Lobbying Transparency (In-house Lobbyists) Bill [HL]

Viscount Chandos Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 3rd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Chandos (Lab)]

I congratulate my noble friend Lady Hayter of Kentish Town on her success in the ballot for Private Members’ Bills—I have asked her to advise me on my future selection of lottery numbers—and on her compelling introduction to this important and overdue Bill. Like my noble friend and other speakers, I believe that lobbying is an essential and potentially productive component in the communication between government and business, consumer groups and other constituencies. Governments should not determine policy or propose legislation in a vacuum but rather do so, as far as possible, after considered and thoughtful interaction with all interested parties.

The quality of that interaction is directly related to the transparency of the conversations that the Government have, to enable everyone, from legislators to the public, to form a view as to how the balance has been struck between the arguments and the interests of different parties. The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014, amid its many other more overtly partisan measures, attempted to increase the transparency with which lobbying was conducted. But this start was fundamentally flawed, with a statutory register set up, as we have heard, only in respect of external consultants and not in-house lobbyists. Without disrespect to the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, this was demonstrably a wrong call by the then coalition Government, even though arguments were made at the time that other initiatives were supposedly in train that made it inappropriate to cast the net wider to include in-house lobbying.

The past 12 years have laid bare the failure of those other initiatives and processes, which were meant to create the level playing field and necessary level of transparency for all lobbying. That is why I welcome and support this Bill so strongly and wish to see it on the statute book, or instead, in the light of the Prime Minister’s commissioning in March this year of the Ethics and Integrity Commission to review the issue of lobbying, disclosure and access to government, have its measures incorporated into wider government legislation.

My support for the Bill is informed by two past roles I have held and by one current one, which I will formally declare as an interest. Some time ago, I was the chair of a public relations and public affairs consultancy, albeit as a corporate suit rather than as a lobbying practitioner, and more recently, until last February, I was chair of a trade association. In both cases—one already required to register and one which would be required to register under the terms of this Bill—I believe that these organisations would see this as a desirable and positive change.

My current role, as included in my entry in the register, is as a director of Digbeth Loc. Studios Ltd, a company now operating the first phase of a film and television studio in Digbeth, Birmingham, and planning further phases as part of the overall regeneration of Digbeth. One of my co-directors is the distinguished screenwriter Steven Knight, who has been the driving force for over 10 years in rectifying the historical underrepresentation of the West Midlands in film and television production, and hence employment in the skilled sectors needed for that activity.

Steven Knight is a passionate and, not surprisingly, articulate advocate for his vision with Ministers and regional and local government leaders. Indeed, if he grows tired of screenwriting, he would be an outstanding professional lobbyist, however much that would disappoint the fans of “Peaky Blinders” and James Bond, whose next film he is writing. For many years, he operated essentially on a solo basis. Even now, with a very small corporate infrastructure in place, there is not a public affairs department of the sort that large companies and organisations will have. The noble Baroness, Lady Finn, has flagged her concern at the implications of the Bill for small businesses and organisations. I offer Digbeth Loc. Studios as a vivid case of what may not represent a large proportion of lobbying activity but can be vital for innovation and for social and economic change.

I do not believe that there should be any exemption for small companies and organisations. The ludicrousness of the VAT threshold exemption for consultancies should be a warning against that. I do not believe either that the registration fee is a meaningful issue. Even small companies have to incur similar or greater costs in the ordinary course of their business. What is crucial, though, is ensuring that the registration process, both initial and continuing, is as streamlined as possible for organisations that do not have the established public affairs department of, say, a big pharma or energy company. That said, I strongly support my noble friend’s Bill and look forward to the later stages when we can address the details and issues which I and other noble Lords have raised.