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Margaret Thatcher Lecture with Boris Johnson Report Of: for Decision Director of Public Relations Committee: Policy and Resources Date: 19 September 2013 Subject: Centre for Policy Studies: Annual Margaret Thatcher Lecture with Boris Johnson Report of: For Decision Director of Public Relations Summary The annual Margaret Thatcher Lecture is an integral part of the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) programme of activities; the lecture is the flagship event for the CPS, the leading centre-right think tank whose goal to promote coherent and practical public policy to facilitate a more streamlined state, while countering threats to the UK’s sovereignty. The CPS is soliciting sponsorship from the City of London Corporation for the lecture, for which the City Corporation would be the exclusive partner. Previous Margaret Thatcher lectures have been delivered by Rupert Murdoch, the Executive Chairman of News Corp, and Charles Moore, the leading commentator and Margaret Thatcher’s biographer. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is due to deliver the 2013 edition of the lecture on 27 November; CPS is aiming to attract to the event an audience of over 400 leading politicians, business figures, journalists and academics. The cost of supporting this event is £29,500; this would cover the hire of Gibson Hall, the costs of a suitable stage set and audio-visual equipment, and the costs of hospitality for the reception. If the City of London Corporation were to sponsor the event the Policy Chairman would receive a speaking slot at the event and the City Corporation would be acknowledged on all publicity relating to the lecture. In particular, this event would reinforce and broaden the City Corporation’s relationship with a range of key political, academic and business figures on the centre right, as well as other key audiences as outlined in the Communications Strategy 2013-2016. Recommendation This report recommends that the City of London Corporation supports the Centre for Policy Studies 2013 Margaret Thatcher Lecture at a cost of £29,500 funded from your Committee’s Policy Initiatives Fund 2013/14, categorised under the “Events” section of the Fund and charged to City’s Cash. Background 1. The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a leading centre-right think tank whose goal is to promote coherent and practical public policy to facilitate a more streamlined state, while countering threats to the UK’s sovereignty; it has particularly strong, historical links to the Conservative Party, since it was founded by Sir Keith Joseph and Margaret Thatcher in 1974 to champion economic liberalism in Britain and has subsequently played a global role in the dissemination of free market economics within a neoliberal framework. CPS’s chair is Lord Saatchi, and its director is Tim Knox. 2. The City of London Corporation has a long and successful history of working with CPS; recent collaborations have included a research project on the future of the City involving George Osborne, a seminar on investment in Africa led by the then Shadow International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, an event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Professor Milton Freedman, and the Keith Joseph Memorial Lecture delivered by the Education Secretary Michael Gove. 3. The City Corporation is also working with CPS on a fringe meeting at this year’s Conservative Party Conference featuring Andrew Tyrie, Fraser Nelson and Gerard Lyons. Moreover, the City Corporation is in preliminary discussions with CPS regarding hosting a major international conference at Guildhall in June 2014; a report relating to this conference is likely to be tabled at a future meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee. 4. The annual Margaret Thatcher Lecture is an integral part of the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) programme of activities; the lecture is the flagship event for the CPS. Previous Margaret Thatcher lectures have been delivered by Rupert Murdoch, the Executive Chairman of News Corp, and Charles Moore, the leading commentator and Margaret Thatcher’s biographer. 5. Proposal 6. This year’s Margaret Thatcher Lecture will be delivered by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson followed by a reception. The event would take place at Gibson Hall on 27 November (Guildhall and Mansion House are both unavailable); CPS is aiming to attract to the event an audience of over 400 leading politicians, business figures, journalists and academics. CPS has a strong track record of organising successful events and attracting high level speakers 7. Given the think tank’s background and history, CPS is very keen to work with the City Corporation on this year’s lecture; the cost of supporting this event is £29,500; this would cover the hire of Gibson Hall, the costs of a suitable stage set and audio-visual equipment, and the costs of hospitality for the reception. If the City of London Corporation were to sponsor the event the Policy Chairman would receive a speaking slot at the event and the City Corporation would be acknowledged on all publicity relating to the lecture. 8. The work of the Centre for Policy Studies, in particular this event, accord well with the role of the City Corporation in promoting debate on key policy issues that affect the City and London as a whole; this event would reinforce and broaden the City Corporation’s relationship with a range of key political, academic and business figures on the centre right, as well as other key audiences as outlined in the Communications Strategy 2013-2016. Financial and Risk Implications 9. There is no possibility of meeting the proposed financial support from existing local risk resources, because this proposal entails a substantial one-off item of expenditure, for which no provision has been made in the Public Relations or other local risk budgets. It is proposed that the required funding of £29,500 is drawn from your Policy Initiatives Fund 2013/14, categorised under the “Events” section of the Fund and charged to City’s Cash. 10. The current uncommitted balance available within your Committee’s Policy Initiatives Fund for 2013/14 amounts to some £456,000, prior to any allowance being made for any other proposals on today’s agenda. Conclusion 11. CPS work, in general, and the Margaret Thatcher Lecture, in particular, accord well with the role of the City of London Corporation in promoting debate on issues that affect the City of London; sponsorship of the event would provide the City Corporation with unprecedented access to and high level interaction with a number of the City of London Corporation’s key audiences, as outlined in the Communications Strategy 2013-2016, and links well with key elements of The City Together Strategy: The Heart of a World Class City 2008-2014 and the wider economic development programme. Contact: Adam Maddock Assistant Director of Public Relations: Corporate Affairs Public Relations Office 020 7332 1771 [email protected] .
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