Pressure on Lobbyist Transparency
If you go to the websites of some public affairs firms they boast that they can set up "grassroots networks" - fake campaigns to boost corporate interests. Big Pharma, for example, funds endless patient groups and fake think tanks that are really about increasing product demand, getting approval for their products or policy changes which boost their profits.A number of left-wing groups have got together in the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency. Their key launch demands are:
* A mandatory public register of lobbyists, with full financial disclosure
* Enforceable ethics rules for all lobbyists
* Enhanced rules on ethics for politicians and public officials on the so-called ‘revolving-door’ syndrome between lobbyists and public bodies; to halt privileged access to decision makers.
This is necessary. A lot of public affairs firms are conning their business clients about what they can do, if they could do what they claim it would (or should) be illegal. It is a murky trade, it is one thing for businessman to lobby in self defence against over regulation, but as often as not they are lobbying for preferential treatment and corporate welfare. Vested interests are not in the common interest.
This seems to be an exclusively left-wing campaign when it is something that could equally easily be supported by groups like the Taxpayer's Alliance. If this turns out to just another left-wing anti-business campaign it will be a shame.
23 comments:
Look at the average PR and lobbying firm to see what is wrong with British politics. The heads are either former journalists who haven't made it and never would have made it or former political researchers. The staff often consist of young people with media or some other useless degree. Another qualification is to be female and goodlooking. One thing they all have in common is that they know absolutely nothing about anything. Another advantage is to have been politically active in university with someone who just happens now to be in the Labour government. Morgan the Organ is an ex steelworker who left university without a degree and yet has made millions from conning people that he can give them access to power. Look at Freshwater .Now quoted on the stock market and run by an ex BBC journalist who used to be the PR officer for a local council. They live off the fact that too many in the private sector haven't read the Hans Christain Anderson story about the King with no clothes.
You might find this little exchange interesting regarding lobbyists and Honest Mitt
Don't you think it's about time that you put a big advert and a link to Ron Paul
on your site?? He is after all the only US candidate who want to ensure an unregulated internet and the yanks basically own the internet.
Weighty stuff, Guido. It is US who are paying these leeches in the end. Companies have many avenues to get tax deductionc on the money spent on these 'advisor-lobyists', and what cannot go that way gets added to the price of the products we buy. Where there is money to be got, sleaze cannot be far away. Keep looking.
Let's not forget that lobbying is also what unions do, it is what charities do, and it is what consumer groups do.
The ban on smoking in public places and the restrictions on food advertising on TV were driven by the health lobby,
Much of the recent attention on lobbying is also the result of lobbying by the self-proclaimed lobbying trade body, the APPC, who are looking to bolster their position and credibility.
Of course there are real questions the lobbying industry needs to be asked, but lobbying is not some evil rightwing capitalist conspiracy.
Lobbying companies are no worse than the lobbying by other special interest groups. The revolving door between Labour and the Unions is far more prenicious than that a few political researchers becoming lobbyists...
Lobbying should be made illegal. It is, at its least innocuous, deceitful and, at its worst, the perversion of justice and/or the will of the people.
The advertising standards people control (or pretend to) the open lobbying of the public, yet the more dangerous and ethically repugnant political and business lobbying is carried on in a clandestine way.
I don't understand: when would people become "lobbyists" as declarable on the register.
If a policeman comes to see his Member of Parliament is he a lobbyist? What if he buys him/her a cup of tea when he's here?
What if the public affairs manager of a charity has a meeting? What if he brings a volunteer with him? What if they bring an MP a book about their cause?
Surely under the scheme you're proposing, the only people who would be able to lobby members of parliament would be those who could afford to hire professional lobbying firms, which are on the registers. How does that help demorcracy?
Lobbying can only work if it can either pressurise or buy politicians. Our current crop of politicians are weak and self serving. (see Daniel Hannans piece for an explanation as to why). If we have strong and independent minded politicians, as well as an informed and educated media, lobbying will be less powerful.
Money will distort this. Very very few people are able to resist money and politicians have a thirst for the stuff. Therefore lobbying by big businesses is alaways going to be a problem. The most recent case being the Banks lobbying victory in getting the OFT to take them to court over illegal charging.
The solution is transparency, which is easy to enforce, as reecent events have shown!!
More regulation in whatever the form is never an answer, nor is making it illegal. If the latter it will just go even further undergound.
