I attended an event last night hosted by Unlock Democracy and the Scottish branch of the Electoral Reform Society to discuss this subject. It was an interesting and thoughtful meeting but I’m no clearer on the issues. Perhaps writing this will help.
The first question is: what is lobbying?
There was no answer given last night, there are too many definitions. Lobbying for me is when people, individually or in groups, contact other people or groups to bring about change. That can be change in behaviour, change in the way that entity operates, change in practice or change in legislation.
As a member of North Berwick Community Council I helped lobby Tesco over the plans to build a supermarket in the town, we got changes made to the proposals. At a Planning Aid Scotland meeting I was told we actually broke the law in doing so but, he was very glad we did as he believed it was the way all Community Councils should be involved in major planning applications. As a member of East Lothian health Network I lobby for changes in perception on how health services are delivered. As a member of other organisations I lobby MSP’s, MP’s and MEP’s etc., on issues I care about on their behalf by writing letters, sending emails, the occasional blog article. That makes me a lobbyist.
On the other hand, it makes me an active citizen, a person who wants to be engaged, community engagement – that community can be very local (where I live), national (within the UK) or global.
But are there other people who can be called a lobbyist?
Yes, there are people employed by companies and organisations, usually in a policy or PR team who attempt to engage with others – mainly in the political sphere. They are paid to lobby. Some of these are very big with lots of money to spend. Small organisation can miss out as they can’t afford to pay people to do this. Though the potential use of electronic media can help, small groups still need assistance.
How important is lobbying?
It’s very important. It can be for good but just as easily be perceived as bad. Major business are involved as they want to influence government decisions and money spending. Trade Unions are involved as they want to preserve employment rights. Political parties are involved as some won’t be members of the government administration and want to influence proposed bills. Individuals are involved because they don’t like what these others are doing. A lot of lobbying appears to be behind ‘closed doors’. It’s not open and transparent. The Councillors and Parliamentarians can be ‘invited’ to dinners, theatre, concerts, sports events, a round of golf. All informal but where discussions ‘off the record’ can be held. These are usually done by organisations with money to spend. It’s considered ‘bad lobbying’ as it’s not declared, open or transparent.
Would a register help?
This is the idea where anyone who does lobbying has to enter their details on a register every few months and indicate who they are, what they do, how much they spend, who they speak to and the subject of those meetings. Those organisations with lots of money and people shouldn’t find that too much of a problem. But what about smaller groups without the resources? At what point do you implement a ‘cut-off’? Is it financial, numbers of staff or some other criteria? and who decides. A register may not catch-all informal contacts – shared train journeys or round of golf – as it may be too complex and involved.
Is there another way?
Perhaps the onus should be on Councillors and Parliamentarians to publish their public diaries each month in retrospect. These would indicate what meetings they had, who with, what the meeting was about. If people/groups ask for a meeting perhaps they should be asking questions of the group requesting the meeting: who are you; what do want; what are you expecting to get from this. Finally, they should ask, is it better to spend half an hour with you (a professional lobbyist) or with my constituents who have taken the time and spent money to travel to meet me?
So where does that leave me?
I accept that lobbing exists. That it can be for good. That it should be open and transparent and every organisation should publicly declare what they do in this area. That administrations at local and governmental level publish their meetings publicly. That all elected people at whatever level adopt the practice I’ve indicated in the previous paragraph. That removes the need for a register.
To answer the original question, Alex Runswick of Unlock Democracy suggested that the Scottish Parliament is more open and transparent than Westminster but, that some of what happens at Westminster is starting to creep in.
Related articles
