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Lobbying IS Legitimate

Lionel Zetter makes the case for a compulsory and universal register of professional lobbyists.

By Lionel Zetter

14 Feb 2012, 09:30

The government’s consultation on the introduction of a compulsory register for lobbyists takes as its starting point the clear assumption that lobbying is a legitimate activity. Indeed, in their joint foreword to the consultation document Oliver Letwin and Mark Harper – the two ministers responsible for overseeing the process – go so far as to say that:

 “Lobbying serves an important function in politics – by putting forward the views of stakeholders to policy makers, it helps in the development of better legislation.”

Lobbying does undoubtedly lead to better legislation, by virtue of the fact that it ensures that every side of every argument is explored, thereby minimizing the likelihood of unintended consequences. Lobbyists also help to develop new policy, and they feed that in to all of the main political parties equally without favour or bias. In addition, they level the playing field by making sure that opposition parties have access to resources and expertise which go some way to make up for the advantage governing parties have through having the civil service – and SpAds – at their disposal. Finally, they save everybody time, by making sure that their clients access government at the right level and in the correct manner.

Shortly after the Cabinet Office launched its consultation the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee announced an inquiry in to lobbying. I was called to give oral evidence to the committee, along with Tamasin Cave of SpinWatch and Professor Justin Fisher from Brunel University. Predictably Tamasin was critical of the proposals, whilst Professor King mounted a robust defence of both the lobbying industry and the Cabinet Office proposals.

I found myself in the unusual – and slightly uncomfortable – position of having to argue for more regulation. Under the last Labour government the Public Administration Select Committee held an inquiry in to lobbying, which I was also gave evidence to. As a result of that inquiry the three main bodies representing lobbying – the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), and the Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) came together to form the UK Public Affairs Council – UKPAC.

In forming UKPAC the industry had tried to practice what it would have preached to any client in a similar position: to be ahead of the curve, and not to be dragged reluctantly to the table. We recognized that some form of a register was inevitable, and we therefore decided to seize the initiative and set up our own combined voluntary register. We also sought to combine our three codes of practice in to one generic set of principles.

UKPAC did not succeed – but neither did it fail. It developed a generic set of principles, and it set about trying to produce a unified register based on the three registers operated by the representative bodies. There are two main reasons why this voluntary online register is not yet fully functional and robust: firstly, there were not enough financial resources put behind it, and secondly many practitioners and companies did not sign up.

The two problems are inextricably intertwined. If more individuals and companies had signed up, there would have been more resources. If there had been more resources, the IT issues would have been solved much more quickly. However, there were no sticks and no carrots to convince more people to sign up. Unlike in Brussels there were no security passes on offer to encourage participation and ensure compliance. Equally, there were no sanctions attached to not signing up.

So, reluctantly, I am forced to the opinion that the register must be compulsory. And not just compulsory, but universal. Under the current proposals, only multi-client agencies undertaking third party advocacy would be compelled to register. This would have two detrimental effects. The financial burden would fall on a narrow base – and eighty percent of the industry would fall outside of its purview.

To exclude in-house lobbyists would be a mistake. The fact that the media has focused almost exclusively on agencies does not mean that there is not the potential for malpractice from in-house practitioners. What is more, there is absolutely no difference between people lobbying on behalf of an agency or on behalf of one particular organisation. And, equally, there is precisely no difference between an individual lobbying for a company, a charity, a pressure group or a trade union. All lobbying is lobbying, and all lobbying is legitimate.

As for definition, it really is very simple. Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence government policy or legislation. If you lobby, then you are a lobbyist. If you are paid to lobby, then you are a professional lobbyist. If you are a professional lobbyist, you ought to be registered.