All lobbying should be publicly declared in transparency laws shake-up, watchdog says

The proposals were welcomed by a leading public relations body which said it would ‘fundamentally reshape the relationship between lobbyists and Westminster’. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/Sopa Images/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen The proposals were welcomed by a leading public relations body which said it would ‘fundamentally reshape the relationship between lobbyists and Westminster’. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/Sopa Images/Shutterstock All lobbying should be publicly declared in transparency laws shake-up, watchdog says Ethics and integrity commission chief says overhaul is crucial to help restore trust in standards All lobbying of government ministers, aides and senior officials should be publicly declared – from WhatsApp chats to party conference meetings – in a fundamental shake-up of transparency laws, the government’s ethics watchdog has said. A review led by Doug Chalmers, the head of the ethics and integrity commission , has called for a new register to highlight who is lobbying, which policies they are seeking to influence and who in government they are meeting. The overhaul would require major legislation but Chalmers said it was crucial to help restore trust in the standards system. The review was ordered by Keir Starmer after the Peter Mandelson affair in which Mandelson retained a stake in a lobbying firm while US ambassador. View image in fullscreen The review was ordered by Keir Starmer after the Peter Mandelson affair in which Mandelson retained a stake in a lobbying firm while US ambassador. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA It would be a huge change from the current lobbying register, which only covers a small amount of lobbying conducted by consultants and does not require the disclosure of how it is taking place. The government’s response will now lie in the hands of Andy Burnham, Starmer’s probable successor as prime minister, who will have to decide whether to opt for greater standards of openness. Lobbying scandals have long troubled leading Westminster figures, including David Cameron who, after standing down as Conservative prime minister, tried to influence the government in favour of his employer Greensill Capital , which later collapsed. Under the coalition, the government set up a register of consultant lobbyists but there are several loopholes and exemptions that mean only 4-6% of lobbying activity has to be declared. View image in fullscreen David Cameron, after standing down as Conservative prime minister, tried to influence the government in favour of his employer Greensill Capital, which later collapsed. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Chalmers said the previous standards watchdog had recommended closing some of the loopholes but the commission had come to the conclusion that all lobbying should be registered to provide full transparency. He said: “The current UK lobbying system fails to deliver the required level of transparency and, in doing so, falls short of meeting the Nolan principles.” The seven Nolan principles of pu