Just to add a bit to Hannans piece the implication in what he is saying is to leave the EU. Good.
Guido
I fear you may have missed the sub-plot here.
Just as the government is about to legitimise political activity by "charities", we have this new pressure group including - Greenpeace; Friends of the Earth; Action Aid; War on Want; World Development Movement; Pesticides Action Network;; Corporate Watch; ; Campaign Against Arms Trade.
In other words, lobbying will be restricted to the "usual (left wing) suspects" - most of whom also get taxpayer funded support from the govt and/or EU in the first place.
Come on!
NGO lobbying activity should certainly be investigated.
Anti vusiness campaigners like richard watts, sustain and which? are funding, administering and drafting Nigel griffiths forthcoming private members bill trying to ban food advertising.
If a business was doing this there would be an outcry.
this is pork barrel politics of the worst kind and i doubt the public know it is going on.
lazy MPs are being manipulated by ideological lobbyists.
As a lobbyist - here, in the EU and a registered federal lobbyist I would say that although sometimes on a friday night its annoying when you have to file reports the US system of disclosure works well. I also agree that the ethics code needs to be enforceable. Self-regulation clearly doesnt work. If the APPC took anyone to task there would be legal action and it would cost far too much.
I dont think all lobbyists are scum but agree that at the moment the water is too murky.
professional lobbyists are are clear and present danger to the democratic process. they specifically target and corrupt politicians, that's what they do.
they have hijacked what is an essential part of the representation of constituents apart from our voting franchise.
they poison the nature of pure lobbying and in that sense widen the gap between the voter and MPs.
ofcourse none of this would have been possible if our MPs weren't so bent in the first place, indeed the existence of pro lobbyists is proof of that point.
for the good of our democracy professional lobbying must be banished from parliament.
the eu has encouraged and is funding such activity, another sign of the wilfully anti democratic nature of that place.
the professional lobbyists are the punters and our MPs are the whores, that's the truth of the matter.
"they specifically target and corrupt politicians"
Shouldn't that be
"they specifically target corrupt politicians"?
'disgust' has it right - the real villains are the behind the scenes lobbyists from NGOs and 'charities'.
Look at the the mess being made of transport policy by 'green' collectivist lunatics like Transport 2000.
So, as we are coming to the end of the long hard road we have trod since 1997, & the Neo Socialists in Neo Labour have used & abused the lobbying system for their entire tenure, now they want to change the rules before the Tories get back into power?
Mmkay.....
Guido you should think twice before endorsing calls for regulation and control. Lobbying is essentially free speech whoever does it - and companies can do so if they want to. What matters is the the legislators are clear about what they do and who they see - that's where the control needs to bite. I am a lobbyist I am happy to state.
The daily democracy of market choice is a lot harder to corrupt than unaccountable beurocrats and sleazy party members.
The SIZE of the government is the problem, this is a sympton.
Conversations with lobbyists should be "on the record" and open to public scrutiny.
anon 2.10, fair enough, both.
Fake grassroots campaigns are called "Astroturfing" in the business. Companies like Microsoft use them all the time to pretend that their products are in some way actually desirable.
The solution is to have the people of the country have the final vote on ANY piece of legislation. Dump the politicians and replace them with well paid appointees (selected at total random by a computer) as a parliament (a parley shop) to suggest legislation and run/investigate the civil service.
It is a workable alternative (probably the only one) that will get rid of corruption and give us real democracy.
http://www.angelfire.com/realm3/accord
Lobbyists exist because lobbying works.
In a country not far away, where there is real representation.
It is done as it was in England in the old days.
Get a petition, except this petition is enshrined in law. Enough signatures, it is added to a regular vote, a referendum. These are frequent, the results generally moderate.
The only petition refused by the federal Gvnt that was popularly passed by the electorate that I know of (hearsay) was a campaign against a Gvnt order for F16's.
So much for those anti imperialist yankees so bent on destruction of the evil British Empire. They've done so much better.
So, no more lobbyists.
Mitterrand hated that white patch in the middle of his empire that keeps allowing it's people a vote, it is a shining light of freedom in a Europe where the lights are going out.
Shows you the benefit of a citizen army equipped with assault rifles, an added bonus is the very low level of burglaries.
I'm sure the likes of the Stockholm Network will be in the sights of this lot.
I just hope the good think tanks that are associated don't get tarnished by association with the thinly disguised front group that is the Stockholm Network.
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