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All lobbying of government ministers, aides and senior officials should be publicly declared – from WhatsApp chats to party conference meetings – in a fundamental shake-up of transparency laws, the government’s ethics watchdog has said.
A review led by Doug Chalmers, the head of the ethics and integrity commission, has called for a new register to highlight who is lobbying, which policies they are seeking to influence and who in government they are meeting.
The overhaul would require major legislation but Chalmers said it was crucial to help restore trust in the standards system.
The review was ordered by Keir Starmer after the Peter Mandelson affair in which Mandelson retained a stake in a lobbying firm while US ambassador.
It would be a huge change from the current lobbying register, which only covers a small amount of lobbying conducted by consultants and does not require the disclosure of how it is taking place.
The government’s response will now lie in the hands of Andy Burnham, Starmer’s probable successor as prime minister, who will have to decide whether to opt for greater standards of openness.
Lobbying scandals have long troubled leading Westminster figures, including David Cameron who, after standing down as Conservative prime minister, tried to influence the government in favour of his employer Greensill Capital, which later collapsed.
Under the coalition, the government set up a register of consultant lobbyists but there are several loopholes and exemptions that mean only ۴-۶% of lobbying activity has to be declared.
Chalmers said the previous standards watchdog had recommended closing some of the loopholes but the commission had come to the conclusion that all lobbying should be registered to provide full transparency.
He said: “The current UK lobbying system fails to deliver the required level of transparency and, in doing so, falls short of meeting the Nolan principles.” The seven Nolan principles of public life require that holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions, submit themselves to scrutiny, and should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner.
Among the report’s many recommendations, the commission called for new rules requiring:
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Any individual or organisation carrying out lobbying activity to register and submit information returns on their lobbying activity.
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Disclosure of lobbying in relation to communications with special advisers, directors general, directors, non-executive directors and any other government advisers of equivalent level, rather than the current law covering ministers and permanent secretaries.
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The closure of loopholes that mean lobbyists do not have to register if they are VAT-exempt, or if their communication with a minister is “incidental”.
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A platform powered by AI to be developed to allow easy searching of the register alongside records of ministerial and official meetings with third parties.
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Ministers and officials to turn down meetings about policy or legislation if the third parties are not on the lobbying register.
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Ministers and officials to declare any lobbying that takes place through informal channels, such as WhatsApp and casual meetings, such as those that take place at party conferences.
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Disclosures should record the lobbyist, the date of engagement, the recipient, the method of engagement, the subject matter including the specific legislation, policy or regulation targeted, the client represented, the ultimate intended beneficiary and details of how the organisation is funded.
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A significant increase in the maximum level of civil penalty that can be imposed by the registrar for offences under the Lobbying Act, including carrying out lobbying when unregistered.
The proposals were welcomed by one of the leading public relations bodies, which has long called for a more level playing field so that all lobbyists are required to reveal their activity.
Alastair McCapra, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, said it would “fundamentally reshape the relationship between lobbyists and Westminster”.
He said: “The suggestion to finally do away with a register that only provides a thin glimpse of lobbyists and replace it with a comprehensive activity-based lobbying register is critical and warmly welcomed.
“If enacted, these changes would finally give us the promised light of transparency we’ve been calling for, providing the public with a true sense of who is engaging our policymaking process.”
McCapra added: “Public trust in Westminster has taken a battering over the last decade thanks to what has felt like an endless carousel of lobbying scandals. To most voters, lobbying has almost become synonymous with sleaze despite being an essential part of the democratic process. We need lawmakers to hear from those affected by their decisions, but the public also needs to be able to see who is seeking to influence whom. As things stand, what we in fact have is the least transparent lobbying register in the west.
“These recommendations would fundamentally reshape how lobbying activity is captured, bringing the transparency that has long been missing. Mistrust foments in the dark, and sadly that’s where the overwhelming majority of lobbying currently occurs.”
