The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7253 p822
14 June 2003

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Should pharmacy join the rural alliance to widen its lobbying against the OFT?

Members of Parliament have been heavily lobbied about the Office of Fair Trading report on control of entry. Should the campaign be widened to increase its visibility? Jonathan Buisson (on the staff of The Journal) investigates and reports on how to lobby MPs successfully

Related websites
OFT pharmacy report: articles and links (more)

Pharmacy might gain a greater level of "noise" for its campaign about the Office of Fair Trading report if it joined the larger and more diffuse campaign seeking to support rural and countryside issues, according to a member of Parliament. But would such a move help or hinder what has already been a successful campaign in lobbying terms (even if the battle is not yet won)?

Caroline Spelman, Conservative MP for Meriden and shadow secretary of state for international development, suggested that pharmacy should widen its campaign during a meeting last week entitled "How to lobby your MP". It was organised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Chiltern region and was held at the Parliamentary annexe, Portcullis House, in Westminster.

Mrs Spelman said: "You need to widen the issue so that you get a bigger support base." She added that she believes that supermarkets, which have been blamed for many problems in rural economies, have been given too much sway in the debate over control of entry in pharmacy.

Alastair Buxton, head of NHS services at the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, says that contact has already been made with rural groups such as the Countryside Alliance and Action for Market Towns and with Government bodies including the Countryside Agency. Some of these groups were invited to make submissions as part of the consultation on the OFT report.

"There is no harm in pushing the rural issue, particularly where it is appropriate locally," he says, "but our concern is that it might politicise an issue which currently has good cross-party support."

John D'Arcy, chief executive of the National Pharmaceutical Association, says that a good lobbying campaign will rely on third party support and endorsement. "Occasionally this will involve alignment with an organisation holding strong political affiliations." The use of such support would depend on how much it might damage cross-party support and would be based on the credibility of the organisation.

Getting the best from lobbying

Members of Parliament from all three main political parties said at the Chiltern regional meeting that pharmacy's lobbying on the OFT report has been an example of how it should be done. In part, this is due to the clear nature of the issue — the potential for pharmacy closures — and because all MPs have pharmacies in their constituencies.

Two approaches make it easier to lobby your MP, Mrs Spelman said. The first, and critical, approach is have a local angle to your campaign. "Anything that comes from within my constituency will go to the top of the pile, even if it is only one letter," she said. "These are my electorate and I have to keep my customers happy."

Another good way to lobby an MP is to get a constituent to attend a constituency surgery. Mrs Spelman said that the key thing was not to outstay your welcome and stick to the time limit for the session.

"MPs will love you for creating local photo-opportunities. The whole point of these is to show constituents that we are working in their area. They do not care what we do at Westminster." These events have to be plausible, but the presentation of petitions, such as those currently being gathered against the OFT report, are excellent examples.

In her view local and regional media "play stories with a straight bat" and tend to be interested mainly in local and human interest angles. Community pharmacies are ideal for providing such coverage.

The national media will bring its own agenda into play when covering an issue and dealing with it is best left to national organisations, such as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, she believes.

The other approach to lobbying is that of building a relationship with an MP. "Sandra Gidley [MP for Romsey] is a pharmacist and understands your point of view; others will not. Therefore, you need to build a relationship so that they will understand."

She said that pharmacy needs to be vigilant about legislation that is under consideration by Parliament. "Get Bills refined so that they work for you." She said that it is difficult for MPs to appreciate all the difficulties that might be created and they will welcome help with crafting amendments. "Tenacity pays off," she concluded.

Giving both sides

Dr Evan Harris, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon and Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said that in any specialist briefing "I want to know the drawbacks of your position and what the rebuttal points for that are. That way I will feel more confident when questioned about it."

Look at what has been said before, he advised. "As a spokesman, I am bound to have said something, so start your letter 'I was interested in what you said', even if you then disagree with it."

Opposition parties can be useful in getting messages across to the media. "It might look as if your campaign has been taken over but it is the fact that the public is getting your side of the story that is important."

Another good idea is to invite an MP to give a keynote speech at a meeting. "If you provide briefing materials — not too voluminous — then it forces us to read and learn," Dr Evans explained.

Tony Colman, Labour MP for Putney, said that Government backbench MPs have the advantage of having easy access to ministers. "We can go behind the Speaker's chair in the Commons and talk to them. While we don't always succeed in persuading them, I have had some successes."

Since pharmacy is already running a successful lobby on the OFT report it is difficult to see what benefits might be gained from placing extra stress on the rural issue, particularly when many pharmacies are in urban locations. The main thing is to keep up the pressure on MPs until a favourable decision is reached.

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