Lobbying and British politics

By Brian Wheeler Political reporter, BBC News

Cash-for-influence allegations against four Labour peers have once again thrust the murky world of political lobbying into the spotlight.

The peers have denied any wrongdoing

The four have denied any wrongdoing but Gordon Brown has promised "emergency sanctions" against them if allegations they offered to help make amendments to legislation for cash are proved.

The idea of politicians offering to change the law of the land in exchange for a fat fee is regarded with genuine dismay by the average MP or peer, most of whom insist British politics is relatively free of financial corruption.

Yet for some the current scandal is a wake-up call for Britain's political classes and it has led to renewed calls for reform of the lobbying system.

One of Barack Obama's first acts as US President was to clamp down on lobbying and, in particular, the "revolving door" which sees members of an administration walk straight into highly paid jobs with the companies or industries they had jurisdiction over. Gifts from lobbyists were also banned.

There is a growing body of opinion across all parties that something similar is needed in the UK.

No one is seriously suggesting an outright ban on lobbyists. They are a fact of life in most democracies.

'Revolving door'

Banning them would probably drive the practice further underground - and result in more meetings by the lake at St James' Park with dark glasses and a rolled-up newspaper, as the CBI's John Cridland put it to MPs last year.

Politicians cannot make laws in a vacuum. They need to speak regularly to industry, trade unions and campaign groups to formulate effective policy.

Imagine the outcry if MPs refused to meet a delegation of small business people or environmental campaigners.

Because secret lobbying by its very nature leaves no evidence trail, there could still be a significant problem even with little concrete evidence of one Public administration select committee

But the problem, according to a report by the Commons public administration committee, is that lobbying in the UK can be a secretive business, that deals are "traditionally done behind closed doors".

They also highlight the fact that former ministers are allowed to take lobbying jobs while they continue to sit in Parliament.

We know, from the register of members' interests, that many backbench MPs and peers, from all parties, are on the payroll of companies, either as directors or consultants.

The companies involved range from small, obscure specialists in surveillance, security, financial services, law and dozens of other areas to some of the biggest names in British industry, such as defence giant BAE Systems or retailer Boots.

The nuclear industry has been particularly active in recruiting senior Labour politicians and former members of the government.

We also have an idea of the sort of money they get.

Rules

Among former ministers who continue to sit in the Commons, Alan Milburn earns