Parliamentary Monitoring Services is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

-based political research and publishing company. The company researches the activities of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, and the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. Consultants to the company have included British politicians Sir

Peter Fry Sir Peter Derek Fry (26 May 1931 – 12 May 2015) was a British Conservative politician. Born in High Wycombe, Fry was educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, and Worcester College, Oxford. He became an insurance broker and a di ...

and

William Howie, Baron Howie of Troon William Howie, Baron Howie of Troon (2 March 1924 – 26 May 2018), known as Will Howie, was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP). Howie was elected to the House of Commons at a 1963 by-election in the Luton consti ...

. The company published ''PMS Guide to Pressure Groups'' and ''PMS Guide to the 1997 General Election''. The company has been hired to undertake political research work by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' and

The Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

. In 2006, the company and its sister company Political Wizard were sold to Dods Parliamentary Communications, a subsidiary of

Dods (Group) PLC Merit Group plc is a British publishing holding company founded in 2001. It is company number 04267888. Its largest shareholder is the Conservative politician and businessman Lord Michael Ashcroft. It was formerly known as Huveaux plc (from 20 ...

formerly Huveaux PLC. Colin Doeg, author of ''Crisis Management in the Food and Drinks Industry'', characterized the company as a "comprehensive service". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described it as a "well-known political lobbying firm".

Political research

1979–2002

Parliamentary Monitoring Services was founded in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1979. The company researches the activities of the

, and the

. Lionel Zetter became Managing Director of the company in 1986. In 1992 the company conducted a study commissioned by ''

'' which "revealed that, for the first time, more Conservatives were educated in state schools than in private schools". In 1995, Sir

was a paid consultant and shareholder of Parliamentary Monitoring Services. The company published the second edition of ''PMS Guide to Pressure Groups'' in 1997, and the third edition by J. Flower in 2000. David Boothroyd, author of ''

The History of British Political Parties ''The History of British Political Parties'', also referred to as ''Politico's Guide to the History of British Political Parties'', is a reference book about political parties in the United Kingdom. Written by David Boothroyd, it was published ...

'', was a researcher at the company in 2001. Boothroyd was the principal compiler of the second edition of ''PMS Guide to Pressure Groups'' and ''PMS Guide to the 1997 General Election''. In 2002, the company was hired by

to develop an Internet-based tool to help the organization make its case for

Her Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

to recognize

Gulf War syndrome Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness is a chronic and multi-symptomatic disorder affecting military veterans of both sides of the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue ...

2002 – present

served as a publishing consultant to Parliamentary Monitoring Services in 2004; in 2007 ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' reported that Lord Howie received "regular remunerated employment" from the company. In 2005, Zetter was Managing Director of the company's sister firm, Political Wizard. In ''Public Affairs in Practice'', Zetter wrote, "Without parliamentary monitoring, political news and political intelligence no public affairs campaign can hope to succeed".

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

lobbyist Doug Smith served as chairman of the company in 2006; by 2007, Smith had left this role and his position on the company's board of directors. In 2006, Parliamentary Monitoring Services owned half of Political Wizard and received for this share when Political Wizard was bought by Huveaux subsidiary Dods Parliamentary Communications. Zetter decided in 2006 to sell Parliamentary Monitoring Services to Dods Parliamentary Communications, and its parent Huveaux purchased the company for £4.8 million. In 2007, Huveaux owned Parliamentary Monitoring Services through the Dods brand, the parent company's political division.

Commentary

When asked if the

Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...

maintained profiles on Members of Parliament (MPs),

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and P ...

Andrew Smith said, "The Department does not compile personal profiles on MPs. We do have access to parliamentary reference works such as Dods and in order to provide, in a cost-effective way, such reference information to the large number of officials drafting parliamentary answers we subscribe to Parliamentary Monitoring Services Ltd. (PMS)." Writing in the book ''Crisis Management in the Food and Drinks Industry'', Colin Doeg characterized Parliamentary Monitoring Services as a "Comprehensive service covering the proceedings of Westminster and European Parliaments as well as US Congress". The organization is described in ''Public Relations in Practice'' as "a political research, publishing, polling and campaigning company". James Macintyre and Nigel Morris of ''

'' called Parliamentary Monitoring Services a "well-known political lobbying firm".

References

External links

Parliamentary Monitoring Services
company information at ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

''
Parliamentary Monitoring Services
description at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by progr ...