CIPR_No_Rules_Britannia - Flipbook - Page 7
Introduction
The CIPR has been campaigning for improvements to be made to
Westminster’s current lobbying regime since the Transparency of
Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration
Act 2014 (The Lobbying Act) came into force. In 2022 it launched
the Lobbying for Good Lobbying Campaign, a recognition that
good lobbying is critical for all policy development and healthy
democracies across the world.
Lobbying is a cornerstone of the democratic process.
Throughout the course of its long history, lobbying has
provided a vital means for lawmakers to solicit expert
and popular opinion and has been at the forefront of
progressive change.
In the US, for instance, the First Amendment of the
United States Constitution protects lobbying as part of
the country’s free speech rules, re昀氀ecting its vital role in
the political process and affording it legal protection.
However, where lobbying is opaque or under-regulated
it leads to a loss of public trust in political institutions
and fuels concern about; corruption, “sleaze”, the use of
secret and improper communication channels, and the
in昀氀uence of vested interests in policy-making.
British politicians for at least the last generation have
recognised the importance of ensuring lobbying is
transparent and ethical. Before coming to power in
1997, Tony Blair promised that his Government would be
“whiter than white and purer than pure”, when it came
to lobbying and ethics. David Cameron promised to
change the Conservative party’s “far-too-cosy relationship
between politics, government, business and money”.
Boris Johnson advocated to “ban MPs from exploiting
their positions by acting as paid political consultants or
lobbyists”. Prior to entering of昀椀ce, the current Prime
Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, called for a “total crackdown
on cronyism” and has since committed to establishing an
Ethics and Integrity Commission to “clean up politics”.
7
These commitments to improve standards and ethics
in lobbying have seen piecemeal changes. Blair made
it mandatory for political parties to declare the source
of their donations. Cameron passed the Lobbying
Act, which remains the central lobbying regulation
governing the industry today. Recently, the MP’s code of
conduct was tightened to stop paid lobbying by sitting
Parliamentarians. That is not enough.
This paper compares lobbying transparency and
regulatory regimes in Westminster to other comparable
countries across the world. The countries were carefully
selected to ensure that their democratic make up is
similar to the UK, with readily accessible data.
This paper outlines:
1. An overview of the UK System
2. Definitions of regulated lobbyists
3. The number of organisations covered by the
lobbying registers
4. Ensuring ease of access and transparency
5. Ensuring integrity and accountability
CIPR / No Rules Britannia?
