Fraser Paterson, a former senior adviser to Charlotte Street Partners and a Labour MSP has joined BIG Partnership as its new Head of Public Affairs. The move comes as the agency seeks to support clients through a likely change of government at Westminster.

Fraser Paterson, who previously managed PR and public affairs at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, brings more than a decade of experience in political relations and will continue BIG’s growth in this area.

He began his career as a parliamentary assistant to Labour’s Anne McTaggart before setting up and running his own consultancy for six years.

Fraser also devised and led on the Holyrood Rocks project, which focused on encouraging young people to get involved in politics and use their democratic right to vote.

BIG’s Chief Executive Allan Barr said: “Fraser brings an exceptional understanding of the Labour party and its policies and his arrival represents another significant investment in our business’s future. We’ve inevitably seen a major increase in businesses looking to understand what the new political environment might mean. Fraser is ideally suited to advise clients who are creating the jobs and providing the investment that our economy is crying out for. In a time of significant change, it’s vital we have the right team and Fraser is an excellent addition to our existing talent.”

Fraser added: “The opportunity to join the country’s largest communications agency does not come along very often. BIG already has a well-established public affairs practice and has laid out an ambitious strategy for growth. Many of BIG’s clients are directly involved in addressing some of the most important economic and environmental challenges faced by our country. I’m excited to contribute my skills and experience in putting forward the positive agendas they have for policy-making and investment.”

This is the second public affairs hire for BIG this year. In January, senior account manager Paul Murphie, joined from Pagoda PR, where he led the firm’s public affairs practice. Paul was previously Deputy Head of Monitoring at political and intelligence research firm Newsdirect.

The two appointments bring the strength of BIG’s public affairs team to four, with Fraser and Paul working alongside account manager Jen Scott and head of office Stewart Argo.