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Baroness Charlotte Vere announced she had become a Partner at the consultancy firm Stonehaven – leading the firm’s lobbying efforts on Transport policy. But the job was withdrawn after the Mirror pointed out it was against the rules
A Tory Baroness and ex-Transport minister announced she’d been handed a lucrative lobbying job – only to have it withdrawn after the Mirror pointed out it was against the rules.
Baroness Charlotte Vere announced she had become a Partner at the consultancy firm Stonehaven – leading the firm’s lobbying efforts on Transport policy.
“I relished every day of my near five-year tenure as a UK Transport Minister, and I am delighted to be back,” she wrote on professional social network LinkedIn. “Please do get in touch if you would like to have coffee/wine/lunch/dinner – there is always much to discuss!”
Now, after the Sunday Mirror approached Lady Vere for comment on this story, it’s understood the job offer has been withdrawn, as there had been a miscommunication about the role between her and the firm.
Lady Vere only left her ministerial role at the Treasury when July’s General Election ousted the Tories from office.
And she had been a minister at the Department for Transport for half a decade until November 2023.
Former ministers are banned from taking lobbying jobs for two years after they leave office.
And they are required to consult Westminster’s revolving door watchdog ACOBA for advice before accepting any new role after being a minister.
At the time of writing, ACOBA has published no advice or correspondence in relation to Lady Vere.
Peter Lyburn, Founder of the Strategy, Sustainability, Policy and Advocacy group at Stonehaven, said: “Stonehaven is a longstanding member of the PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association) and takes the letter and spirit of its rules seriously.
“On reflection, we shouldn’t have offered a role to Charlotte Vere. Stonehaven and Charlotte have mutually strongly 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.
“We can see it conflicts with a membership we want to continue for many years to come.”
Gabe Winn, CEO and Founder at comms firm Blakeney said: “They’ve done the right thing. This should never have happened in the first place. But this is far from the only case. Lobbying rules need to change, and they need to change now”
