Consultancies that donated staff and resources to the Labour Party’s general election campaign have since lobbied the government on behalf of oil and gas companies, DeSmog can reveal.

Seven lobbying firms that have collectively donated or gifted more than £314,000 to the party since 2022 have helped clients – including Shell, Equinor, and British Gas owner Centrica – to attempt to influence the government since July’s election.

The disclosures have raised fears among transparency campaigners that the companies could use their donations to secure access to ministers. They have called for the details of any meetings to be published immediately.

Lobbyists must declare if they have attempted to arrange meetings or influence ministers or senior civil servants on behalf of their clients. However, the contents of these discussions are not publicly available.

Hannah Greer, campaign manager for the Good Law Project, said that that DeSmog’s findings showed that “the well-greased revolving door between fossil fuel lobbyists and ministers has not stopped spinning despite the change in government.

“Crucial investigations like these are a stark reminder that we must remain vigilant to the tactics that the oil and gas industry will continue to try and use to water down the government’s plans to tackle the climate emergency.”

Labour has pledged to ban new North Sea oil and gas licences, while it has committed that 95 percent of the country’s electricity will be generated through renewable energy by 2030. 

However, the new government has also been accused of bending to the wishes of the fossil fuel industry. In October, Labour pledged that the government would invest £22 billion over the next 25 years in carbon capture and storage (CCS) – a climate solution that is favoured by oil and gas companies. 

A Labour spokesperson said: “The prime minister confirmed the government’s mission to reach clean power by 2030 in the last few days and extended a windfall tax on oil and gas giants when we came to office. The idea that the oil and gas sector is therefore exerting significant influence over government policy is completely ludicrous and has no basis in fact.”

The Lobbyists

Arden Strategies, a lobbying firm founded by former Labour Cabinet minister Jim Murphy, declared that it lobbied for eight oil and gas companies – including UK gas distributor Cadent, Centrica, and Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor – in the latest returns spanning from July to September.

Arden has donated more than £66,000 in total to Labour since 2022, including sponsoring fundraising dinners for 39 prospective candidates who went on to be elected as Labour MPs, according to the Financial Times.

In September, Murphy, who served as secretary of state for Scotland from 2008 to 2010, invited clients to a “private roundtable meeting” inside the Treasury, Politico reported.

Consultancy Global Counsel, which also has close connections with the Labour Party, declared that it attempted to lobby the government on behalf of Shell, and Anglo American, a multinational mining company that is a major coal producer.

Prior to the 4 July election, the company provided a staff member to current Economic Secretary to the Treasury Tulip Siddiq – a donation in kind worth £35,835, according to the register of MPs’ financial interests. 

Global Counsel was founded by former New Labour Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, who serves as its president. Mandelson, who is currently a Labour peer, was previously reported to be a member of Labour leader Keir Starmer’s team of advisors. 

FGS Global lobbied the government on behalf of boiler company Intergas Heating, and KKR, a global private equity firm that holds investments in 188 fossil fuel assets according to April’s Private Equity Climate Risks report.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves declared that FGS Global provided her with a campaign advisor between February and May this year, a donation in kind worth more than £17,000. The firm also funded a further £12,929 of “logistical costs” for Reeves at the Labour Party conference in October.

The Times revealed that FSG partner Kamella Hudson, who worked with Reeves during the conference, has facilitated high-level government access for Donald Tang, the head Chinese fast-fashion firm Shein – a client of FSG. 

Political Lobbying and Media Relations (PLMR) disclosed that it lobbied the government for OFTEC, a trade association representing the liquid fuel heating industry.

Kevin Craig, PLMR’s founder and CEO, is a long-time Labour donor who has given more than £115,000 to the party since 2023. Craig stood as a Labour candidate during the 2024 general election, though dropped out prior to the vote after the Gambling Commission revealed it was investigating a bet that Craig had made on the result (he was later cleared). 

Beyond 2050, a political strategy and communications agency representing the hydrogen industry, declared that it lobbied the new government on behalf of Centrica, and German energy company RWE.

Beyond 2050 represents some of the UK’s biggest gas producers and distributors.

The firm has donated staff and sponsorship to Labour worth £42,000 since 2022. This included £2,500 worth of sponsorship for a fundraising event on 10 May held by Sarah Jones, now a minister at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero with responsibility for hydrogen policy.

Given that hydrogen can be blended into existing gas pipelines, there has been an extensive lobbying campaign from fossil fuel companies to advocate for hydrogen as a clean energy source – despite concerns from scientists about the green potential of the technology.

During a Labour conference event hosted by Arden in September, Centrica CEO Christopher O’Shea said that, in his view, responsibility for energy and climate policy should be stripped from politicians.

Lobbying firm Public First disclosed that it lobbied the government on behalf of Energy UK, a trade association for the oil and gas industry whose members include BP and TotalEnergies. Public First also lobbied on behalf of Renewable UK, an equivalent body for the renewables industry.

Public First provided sponsorship worth a total of £5,900 for a media reception held by Labour current Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds prior to the election, according to the register of MPs’ financial interests.

Lobbying firm Connect Public Affairs declared that it lobbied on behalf of the All Parliamentary Party Group on Hydrogen, which counts the gas firm Cadent, and the fossil fuel company Equinor among its sponsors.

Connect held a series of fringe events at the 2024 Labour Party conference. It’s not clear how much it would have paid to host these events, but a stand can cost as much as £16,000.

Dr Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, said: “It should be of real concern if companies that have donated to the Labour Party are in any way getting preferential access to ministers either for themselves or their clients.

“It is also deeply problematic that there is so little detail in the public domain about what these companies are discussing with ministers and officials and how many meetings they’ve had.”

The lobbying activity disclosed since the election also poses questions about potential conflicts of interest among senior Labour officials.

Abdi Duale, who sits on Labour’s controlling National Executive Committee is also a senior director at the lobbying firm FTI Consulting.

FTI declared that it has lobbied the government since July on behalf of: mining company Anglo American, European gas industry trade body Eurogas, Israeli oil and gas company Ithaca Energy, and U.S. natural gas company UGI International.

The government directed DeSmog to the Labour Party when asked for comment. Duale did not respond to a request for comment.

All the lobbying firms cited were approached for comment.