Douglas Carswell MP: Lobbying - the next big scandal?

Lobbying - the next big scandal?

David Cameron warned today that corporate lobbying in Parliament was "the next big scandal waiting to happen" [hattip Paul Waugh].

I agree.

On August 13th last year, I wrote in PR Week of my "hunch that sooner or later we'll see a big Westminster story about the way that some lobbyists seek to buy influence." I went on the mention "the revolving door between Whitehall and business" specifically.

The digital revolution smashes hierarchy, opening up the cosy Commons to scrutiny. It is about to do the same to the world of back-room deals cut between big government and big corporations, of corporatist conspiracies against the taxpayer.

Posted on 8 February 2010 by Douglas Carswell

Comments

So tell the truth Douglas, have you never engaged directly with lobbyists of your own free will?

Posted on 8 February 2010 17:11 by NudeEel

Suggest hattip to Guido too. He's been covering this (in the form of hospitality in the HP) for the past 48 hours and live on telly too, where he gave Tim Yeo a nasty and unexpected wedgie. This could cause another massive clear out of the remaining piggies. There'll only be you and Frank Field left at this rate.

Posted on 8 February 2010 19:30 by mike paterson

Yep, Frank and Douglas. You gotta start somewhere and that isn't a bad place at all.

Posted on 8 February 2010 22:36 by Richard Drake

Ah, yes. Same thing happening in Canada, fallout should be interesting.

Posted on 9 February 2010 00:41 by Wayne

Worse than corporate lobbying is fakecharity lobbying & advertising. eg FoE Europe receives large amounts of money from the EU & member governments to lobby the EU bureaucracy (to which it is a "preferred lobbyist") for more EU bureaucracy.

The same applies in Britain where I once blogged on the large majority of people having stalls at a "LibDem" confernce being government funded fakecharities, government employee unions, quangos & government departments,

Posted on 9 February 2010 10:21 by Neil Craig

Never given a private talk to a group of lobbyists?

Posted on 9 February 2010 10:26 by NudeEel