: A productivity gamble
Dylan Sudworth examines the Chancellor’s ‘securonomics’ agenda, and the productivity-driven strategy at its core.