Lobbying in the UK – A Threat to the Nation or an Unavoidable Constant

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Introduction

Lobbying is defined as the effort made by individuals, businesses, groups, and other entities, to get a government to change its policies in their favour. Different methods are utilised to convince ministers, MPs or officials so that they can advocate policies or vote legislation through that could benefit the lobbyists. The dialogue surrounding lobbying is something that people must constantly address, whether overtly or unknowingly, especially when it comes to the ethical behaviour of government members and the regulation of markets, globally and domestically. This article will focus on lobbying within the UK and will aim to answer whether we should accept lobbying as an invariable constant in the eco-political realm or a threat to economic and social progress of the country.

Lobbying within the United Kingdom

Otherwise referred to as pressure groups, lobbyist companies can often convince government members to support certain policies through the intermediary lobbyist groups. Examples of these include the Association of British Insurers, British Bankers’ Association, and Greenpeace.

In respect of the UK’s rules that prohibit improper lobbying, lobbyists must strategically convince officials to avoid the punishment of either party. Specifically, lobbyists must join a register, ministers and top civil servants are banned from lobbying former colleagues for two years after leaving government and cannot pay ministers to advocate policies. However, there has been criticism against the level of scrutiny the government undertakes to prevent improper lobbying, especially as the government introduced a somewhat limited statutory register of lobbyists. This has been problematic as it has excessively reduced the public’s ability to make informed choices on which politicians to vote in and has introduced dishonesty into the legislative arm of the UK.

In Support of Lobbying

Although lobbying certainly receives its share of disdain, it arguably does serve a function in the eyes of lobbyists. Environmental companies, for example, may be eager to introduce new technologies that could sustainably increase the population’s quality of life. However, if they cannot convince the government of their plans, then they may struggle to introduce that technology because of over restrictive legislation. Lobbyist groups can help here as they may communicate the messages of multiple companies, benefitting the industry overall as a result.

The Consequences of Lobbying

In contrast, lobbying without a doubt can be harmful in many ways within the UK, especially when considering the economic and social consequences specifically.

Economic

Lobbying, in essence, can inherently serve to help those with the most resources, who are alternatively categorised as the dominant, “monopoly-holding” companies within industries. Where a company can expend the most money to win over an MP on, for example, the taxation of large domestic energy companies, that dominant company will be able to consolidate their position in the market. This may suffocate competition and increase the likelihood that that company may abuse their dominant position. In this scenario consumers will lose out eventually as they may have to pay more for their bills or would receive lower quality services.

Social

As aforementioned, lobbying can soften the public’s trust in the government and its ability to make decisions for the benefit of the nation rather than themselves. A recent example of this revolved around Former MP Scott Benton, who recently resigned after being suspended from the Conservative party for indicating he could lobby ministers for undercover reporters who posed as gambling industry investors. Mr Benton’s behaviour was especially controversial because it supported the aims of an industry that many believe is malignant within the UK. Gambling is arguably a service that rarely benefits anyone but gambling companies themselves, indicating that Mr Benton’s suggestions was a complete contradiction against the purposes for which he was voted in as an MP for the Blackpool South constituency.

Conclusion

To summarise, lobbying is something that seems somewhat unavoidable in the UK, especially where well-intentioned companies wish to convince government officials to support their business. Nevertheless, the freedom to lobby certainly needs to be curtailed and sharply maintained when considering the economic and social consequences that stem from successful lobbying attempts.