Transparency in Lobbying Letter from Take Back Parliament

Transparency in Lobbying Letter from Take Back Parliament

The loopholes in our lobbying rules have been all too obvious this past week.

Corporate hospitality lavished in a ‘private capacity’, heavy political pressure brushed off as ‘informal workshops’, the Prince of Wales’ secret influence on public policy cloaked as a ‘long standing convention’ - creative evasion of the ministerial code is becoming more and more absurd.

Thanks in part to the pressure created by people like you, the government has finally committed to publishing its plans for a statutory register on lobbying activity by the end of the month but as the reverberations from the Liam Fox scandal grow quieter, we need to sustain the pressure to ensure that the government delivers a White Paper that is as tough, comprehensive, and effective as possible.

Please take a minute to email your MP to get them to pressure the government:

http://action.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/lobbying-transparency

Wednesday’s debate in the Commons showed that, very slowly, action is being taken. It came after revelations by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that Communities Secretary Eric Pickles was dined at the Savoy Hotel earlier this year by public affairs giant Bell Pottinger - once again dodging the ministerial code with the claim that it was in a ‘private capacity’.

After a year of delay, a consultation on the lobbying register is finally due later this month - but we need to know reform will be real:

    * Will the lobbying frenzy at party conferences be allowed to go on? Will these ‘private political engagements’ stay hidden, or will they have to go on the register?

    * Will the Royal estate have to be transparent about its dealings with our elected representatives - especially where the Prince of Wales is asked to ‘consent’ to legislation which affects his commercial interests?

    * Will the Corporation of London be spared the glare of accountability? Will its special access to parliament, which dates back to medieval times, be allowed to continue in secret?

We need answers if this register is to be anything more than a sop to transparency. Nobody benefits from opaque government.  Unseen lobbying has been squeezing and skewing our democracy for far too long - and it’s time for real change; it’s time it was brought out into the open.

Lobbying is a legitimate part of the democratic process.  The problem is secrecy: undeclared, unminuted meetings that influence policy without any chance of public scrutiny.

MPs are getting serious about the issue but ultimately the government won’t fundamentally change the system so long as the pressure from special interests outstrips pressure from voters.

This is why we need your support on this.

Write to your MP, tell them how much this matters, and to urge the government to publish a White Paper for a proper, comprehensive, and detailed register of lobbyists.

http://action.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/lobbying-transparency

Many thanks,


Clare Coatman
Take Back Parliament