The Northern Echo’s Impact campaign backing the region’s leading businesses is to take their voice to the heart of Government.
Impact - run by the Echo’s business operation BUSINESSiQ – is to work in partnership with Stephenson-Mohl, the region’s leading Public Affairs consultancy, to make sure its messages, partners and journalism are seen and understood in the corridors of power.
BUSINESSiQ Editor Mike Hughes said: “This is one of the most significant moves we have made since we started our campaign five years ago. Providing a platform for businesses across the North East to tell their stories means a lot of success, but we also want to talk about the challenges our partner businesses face and how the Government might be able to help.
“We looked around for the best way of doing that and knew as soon as we started talking to them that Stephenson-Mohl were as committed as we are to having a loud regional voice in central government. I’m really looking forward to working them and making a difference for our businesses.”
- To get involved with BUSINESSiQ and Impact, drop a line to ryan.fenwick@localiq.co.uk
The partnership will present the leaders BUSINESSiQ works alongside with a tangible link to Westminster, including MPs and national decisions-makers, to add a layer of effectiveness to the partnership.
It will include invitations to meeting at Westminster, advice and direction for the businesses we work with and, through Stephenson Mohl’s presence on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the North East, a goal of helping direct Government policy and strategies in the region.
Managing Director Mark Stephenson said working with BUSINESSiQ and Impact would help bring the voice of the region’s business community closer to political decision-makers.
“The Northern Echo has a deep understanding of the North East and its business community, while our role is to understand the political landscape and make sure the issues that matter here are heard by the right people.
“With teams in Newcastle and Westminster, we work across regional and national politics every day. This partnership gives us another way to connect North East businesses with those conversations and make sure the region has a strong voice where decisions are being made.”
There is already a great deal of local knowledge behind the work Stephenson-Mohl do, with former Durham County Council leader Simon Henig now working as the company’s Head of Government Relations.
Mike Hughes added: “No ambitious business in the North East can ever stop growing. The job is never done because markets and opportunities are shifting all the time, and it’s just the same for BUSINESSiQ.
“We have to keep reinventing what we do to make sure our partners are getting the best possible service. Working with Mark and his team is the next phase of that growth.”