Of Sheep and Wolves…Regulating lobbying.

Controls on lobbying are back on the agenda. The consequence of the Adam Werrity affair and the fall of Liam Fox has been a renewed commitment by Government to curb lobbying activity, following proposals by the Public Accounts Committee back in 2009. We are again faced with the idea of a register of lobbyists, Ministers declaring who they have met with and why. Many will see this as a welcome spotlight on the seemingly shady world of lobbying, exposing those who use money and power to gain access to Government.

But wait just a minute before leaping with joy about the increase in parliamentary accountability and corporate transparency. It is also proposed that the voluntary sector should be subject to the same requirements. At first sight it is perhaps hard to disagree as the sector is committed to transparency and openness. If the rest of the world is to be held to account then why not the voluntary sector too? In any case, what have we got to fear, having nothing like the financial clout to create moral hazard in the way we go about our business.

But before we too readily sign up to this new agenda, pause a minute. A register of lobbyists is only needed because of public perception of wrong doing and illegitimate influence over the political process. A register for lobbyists including the sector will signal to the public and politicians that there is equivalence between charities and the commercial sector. Surely it is not the legitimate speaking truth to power that is intended to be caught by this but corporate abuse of their already powerful position?

There is no equivalence between commercial sector and voluntary sector lobbying, even if the process shares the same word. The methods the voluntary sector uses are precisely the public embarrassment of the powerful - we produce evidence of wrongs and injustice to be brought to public attention and we have nothing to hide. Furthermore, the sector campaigns for the marginalised and disadvantaged, not for any commercial gain. Where insider lobbying takes place it’s to get to get wrongs righted without embarrassing Ministers in public disputes - not to get unseemly deals struck for financial gain. In any case, in time any success will be public and open to scrutiny and challenge.

Making Ministers list all their meetings could provoke less transparency, and an unwillingness to meet and engage with NGOs, if they think an agreement to meet with one will then require agreeing to meet with all. As it is, Ministers push only to see coalitions of interest to keep down the level of commitments and smooth out dissenting viewpoints for easy consensus.

What's more, charity campaigning is already subject to regulation through the Charity Commission, which already regulates the size and extent of what campaign activities they can engage in. Accountably is also required through annual reporting and a public complaints system. This goes far beyond what is required of commercial organisations that, with weak shareholder governance, can do as they please as long as the bottom line is enhanced.

There are broader concerns too. This regulation is considered to be a result of a lack of trust in the political system. Is the answer more regulation of campaign activities or measures to ensure that we put some faith back into the process of our politics? Regulation of this sort will always be got round by those with influence and power to open back doors to politicians through personal connections. But it could also discourage those whom are campaigning legitimately from taking part. There are already serious concerns amongst charity trustees about the acceptability of campaigning and negative noises from some MPs about the overall acceptability of charity campaigns. So not the best time for a message that charity advocacy is controversial and that we need a register of practitioners to keep it in check. There will also be a cost for registration-a tax on representation-which will not help small organisations to have a voice in the system.

And yet it is difficult for charities to publicly argue they don't want to be part of any regulations - ‘What are they hiding?’ would be the immediate question, followed swiftly by concerns of hypocrisy, accountably for everyone else but themselves.

So, to solutions. If the register must include the sector there at least needs to be some recognition of different circumstances and a light touch mechanism for registration and accountability. Better still, there should be a clear distinction between commercial lobbyists and advocacy organisations, with a back stop to ensure that commercial bodies cannot use advocacy bodies as a shield. Then perhaps some real measures to restore confidence in the political process. Enforcing the Ministerial code of practice would be a start, bite the bullet whatever public opinion says and have state funded parties, but get a fair formula for doing so. And for the long term introduces Civics lessons into schools-only an informed citizenry is really going to hold politicians to account. For as Bernard de Jouvenel saw “A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves”.