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Originally Posted by SelfProtection
Be careful with the Political Angle, don't forget this pre-dates Brown taking Office; a possible "Poison Chalice" that situation is best left to run it's own course!
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I think it is best to leave party politics out of any public statements, but to be aware of party sensibilities, and make sure you approach the right person to do the right job. Be savvy and remember who you are dealing with, whether a party politician, a business or a regulator. What are THEY most interested in? What rocks THEIR boat? Do they need a bit of "persuasion"? In which case, how can you give them an incentive?
If they are an opponent - what are they most scared of?
If an ally - what would be most helpful to them?
Try and leave your own party politics at the door. I've found politicians of parties I don't care much for, can be surprisingly decent people and very helpful if you don't slag them off unthinkingly.
For example, pursuing the EU angles, may work better with LD politicians than Conservative ones - maybe the latter will respond more sympathetically to what the US Congress are up to.
Be aware of internal issues re: Labour leadership politics at the moment. To know what a Labour MP will do requires a fair bit of research! Are they lobby fodder or do they think for themselves, or are they born rebels who just like making trouble for a minister they don't like?
Think carefully about balance of power within Tory circles vis a vis David Davies etc.
Remember that the bigger the department the less the Minister/Sec of State will know about any particular issue. Their first priority is usually what is on the front page of the Sun and the Times (Mr Murdoch's papers). We aint there yet.
But if they can be taken to the window and shown clear simple embarrassing evidence of skullduggery, and the fact that it is already in the public realm or soon will be, and that THEY will be held responsible for dealing with it, then they will act, or at least want to LOOK as if they are doing something (what in Yes Minister was usually called a "full leak enquiry" whose aim was to keep everyone happy and NOT find out the source of the leak).
Often you AREN'T going to actually find the smoking gun, but that doesn't matter. The very fact of worrying about the smoking gun, and having to work hard to bury it, can result in a project being ditched, just to keep everyone happy and encourage the hunting dogs to go after something else. Suits me if the project they ditch is DPI.
Remember that the problems inherent in some government departments are way bigger than party politics or any one government, Home Office being a case in point, and DBERR being another. These departments have cultures, and long standing problems, vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Both have a very strong aversion to daylight. So pull the curtains wide and let the sun in.
I would recommend anyone to read the full set of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, and remember that Mrs Thatcher never missed an episode if she could help it - most politicians say it was far more accurate than anything else ever written about politics. I think I should get mine down and read them again and see if I can find an episode or two about Phorm and BT.
There are people who want to help us, if we respect the political realities they all work under.
I have a feeling the media side of things is working well. The damning news is out there and the right people are seeing it and now what it could mean.
Now we are into politics and that is a much more crafty business and it will require discipline and some subtlety and sophistication. Politics will be getting something DONE about this wretched technology. Politicians need to see what it is going to cost them. They thought DPI was all gain for government, and no loss. We need to convince them it isn't worth the security gains they thought it might bring them, in fact it could make things worse, proabably already has.
We need important people to be angry about what BT have done, and what certain culpable wrong headed officials have done in Home Office and DBERR to create this embarrassing mess.