Navigating Parliament: Building Relationships that Matter

Guest speaker Sean Sammon, Managing Partner at York Park Group, joined Advoc8 to share a practical, strategic approach to building relationships inside Parliament — the kind that hold up beyond a single meeting or portfolio reshuffle.

Key takeaways:

• Treat relationship-building as a strategic exercise, not a networking exercise — know what you want from a relationship before you start building it.
• Preparation is everything: understand a minister’s portfolio history, current pressures and public positions before you ever request a meeting.
• Make the most of the meeting itself by leading with a clear, specific ask and leaving room for genuine conversation.
• Build beyond ministers — advisors, departmental officials and backbenchers often hold as much sway over outcomes, and relationships with them outlast any single ministerial term.

Sean’s final takeaway: the strongest GR relationships are built well before you need them, not in the middle of a crisis. Sign up below to get notified when we run the next relationship-building session.