The UK lobbying system is broken. Thats's the official line being taken by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), whose latest poll of 250 public affairs professionals makes clear that there is majority backing for radical reform of lobbying rules to make the profession more transparent, with tighter and ‘tougher’ controls.  Nearly two-thirds of lobbyists canvassed had reservations that the current lobby reporting regime was able to “identify and act upon breaches”, with 81% noting the impact on public trust in politics. All a time when the Global Counsel and ever-rolling Mandelson saga  – which has already seen the resignations of Starmer’s former chief of staff and director of Downing Street comms- has turned a spotlight on an industry that was already in the last chance saloon.  “It’s clear from our survey that the lobbying industry speaks with one voice when it says that the 2014 Lobbying Act is fundamentally broken and needs to be overhauled” is McCapra’s damning conclusion in the CIPR’s latest research published yesterday.  The poll of 250 public affairs professionals comes as the Government has instructed the Ethics and Integrity Commission to review lobbying rules in the aftermath of the Mandelson affair, which also saw his corporate advisory lobby firm, Global Counsel, fold almost overnight as a result of toxic Epstein emails.  Conducted by Opinium, the poll of 250 UK public affairs professionals reveals that 66% of lobbyists support expanding the lobbying register to include both consultant and in-house lobbyists. The poll was conducted against the background of the Lord Mandelson scandal, and collapse of Global Counsel, which he founded with his protégé Ben Wegg-Prosser, Tony Blair’s former spin doctor. The Mandelson affair has resulted in the Government instructing the Ethics and Integrity Commission to conduct an urgent review into lobbying transparency. The report discloses what has long been a thorn in the industry. Namely, that under the 2014 Lobbying Act, only consultant lobbyists (ie agencies) are required to disclose their correspondence with ministers and Permanent Secretaries. With in-house lobbyists exempt, the register – intended to let the public see who is seeking to influence whom – is estimated to capture fewer than 4% of lobbying activity. Businesses not registered for VAT and those that can show lobbying is only a small, incidental part of their activities are also exempt, along with trade associations, management consultancies and law firms dealing in public policy.  This means that vast amounts of correspondence and communication with MPs, Special Advisers, Lords and other senior civil servants, including the sort of correspondence that lies at the heart of the Mandelson files, is not available to the public or media.  The new CIPR poll reveals that:

80% of lobbyists believe correspondence with MPs should be captured, rising to 84% for the Lords The poll also revealed support for capturing the lobbying of Director Generals (civil service) (76%); Directors (Civil Service) (80%); SpAds (76%); Opposition leaders (81%); Members of the shadow front bench (80%); Select Committee Chairs (78%); APPG Chairs (79%) 72% believe that expanding the registration and transparency requirements would be proportionate

Almost two-thirds (63%) of lobbyists lack confidence that, under the current regime, breaches of lobbying rules will be identified and acted upon. These figures build upon previous research published by the CIPR, which found that the six key exemptions in the Lobbying Act ensured that fewer than 4% of investigations into suspected unregistered lobbying resulted in a civil penalty being imposed. Alastair McCapra, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, said in a statement:“When the Act was being hammered out under the Coalition Government it was blindingly obvious that it simply wouldn’t work. The Act isn’t so much undermined by the odd clause here, or a strange bit of wording there, but is a total failure of design. There are six key exemptions baked into the text – everything from not being registered for VAT through to being able to show lobbying is only a small part of your business - that conspire to keep the overwhelming majority of lobbying off the register and out of public view." "The Act only applies to consultant lobbyists, meaning the many thousands that work in-house, be it at banks, law firms or charities, are able to fire off as many messages to Ministers as they like with no obligation to sign. There is no ability to log correspondence with various civil servants, MPs or SpAds. The Lobbying Act fails to shine even a little light on the unillumined corridors of power." “To put it another way, Westminster – supposedly the mother of all Parliaments – has the least transparent lobbying regime in the West, which is a cause for national shame. What we need isn’t a register that captures a small number of lobbyis...