How Political Parties, Lobbying and Power work in the UK
This session is part of the Introduction to Political Technology programme at Newspeak House, open to faculty, fellows, and fellowship candidates only.
Session by Faculty member Hannah O’Rourke
A lot of people understand UK politics formally but not operationally. I can help fellows understand where decisions actually get made: the relationship between parties, MPs, special advisers, local government, campaigns, funders, members, parliamentary structures and informal networks.
I can help translate abstract questions (“How do you influence Labour?” “Who matters?” “What does Parliament actually do?”) into practical strategy. I’ve run sessions on navigating UK political systems, identifying pressure points and understanding the difference between formal constitutional power and real-world political leverage.
Politics rarely works the way the diagram says it does. A lot of strategy is understanding timing, relationships, legitimacy, incentives and institutional rhythms.
One of the things I spend a lot of time helping people with is moving from “this is unfair” to “this is changeable”. Political systems often look impossible until you identify where decisions, incentives and coordination failures actually sit.
I can help fellows map systems and identify leverage: who controls implementation, who shapes narratives, where informal veto points exist, where legitimacy matters, and where small interventions create outsized effects. This includes practical tools for actor mapping, coalition design, identifying hidden decision-makers, sequencing campaigns and understanding institutional incentives. I’ve run sessions that focus less on ideology and more on operational politics: how things move in practice.
I can help fellows think through different routes to change: insider versus outsider strategies, coalition building, narrative pressure, institutional entrepreneurship, campaigning around moments of opportunity and understanding how influence accumulates. This includes practical questions like: Who needs persuading? What kind of evidence matters? When should you campaign publicly versus privately? How do you build influence without formal authority?
I’m particularly interested in helping people understand that lobbying is rarely just meetings, it’s often about creating conditions where a decision becomes easier to take.
Recording: the whole session will be recorded.