Introducing a statutory register of lobbyists

The coalition government is committed to introducing a statutory register of lobbyists. The government already releases a significant amount of information at data.gov.uk But we need to go further: a statutory register of lobbyists is an important step towards making politics more transparent. We are determined to keep working to open up politics, to make it more accessible to everyone.

Lobbying serves an important function in politics – by putting forward the views of stakeholders to policy makers, it helps in the development of better legislation. But it needs to be open and transparent. Members of the public, MPs and campaigners have written to us over the last eighteen months, expressing their views on what should be included in a register of lobbying activity.

This consultation is intended to draw out all of those views and more. But we need you to help us - we want interested parties, individuals and businesses to tell us what they think a register should look like. How would you define a ‘lobbyist’? What sort of information should be held on a register? What sort of penalties should be in place if you don’t register?