Britain could fundamentally overhaul its lobbying transparency rules. The government's Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) has published a report recommending that all lobbying of ministers, advisers and senior officials be made public. At its heart is a new, activity-based register recording who contacts whom, and on which issue.
Until now the existing register covers only consultant lobbyists and says nothing about how the influence takes place. According to the commission, this means only about four to six percent of lobbying activity has to be declared at all. The report – titled "Lobbying, Business Appointment Rules and Disclosure", according to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) – brings together 22 recommendations.
In future, every person and organisation that carries out lobbying would have to register and report on their activity. The duty to disclose would extend to special advisers and senior administrative levels; at present the law covers only ministers and permanent secretaries. Exemptions for organisations below the VAT threshold or for "incidental" contacts would fall away. Informal channels such as WhatsApp or conversations on the margins of party conferences would also have to be disclosed.
Each declaration would record who made contact, when and by what method, which law or regulation is affected, which client is behind it, who ultimately benefits and how the organisation is funded. An AI-powered, searchable platform would link the register with records of official meetings. Ministers and officials would decline conversations about policy or legislation if the other side is not registered. The possible fines under the Lobbying Act would rise significantly.
Rebuilding trust
Commission chair Doug Chalmers grounded the proposal in the Nolan principles, the seven principles of public life that require office-holders to be accountable, open and transparent. "The current UK lobbying system fails to deliver the required level of transparency," he said. The overhaul, he added, was crucial to restoring trust in the standards system.
The review was commissioned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Earlier lobbying affairs had repeatedly troubled Westminster, including the case of former prime minister David Cameron, who after leaving office lobbied on behalf of the finance firm Greensill Capital, which later collapsed.
The EIC, established in October 2025 as the successor to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, is not a regulator and cannot investigate individual cases; it is for the government to decide on implementation. Practitioners have already welcomed the plan: CIPR chief executive Alastair McCapra called the proposals a step that would "fundamentally reshape the relationship between lobbyists and Westminster".