Lobbying will be curbed by Tories

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Lobbying has tainted politics for too long by blurring the lines of politics and business, the Tory leader David Cameron said as he pledged to stop government bodies using public funds to lobby each other.

Claiming there was a "far-too-cosy relationship between politics, government, business and money", Cameron said: "Contacts and knowledge gained while being paid by the public to serve the public should not be used for private gain. So a Conservative government will ensure that ex-ministers are banned from lobbying government for two years after leaving office.

"And we will rewrite the ministerial code to make clear that any former minister who breaks the rules on appointments will be forced to give up some or all of their ministerial pension."

He went on: "We will introduce new rules to stop central government bodies using public money to hire lobbyists to lobby other government bodies. The lobbying industry must regulate itself to ensure its practices are transparent – if it does not then we will legislate to do so."

Cameron also said a Tory government would pass a law to enable constituents to get rid of MPs who "cling onto their jobs and perks" even though they have been found guilty of wrongdoing. And it would introduce a Parliamentary Privilege Act to make clear that the rules of parliamentary privilege can't be abused by MPs to evade justice. This was recommended by the Nicholls Report in 1999 but "totally ignored" by Labour, Cameron said.

And while debate still continues over Lord Ashcroft's funding of his party, the Tory leader attacked the government over donations. "Labour have been timid in their attempts to clean up the big donor culture in British politics because they are afraid to take on their union paymasters," he said. "We will seek an agreed long-term settlement that would introduce an across-the-board cap on donations as part of a comprehensive package of reform. This will mark the end of the big donor era and the sleaze it has sometimes entailed."

Cameron added: "The cost of politics has got out of control and there are too many subsidies, perks and privileges. We will send a message that the Westminster gravy train is over by cutting the perks and bureaucracy associated with Parliament to save up to £120m a year. We will cut the pay of ministers by five per cent and freeze it for the rest of the Parliament, and cut the number of MPs by 10 per cent. We were the first political party to propose that MPs should move away from the generous final-salary pension system they currently enjoy. We will consult on the best way to make this happen with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which will have responsibility for this issue."

Too many unacceptable practices have gone unchecked for too long, Cameron said, including excessive expenses and secret donations. The country needs nothing less than a deep clean of the political system in Westminster to root out sleaze and dispel suspicion.