What can engagement with government deliver?

Andy Burnham walked into Downing Street yesterday and across every sector the same ritual began. Trade associations will request meetings, send briefings, and, in time, announce proudly that they have “engaged with the new government”.

They should. Access matters. But as the seventh prime minister in a decade takes office, businesses are entitled to ask a sharper question: what will all that engagement actually deliver?

Too often, advocacy is reported through activity. ‘We met ministers. We briefed MPs. We attended the reception.’ 

These are inputs, not outcomes, and a change of government is precisely the moment to stop confusing the two.

Take UK outbound travel. The issues on the new administration’s desk are substantial: modernising the Package Travel Regulations, managing the EU Entry/Exit System, improving UK–EU mobility, delivering a coherent tourism growth strategy, and building tax and regulatory frameworks that encourage investment. 

All have real commercial consequences. None will be resolved by a photograph outside Number 10.

For every priority put to the Burnham government, members of any trade body should expect clarity on five things: the specific change being requested, why it matters, the benefit it would deliver, the expected timescale and how success will be measured.

Government rarely moves quickly and a new one needs time to find its feet. Businesses understand that. What they value is openness. 

If progress is slow, explain why; if priorities shift, explain the rationale; if lobbying succeeds, show the tangible result.

A new prime minister means new relationships to build. But relationships are the means, not the end. 

The associations that thrive under this government will be those that report policy commitments secured, burdens reduced and barriers removed, not meetings held.

Because influence isn’t measured by access. It’s measured by what it changes.

Julia Lo Bue-Said is chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership and a spokesperson for the UK Outbound Travel Group.