The Observer said that the scandal that killed Liam Fox is ‘at heart, a scandal about lobbying’.
The Independent complained that ‘lobbying has become part of the warp and woof of Britain’s modern political culture’.
And the Guardian upped the pressure for a lobbying register with a timely analysis of who has been lobbying ministers.
But the UK’s lobbyists have been hitting back, both on the airwaves and online.
Here are four of the best pieces penned by UK public affairs professionals in recent days:
On ConservativeHome, Lionel Zetter says Adam Werrity may have been lobbying, but was ‘not a lobbyist in the accepted sense of the term’. He argues that lobbying ‘helps to produce better policy and better legislation’ as it ‘makes sure that all interests are represented’.
On the Huffington Post, Iain Anderson notes that, once again, no lobbyists were involved in the latest lobbying scandal. With a lobbying register back on the agenda, the key is that ‘it applies equally to everyone who lobbies’.
On Total Politics, Gavin Devine says a lobbying register would be good news for most public affairs professionals as it would help weed out the ‘amateurs who are almost always the cause of lobbying scandals’.
And on his own site, Stuart Bruce is not surprised that ministers are frequently being lobbied by business, but thinks ‘the balance of meetings for some departments does look rather alarming’.
Public Affairs Central 