This month, International strategy firm Stonehaven announced it had hired Baroness Charlotte Vere as a partner, but had to rescind this only two days later due to the conflict of interest.
Vere is a Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords who served as the transport and treasury minister under the last Conservative government, from 2016 until 2024.
The initial appointment was met with strong criticism from communication professionals, as well as the CIPR, who disagree with serving peers working as senior advisors for lobbying firms.
Featured on PRWeek, Higginson Strategy’s Founder, John Higginson said: “I hope you decide to step down from this role Charlotte Vere. It’s clearly a conflict of interests and gives both politicians and lobbyists a bad name. There are lots of other ways you can supplement your income in a valuable way.”
Just two days after the announcement, Stonehaven announced that Charlotte Vere would not be joining the firm.
Writing on LinkedIn, Founder of Stonehaven, Peter Lyburn stated: “On reflection, we shouldn’t have offered a role to Charlotte Vere. Stonehaven and Charlotte have mutually agreed that she shouldn’t join us. Even though we admire her skills and expertise, now isn’t the right time to proceed with this role.”
Read more on the news in PRWeek here.