Friend or Foe? Lobbying in British Democracy - 1 Feb 2007

At a packed meeting last night in Portcullis House, Sam Coates from The Times, Pete Digger from DLA Piper’s Global Government Relations Practice and John Bercow MP debated the issue of lobbying and its place in our parliamentary democracy. The meeting was chaired by Clare Ettinghasuen, Hansard Society Chief Executive.

The event saw the launch of a new publication from the Hansard Society – Friend or Foe? Lobbying in British Democracy. You can read about the report on BBC Online
The report was also covered in Third Sector and Public Affairs News.

Ben Atfield from Ellwood and Atfield, who supported the report, opened the meeting by pointing out how the public affairs sector had grown massively over the past 10 years but current information about lobbying in the UK is very poor and doesn’t capture the changes that have happened over this period. Friend or Foe? Lobbying in British Democracy is intended to open up discussion in this area.

Dr Phil Parvin, author of the report, acknowledged that there is a high degree of scepticism about lobbying both among the public and politicians. He pointed out a paradox: on the one hand, the public is changing the way it acts in ways which afford greater power and influence to a range of lobby organisations. On the other hand, however, these same citizens who support these lobby organisations and look to them to represent their views often express scepticism of the practice of ‘lobbying’. He outlined the content of the report and hoped that it provided a platform for further discussion of this area.

Sam Coates from The Times joked that he had two rules when speaking to lobbyists – first, don’t call them lobbyists and second, don’t speak about brown paper bags of cash. He emphasised that lobbying was a relatively straightforward practice which shouldn’t be feared or demonised and acknowledged that the lobbying industry has cleaned up its act over the past few years. But, he said, there were still issues to be examined. For example, should lobbyists write reports in the name of MPs? Should lobby firms charge large amounts of money for ‘client dinners’?. He concluded that lobbyists must defend their own industry and not turn in on themselves. In his opinion, lobbyists were quite insecure about people’s suspicions of their industry – it is up to the lobbyists themselves to make the case for their industry.

Pete Digger from DLA Piper’s Global Government Relations Practice spoke up for the lobbying industry – it is young, dynamic and sophisticated and forms an important part of what happens in our democracy. He acknowledged that lobbyists are often treated with suspicion and that there are different regulatory codes across the industry. The most important factor that all lobbyists must abide by is transparency. He didn’t mind when journalists ran stories about lobbyists – that sort of scrutiny is vital. In his judgement, lobbyists provide a bridge between companies and government. They are needed because the proceedings of Parliament are not clear or easy to access. He could think of five or six pieces of legislation that were better because of lobbying – for example, the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill.

John Bercow MP said that balancing conflicting interests was at the heart of government. That arbitration had to take place so it is reasonable for pressure to be exerted by individuals or organisations – that is lobbying. He said that the word ‘lobbying’ possesses undeservedly unfavourable connotations but stressed that it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do – to try to influence public policy for the better. The process of lobbying is predictable and when conducted openly and legitimately it is perfectly acceptable. He acknowledged that there are issues which are unsettling – for example, he can’t see the merits of providing access for a fee. He stressed that only a small number of MPs are extremely well informed about everything. There are many subjects about which they know very little and they welcome contact from expert organisations who wish to give their point of view. Only gullible MPs will be swayed by lobbyists. He agreed with the report’s conclusions that charities are very effective at getting across their points of view and gave examples of Help the Aged, Prisoners Abroad, Amnesty and Stonewall. – all excellent at synthesising their core message in a pithy brief. He concluded by agreeing with the sentiment that MPs complaining about lobbying was like sailors complaining about the sea and stressed that transparency and accountability are vital.