CIPR LAUNCHES ‘LOBBYING FOR GOOD LOBBYING’ CAMPAIGN
CIPR campaigns for reform to the UK lobbying process, calling for transparency and trust.
Launched on 14th December in Parliament, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ (CIPR) ‘Lobbying for Good Lobbying’ campaign endeavours to bring greater transparency to the lobbying process.
The #L4GL campaign claims reform is needed following a string of recent high-profile scandals exposing the “failures and limitations” of the Transparency of Lobbying, non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act (2014). Following a government inquiry and several reports recommending changes to the lobbying practice in the UK, the CIPR hopes to bring parliamentarians and the industry together to act on those recommendations.
At the campaign’s launch, CIPR CEO Alastair McCapra emphasised the need for lobbying reform, describing it as “the opportunity to create something better.”
The launch event involved a panel discussion which was chaired by Sam Coates, deputy political editor at Sky News. The panel featured Paul Bristow MP, Duncan Hames of Transparency International, and CIPR's 2024 president, Rachael Clamp. Debated issues included access to lobbying, the role of All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), the accountability of the House of Lords, the lobbying efforts of Trade Unions, think tanks and charities, and the solutions technology offers.
"It has been nearly nine years since the Lobbying Act was passed with the intention of improving trust and transparency in our politics. By any measure, it has failed. For nine years, we have been calling for change; now, we're campaigning for it,” says McCapra.
“We're campaigning for a change to the legislation and a lobbying register that captures all lobbying activity. We're campaigning for greater transparency and we're campaigning for a level-playing field.
“Building trust is for everyone's benefit; parliamentarians need to trust lobbyists to provide the best information and advice, and the public need to trust Parliamentarians that they are meeting with lobbyists to better inform them and their ability to make policy decisions."
Duncan Hames, director of policy at Transparency International, says: "As long as [lobbying] operates in the shadows, there will be distrust."
