New research has found Westminster’s lobbying register to be the least transparent in the West, as the US has 10 times more registered lobbyists.

The CIPR’s No Rules Britannia report — released on 2 April — found the US has 10 times more lobbyists on its public register than those registered in Westminster, even when adjusted for population.

On 4 April, the report was mentioned in the House of Lords:

Westminster’s public register, which was introduced over a decade ago to improve lobbying transparency has been outdone by similar registers covering Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Scotland (Holyrood), Ireland, the US and European Parliament.

Alastair McCapra, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, said: “The problem is that the UK’s Lobbying Register only captures consultant lobbyists, who are a small minority of lobbyists in the UK. The public is essentially glimpsing the sector through a keyhole.

“We urgently need reform and a Register that captures all lobbying activity. The best time to act was more than a decade ago. The second-best time is right now.”

The CIPR also found it is the least transparent about what constitutes lobbying, only capturing consultant lobbyists who make up a small percentage of the industry.

Westminster lobbyists account for 0.5% of lobbyists registered across all jurisdictions analysed, while the EU has eight times as many registered lobbyists per million people than Westminster, and Scotland/Holyrood has 69 times more.

The report forms part of CIPR’s ongoing ‘Lobbying for Good’ campaign to replace the 2014 Lobbying Act, and the industry body has called for the registering of:

• All lobbying activity (oral, written or electronic communications with the objective of influencing, and in relation to government or parliamentary functions)

• Who carries out the lobbying activity

• Who has been lobbied (Ministers, MPs, Peers, Regional Mayors, Senior Civil Servants, and special advisers)

• ORCL to be expanded into the Office of the Registrar of Lobbying (ORL). The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists should become the Registrar of Lobbying

• Technological/digital solutions to be explored to minimise any administrative burden on the registration of lobbying activity or the publication of diaries