David Cameron in Britain on transparency
David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party in Britain and the Leader of the Opposition Party in the House of Commons, has been talking about transparency recently. In a speech at the University of East London, Cameron expressed a very negative view of lobbying. The Conservative leader said that the “£2 billion industry” is too significant Westminster and in some cases MPs are approached more than 100 times a week by lobbyists.” Cameron uses an inclusive definition of “lobbying,” similar to the definition found on Sunshine Review:
“We all know how it works. The lunches, the hospitality, the quiet word in your ear, the ex-ministers and ex-advisers for hire, helping big business find the right way to get its way.”
His prescription? To shine “the light of transparency” on lobbying so that the government “comes clean about who is buying power and influence.” David Miller of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency welcomed Cameron’s admission that something needs to be done. He suggested the Leader introduce a mandatory register of lobbyists. This sounds like some of the lobbyist registration guidelines we have.
“Instead of locking people out of this process,” Cameron said, “we need to invite them in.” Along with lobbyist registration, Cameron hopes to institute a Public Reading Stage for bills so that the public is aware of current legislation. This is similar to propositions by American politicians, such as President Barack Obama’s transparency plans.
These all sound like great ideas for moving Britain to a more transparent way of doing things. Even if Cameron does not necessarily need to commit to his ideas, there’s a good chance the spotlight he has brought to transparency will be a good influence by itself.
