Such is the scale of economic and political power in UK land and property that one wonders if it needs an organised political lobby to protect its interests. Its seems as if the balance of power has swung so much in favour of land and property that it is baked into the UK economy and institutions, and that supporting it is the ‘natural thing to do’ as far as governments are concerned. Perhaps its power is so great that no one dares tackle it. Yet, in fact, the property lobby is one of the best organised, well- funded and well- connected political lobbies in the UK.

Land and property power is always afraid of having its dominance reduced; it is terrified of any state or community interference that will reduce its sway. There are many property interests to protect and enhance; all want to keep the pressure on the government, irrespective of the overall property tilt of the economy. The property lobby ranges from organisations supporting developers and landowners, such as the HBF and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA; formerly known as the Country Landowners Association), to professional property associations, such as the RICS. The lobby also includes informal parliamentary groups and countless routine meetings between politicians, civil servants, developers and landowners. In turn, they are closely connected to right- of- centre think tanks such as the Centre for Policy Studies and the Institute for Economic Affairs. The aim of this chapter is to identify the main players in the property lobby and their campaign strategies. How much influence do they have and what are their successes and failures?

Political lobbying is a professionalised and well organised business – it is not left to chance or to personal contacts. Property companies and landowner groups routinely employ lobbyists to make their case to the government on issues affecting their own business. In addition, they join the main property industry lobby groups to give their support and funding to political campaigns on wider land and planning policy. Research published by the Bureau of Investigative Journalists identified a large number of prominent household names in the commercial property sector who make extensive use of professional political consultants to advocate their case on specific issues to the government (Mathiason et al, 2012).