Revolving door: in
One thing this Parliament certainly isn’t short on is new Labour MPs, but there were plenty more who tried and failed to make the cut. Many of these would-be MPs were left looking for alternative roles after the general election, and some found that their connections to the new governing party made them attractive candidates in the world of lobbying.
Take Nicky Edwards, for example, Labour’s candidate in North Devon, a constituency that had a Tory majority of almost 15,000 before the election, in which Labour has never managed better than third place. She stood about as much chance of waking up an MP on 5 July as Dark Arts did.
Writing in the local press ahead of the election, Edwards described her “long career in communications, policy, and campaigning, working largely with charities and not-for-profit organisations”. Her new gig is certainly in the communications, policy and campaigning space, though her employer is not what most people would have in mind when thinking of charities or not-for-profits.
