Next month a group of about 15 members of parliament and government peers will embark on a marketing programme organised by Bradford University School of Management in conjunction with the Industry and Parliament Trust, a body set up to to help those in parliament acquire a better understanding of business. The course, now in its second year, teaches the fundamentals of marketing, says Julian Rawel, director of executive education at Bradford. "We give them the principles and sound business practice."

Though executive business training for people in the public sector is a relatively new phenomenon in the UK, it has been popular for several years in the US.

For many of the parliamentarians who attended the first Bradford programme, which finished earlier this year, the course was a real eye-opener, according to Mr Rawel. Many thought marketing was synonymous with advertising, he says. "I believe the people who attended it were surprised by what they got out of it. Maybe calling it marketing is the wrong name. It's about engaging with your stakeholders." And, he adds, "I'm a great believer that marketing is just common sense, but sometimes you need to spell it out."