Lobbying firm Arden funded one in 10 Labour MPs

Nearly one in 10 Labour MPs received financial support before the UK general election from a lobbying firm founded by Jim Murphy, a former cabinet minister under Gordon Brown.

Arden Strategies, Murphy’s consultancy business, sponsored fundraising dinners for 39 prospective candidates who went on to be elected as Labour MPs in the year before July’s ballot, according to social media posts by the firm and its staff. Labour currently has 403 MPs.

The cost of each dinner was about £1,200, below the £2,230 reporting threshold for political donations, according to Mishcon de Reya, a law firm acting for Arden. The firm said cash for fundraisers constituted a “commercial sponsorship arrangement”.

One Labour party official said that Arden’s approach enabled it to “get in on the ground floor” with dozens of potential cabinet ministers. “It’s a really clever strategy because candidates are desperate for support,” they added.

One Labour MP said Arden covered room hire and refreshments for their event.

Recipients of sponsorship for dinners from Arden included new Middle East minister Hamish Falconer and armed forces minister Luke Pollard.

While Arden is not accused of breaking any rules, its ability to forge close links with a party that was poised to enter government with only limited formal disclosure raises questions about the adequacy of the UK’s political transparency rules. 

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is already facing a row over accepting clothing donations that were within the rules, but have jarred with a public braced for spending cuts and tax rises in this month’s Budget.

The prime minister in January promised a “total crackdown on cronyism” in office and a review of post-office employment rules to “end flagrant abuses seen under the Conservatives”. 

The current system allows lobbyists to sponsor candidates, make political donations, and hold undisclosed meetings with opposition MPs without breaching any rules. 

Arden’s lawyers said it “takes great care to stay within the letter and the spirit of electoral law and other law relating to political funding”.

Unlike many of its rivals, Arden is not a member of the Public Relations and Communications Association, a body that publishes a client register. The firm has worked for pharma group AstraZeneca and food order company Deliveroo, according to the companies.

Pictures posted on social media also show Arden helped set up at least half a dozen meetings in the past year between clients and senior Labour figures including chancellor Rachel Reeves, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and cabinet office minister Pat McFadden as they sought to woo executives ahead of the election.

While in opposition, Starmer also attended multiple Arden-sponsored events, including a Scottish Labour business reception. He appeared on stage with Murphy last year at a retreat for prospective candidates.

The engagements did not require a disclosure to the UK’s lobbying watchdog as the rules do not cover opposition MPs or the shadow cabinet.

Lobbyists are only mandated to disclose the names of clients for whom they have contacted government ministers and senior civil servants.

Mishcon said Arden was registered with the watchdog, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (Orcl). The fact that Arden does not publish a list of clients beyond meeting its obligations to Orcl was not unusual, Mischon added.

In August, Arden sponsored a reception in Scotland with Reeves, while last month it held a roundtable involving business representatives in a Treasury building. The Treasury declined to comment.

Over the years, Arden has sponsored a host of Labour party events. Some of these gatherings typically cost sponsors tens of thousands of pounds, according to a person familiar with the matter.

At this year’s conference in Liverpool, it hired a venue to hold receptions and speaking engagements. The lobbying firm has also donated about £20,000 to Labour since 2022.

Anna Turley and Blair McDougall, newly elected MPs in Redcar and East Renfrewshire respectively, worked in senior roles for the company ahead of their election, while more than half of Arden’s employees are drawn from Labour’s ranks including ex-advisers and the party’s former head of business relations.

Arden operates a “Labour directorate”, offering clients a “unique insight into the government’s people, policies and priorities”, according to the company’s website.

Steve Goodrich, head of investigations at Transparency International, said the “close relationship” between Arden and Labour raised questions about the effectiveness of disclosure rules. “Ministers would be wise to increase transparency over those seeking access and potential influence in Westminster,” he said.

Justin Fisher, a politics professor at Brunel University, said the firm’s activities were not unusual. “The whole business of lobbyists or media organisations is to be plugged into politics,” he said.

Arden is owned by Murphy and his wife Lynda. Companies House filings show “retained earnings” — the only disclosed measure of profitability — at Arden nearly doubling between 2022 and 2023 from £1.6mn to £2.8mn. The figures exclude the six-month period before the general election was called in May this year.

AstraZeneca and Deliveroo said they had ended their relationship with Arden.

Arden said: “Arden is guided by the highest ethical standards and enthusiastically operates within all regulatory requirements at all times.”

Labour said: “We comply with all lobbying rules and regulations and all donations are declared in line with Electoral Commission rules.”