FORMER Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has made millions of pounds through his public affairs firm since Keir Starmer came to power.
Murphy resigned as Scottish Labour leader in 2015 after the party lost 40 of its 41 seats to the SNP under Nicola Sturgeon, including his own East Renfrewshire constituency.
The Sunday Times reports that Murphy’s public affairs company Arden Strategies has now increased its staff headcount 12-fold since Starmer took over the Labour leadership in 2020.
The firm had £3 million in the bank and reported assets of £4.5m as of last October. Arden’s clients include controversial arms manufacturers and it has a “Labour directorate” of nine staff, including Murphy.
Staff include several former Labour advisers with links to people in the government, the newspaper reports, and the firm says it can “build meaningful relationships across the Labour Party’s ecosystem”.
This includes facilitating “high-level discussions with ministers”, claiming the service it has provided clients followed the “highest ethical standards”.
In October 2018, before Starmer replaced Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, Arden Strategies had £387 in the bank and assets of less than £2000, according to financial accounts.
After Starmer took over the leadership, Arden’s staff doubled to six between 2020 and 2022, doubling again to 12 by 2023.
Last October, it had 21 staff. According to the company’s website, it now has 36 staff.
The firm hosted events at its two-story Arden Lounge at last week’s Labour party conference in Liverpool, hosting senior Cabinet figures and MPs.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, energy minister Michael Shanks and defence minister Luke Pollard took part in events at the lounge.
Blair McDougall, former Better Together chief, was a senior strategist for Arden in its Labour directorate before he became East Renfrewshire’s MP at the 2024 election. He was recently made a minister in the department of business and trade.
Labour MP for Redcar Anna Turley, also previously worked for the company. Last year, Arden began working on behalf of arms manufacturers including Northrop Grumman, which supplies the Israeli military.
The Sunday Times also reports that Stewart McDonald (below), the former SNP MP who served as the shadow defence spokesperson at Westminster, is listed on Holyrood’s lobbying register as representing Arden in a meeting with First Minister John Swinney.
McDonald, who is not listed as an employee on the firm's website, represented the firm at a lunch event in May on behalf of Canadian renewables firm Boralex. The register says this was to discuss “the challenges of the planning process”.
Rose Whiffen, a senior research officer at Transparency International UK, said: “Consultant lobbying companies with historical ties to the government seem to be using their relationships with decision makers to make millions of pounds from their private clients.
“While the lobbying register at Westminster allows us to see their client lists, it does not let us know what policies they are trying to influence or how much it costs to procure their services.
“The only way the public can fully follow the footprint of influence in the UK is for the government to introduce a comprehensive lobbying register that lets us know exactly what is said by lobbyists and how much they spend on influencing.”
Murphy set up Arden Strategies in October 2015, five months after he resigned as leader of Scottish Labour. SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: “Jim Murphy led Scottish Labour to its worst ever defeat and if Labour think he is the key to winning hearts and minds, it shows how out of touch they truly are.
“It is not only astonishing that Labour are taking advice — let alone opening the doors of government — to Jim Murphy, a man rejected outright by voters, but it raises serious questions about who Labour really represents.
“What’s clear is that this is the same old Westminster politics, where policy is shaped by profit, not the people they are meant to represent. Voters in Scotland deserve better than the revolving door of Westminster cronyism.”
A spokesman for Arden Strategies said: “Arden is proud of the service that we provide to our clients. Arden is guided by the highest ethical standards, and we enthusiastically operate within all regulatory requirements at all times.”
