CIPR welcomes Committee on Standards call to ban MPs from paid lobbying work
There should be an outright ban on MPs providing paid parliamentary advice, consultancy, or strategy services a new report has recommended.
Following a review of the MPs Code of Conduct, the final report from the Committee on Standards - 'New Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules: promoting appropriate values, attitudes and behaviour in Parliament' - includes a package of reforms designed to improve transparency, tighten the rules around lobbying and conflicts of interest in the House of Commons.
The report proposes a tightening of lobbying rules so that MPs can neither initiate nor participate in lobbying Ministers, other MPs or officials for the benefit of someone paying them.
The CIPR has welcomed the report having previously called for a ban on MPs holding second jobs as lobbying consultants.
For too long lobbying rules in this country have not worked in the interests of the public and, as a result, have contributed to a severe erosion of trust in our politics. This final report from the Committee on Standards makes a series of sensible and well-considered recommendations to address that. If accepted by the House, it will improve transparency and provide much-needed clarity to MPs and also to organisations seeking to use parliamentarians as part of their lobbying strategy.
The CIPR has recently relaunched its UK Lobbying Register (UKLR) - a register open to all lobbyists.
- The CIPR has previously contributed to a Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) report on MPs outside interests.
- Read the CIPR's Lobbying Position Paper.
About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK and overseas with nearly 10,000 members.
The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).