Why Has a U.S. Republican Attack Operation Opened Shop in the UK?
NOVANEWS
And who is paying for their services?
By Tamasin Cave
openDemocracy
Note to readers: please click the share buttons above
Speaking to a Conservative commentator this week, I asked was he aware of any changes in the UK lobbying industry. Had he, for example, noticed the arrival of any specialists in ‘opposition research’ – the practice of digging up damaging information on political, or corporate rivals – which has long been a feature of US politics?
Oh no, I was assured. We don’t have anything like that here.
Well, maybe we didn’t, but we do now.
UK Policy Group was established in January last year by two senior Republican lobbyists: Matt Rhoades, who ran Mitt Romney’s bid for the White House in 2012, and Joe Pounder, former head of research for the Republican Natio...