Don’t let other people's views just happen
to you.

Whether in business or politics, decision-making is becoming more transparent. So it is increasingly driven by opinion. What the media is reporting. What influential third parties are saying. And, sometimes, what the public is thinking.

Westbourne offers a full range of public relations, public affairs, political intelligence and issues management services. But our particular expertise is in changing opinion. That’s why our consultants have expertise in policy presentation, social media and online campaigns, media relations, opinion research, and grassroots mobilisation.

As more and more businesses are finding out, effective leadership means changing opinion.

James Bethell
Director

James uses twenty years’ communications experience working across government, media and industry to build businesses for other people. He started his career in newspapers working for The Sunday Times and the Independent.

A political campaigner, he has worked in the U.S. Senate, the European Commission and as a Parliamentary candidate. As a development professional, James continuously advises organisations on their growth plans, including Ministry of Sound, Capital Radio, Portland Communications (where he was managing partner) and PoliticsHome.

James is also the director of Nothing British, the campaign against racism.

020 3397 0104
james.bethell@westbournecoms.com
Click here for more about James.


Westbourne is located at:

55 Tufton Street
London SW1P 3QL



Or ring us on 020 3397 0100.

Click here to download

our Terms & Conditions

line
January 24th, 2012

Westbourne Book Club launches Mark Ovenden’s “Great Railways Maps of the World”

Last night Westbourne Book Club held a reception for the launch of Mark Ovenden’s book “Great Railway Maps of the World”.

As the title suggests, the book is an incredible compilation of detailed railway maps, photographs and posters from all eras and spanning all continents. Through the maps, the book presents a beautifully illustrated history of the development of the world’s railways from their inception to the present day.

In a month in which the Government gave the green light to the first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham, Mark explained the importance of railways for building and developing the world’s communities and nations.

Mark presented a number of maps from the book – ranging from Japan, Tokyo and Russia to the USA, the UK and Switzerland – and used them to illustrate how important vision and ingenuity was at the inception of the world’s railways and how we must continue to be innovative when developing a modern and efficient transport infrastructure system.

Mark finished with a new map from the UIC illustrating the rail lines that have been built or are under construction across Europe – including UK high-speed rail – to create an impressive and extensive European-wide high-speed rail network fit for the challenges of the 21st century.

Mark’s book received a glowing review in the Independent and was picked as one of Richard J Evan’s top books of 2011 in the New Statesman.

If you want to buy a copy of the book, it is available online here.



line
January 24th, 2012

Westbourne Book Club holds lunch with Jodi Kantor and Justin Webb

Yesterday, the Westbourne Book Club was delighted to welcome Jodi Kantor, New York Times Correspondent and author of acclaimed new book ‘The Obamas.’ She was introduced by BBC Radio 4′s Justin Webb who led the lunchtime discussion.

Addressing his premiership chronologically, Jodi explained that Barack Obama’s appeal to voters in 2008 was “his freshness, his sense of newness and [that] he offered different ideas”. There was the impression that “he was cut from a different cloth”.

Indeed when the Obamas moved to the White House, Michelle Obama considered commuting from Chicago so that the children could stay at the same school. Jodi said that “while Michelle Obama’s idea of commuting between Chicago and Washington D.C. could be seen as naive, it was also an example of her outsider wisdom.”

Jodi talked in some detail about Barack Obama’s “tortured relationship with politics” saying that the key question now is “how he will resolve his relationship with politics in time for the 2012 election” and that his vision needs to be more than just “I’m better than the alternative.” Without this key message, Jodi explained that his election campaign is at serious risk of alienating voters.

She also touched on key issues for Obama’s presidency such as the healthcare system, the US debt ceiling, Guantanamo Bay and the growth of the Tea Party movement.

Speaking on Michelle Obama, Jodi said she was very much Obama’s rock: “she had an early sense of something having gone wrong with her husband’s message” and so “very early on, she put him on the spot in front of his political advisers, asking why he would be different from Hilary Clinton and John Edwards”; according to Jodi, Obama “responded by saying he would be different by inspiring the world.”

Jodi’s book has received a good deal of attention in the UK media.

She has been interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Today and BBC Breakfast.

Her book has been reviewed across the national papers including the Observer, the Sunday Times, the Evening Standard, the Telegraph, the Times (book of the week), the Guardian and the Daily Express.

You can buy a copy of the book on amazon here.



January 13th, 2012

Westbourne is hiring

Account Executive – £23,000–£26,000 plus bonus – Central London

Westbourne is a rapidly growing communications agency which moves the needle of opinion on the issues that matter. We deliver complex communication strategies for major companies and manage successful, high-profile campaigns.

We are looking for a bright, energetic account executive to join our team. The right candidate will have one – three years’ experience, preferably in agency, and first-hand knowledge of the transport sector.

You will have excellent communication skills, be confident enough to show initiative and the sensitivity to deal with high-profile and controversial issues.  This client-facing role spans monitoring, research, media relations, stakeholder engagement and public affairs.

You will work on our clients in the rail and aviation industries, in addition to being part of the wider Westbourne team.

To apply please contact: jennifer.powers@westbournecoms.com

Deadline for applications: 27th January



« Older Entries
line