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PM hints at lobbying shake-up
Simon Clydesdale, political advisor, Greenpeace
DATELINE: 11/2/09
Gordon Brown has said that the government is taking the issue of a potential shake-up of lobbying regulation "very seriously". Labour backbencher Gordon Prentice used the weekly half-hour prime minister's questions today to ask the prime minister whether he would support the rapid introduction of a register of lobbyists.
Brown said: "I agree, we have got to take very seriously the problem of lobbyists and what they are doing both in the House of Lords and House of Commons. "And we will have to look at all measures that will make the system work better. So I am happy to look at his proposal and see what we can do."
Prentice – a member of the Commons public administration select committee (PASC) which has recently undertaken an 18-month investigation into lobbying – is eager that a register of lobbyists is brought in as soon as possible.
Last month he tabled an early-day motion – which now has 63 supporters – stating: "That this House notes with approval the recent report of the public administration select committee on lobbying which calls for a mandatory register of lobbying activity provided for in statute, independently managed and enforced, and which would include information provided by both lobbyists and those being lobbied; and calls on the government to bring forward the necessary legislation as a matter of urgency. "
The PASC report into lobbying was published on 5 January and the Cabinet Office has pledged to respond within two months.
Last modified: Thursday, March 5, 2009
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Previous stories
Lobbying
PR industry expects-crackdown
The way forward on lobbying
Brown must open up lobbying to win public trust
Reining in the influence industry
Lobbyists under the spotlight
Companies 'try to co-opt sector'
Slow and shaky start for EU lobbying register
Alliance for Lobbying Transparency meeting
Legal blow to secret government lobbying
EU lobbying - it's now or never
Parliamentary Inquiry into lobbying gets underway
EU Worst Lobby Awards Go Public
