Category Archives: Lobbying

GB News urged to cut ties with contributor accused of racism

Posted on by

Rightwing activist claimed Commons deputy speaker Nusrat Ghani should be barred because she was born in Pakistan

GB News is facing calls to cut ties with a regular contributor who has been accused of racism after claiming that the House of Commons deputy speaker, Nusrat Ghani, should not be allowed in the house because she was born in Pakistan.

The comments by Lucy White, a rightwing activist, have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum amid warnings that explicitly racist language is becoming increasingly normalised in British life.

Continue reading...

Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm hired by company linked to Chinese military

Posted on by

Global Counsel signed $3m contract with WuXi AppTec in Europe months after it was named in US national security drive

Global Counsel, the lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson, was brought in to advise the Chinese pharmaceutical company WuXi AppTec in Europe months after it was targeted in a US national security crackdown.

WuXi AppTec signed a $3m contract with Global Counsel last year to deal with the international fallout from claims that it had links with the Chinese military and was implicated in human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Continue reading...

Rachel Reeves due to appear at gambling lobbyist’s event amid tax review

Posted on by

Chancellor’s invitation criticised as ‘strange timing’ with Treasury looking at whether to raise duties on £12bn sector

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been urged to cancel plans to be the guest of honour at an event hosted by the chief lobbyist of the gambling industry while the Treasury is in the midst of a review of taxes on the £12bn sector.

Reeves is slated to appear at a “private reception” for business leaders, organised by the corporate communications company Brunswick, at the forthcoming Labour party conference in Liverpool.

Continue reading...

VIP contract introduced by Tory peer left government owed £24m

Posted on by

DHSC rejected as ‘unusable’ PPE supplied by company linked to Lord Chadlington, which later went bust

They were the lucrative deals that epitomised the “VIP lane” set up by Boris Johnson’s government during the Covid pandemic, which gave priority for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to people with political connections.

Peter Gummer, a former PR boss who has been Tory peer Lord Chadlington since 1996, had smooth access at his fingertips. The erstwhile adviser to John Major has “close personal friendships with many senior Conservative party politicians”, he has said, and as president of the Witney constituency association in the Cotswolds is “close friends” with its most notable MP: David Cameron.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer to replace post-ministerial jobs watchdog with tougher regime

Posted on by

PM will bring in financial penalties for those who break rules and set up new independent ethics and integrity commission

Keir Starmer is to abolish the independent post-ministerial jobs watchdog, which has long been criticised as “toothless”, and – for the first time – financial penalties will be imposed on those who break the rules after leaving government.

As part of a standards overhaul that ministers hope will help improve public faith in the system, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) will be scrapped and a tougher regime introduced.

Continue reading...

Lobbyists linked to Donald Trump paid millions by world’s poorest countries

Posted on by

Somalia, DR Congo and Yemen among states forced to sign deals and barter their minerals for aid or military support

Some of the world’s poorest countries have started paying millions to lobbyists linked to Donald Trump to try to offset US cuts to foreign aid, an investigation reveals.

Somalia, Haiti and Yemen are among 11 countries to sign significant lobbying deals with figures tied directly to the US president after he slashed US foreign humanitarian assistance.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer facing scrutiny over failure to establish new ethics watchdog

Posted on by

Commons inquiry to examine lack of progress in fulfilling manifesto pledge to set up ethics and integrity body

No 10 is facing scrutiny over its failure to bring in a new ethics watchdog almost a year after the election, as a new inquiry was launched to examine the seeming lack of progress.

Amid signs that the plans have been kicked into the long grass, parliament’s public administration committee said it was launching an inquiry to push the government on what has happened to its ethics commitments.

Continue reading...

UK government dropped health push after lobbying by ultra-processed food firms

Posted on by

Exclusive: Guardian investigation reveals guidance for retailers in England changed after campaign by global food firms

Government legal guidance urging retailers in England to offer millions of consumers deals and discounts on minimally processed and nutritious food was dropped after a lobbying campaign by the world’s biggest ultra-processed food firms, the Guardian can reveal.

Ahead of new regulations banning junk food promotions from October, the Department of Health and Social Care issued advice to thousands of shops, supermarkets, online retailers and other businesses to help them comply with the law.

Continue reading...

Whitehall officials ‘pushing for the Open to return to Trump-owned Turnberry’

Posted on by

Revealed: Sources say bosses at R&A, which organises the annual golf tournament, were quizzed about 2028 event

Senior Whitehall officials have asked golf bosses whether they can host the 2028 Open championship at Donald Trump’s Turnberry course after repeated requests from the US president, sources have said.

Officials had asked senior people at the R&A, which organises the world’s oldest major golf championship, what the hurdles would be to hosting the 2028 Open at Turnberry.

Continue reading...

Public affairs firms in Europe enable pollution by lobbying for big oil, says analysis

Posted on by

Exclusive: EU Transparency Register shows law firms also among lobbyists working for fossil fuel companies

A handful of “small but dirty” public affairs and law firms in Europe are enabling pollution by lobbying extensively for big oil, an analysis has found, with most major companies in the industry working for at least one fossil fuel client.

Several of the top spenders on activities to influence EU policymaking are on the payroll of oil and gas companies, according to an analysis of the EU Transparency Register by the Good Lobby nonprofit, but fossil fuel clients represent just 1% of the industry’s revenue.

Continue reading...

US begins inquiry into pharmaceutical and chip imports in bid to impose tariffs

Posted on by

Notices show Trump administration setting stage for levies on both sectors on national security grounds

The Trump administration is kicking off investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors on national security grounds, notices posted to the Federal Register on Monday showed.

The filings scheduled to be published on Wednesday set a 21-day deadline from that date for the submission of public comment on the issue and indicate the administration intends to pursue the levies under authority granted by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Such inquiries need to be completed within 270 days after being announced.

Continue reading...

UK ministers need to ask why they are offered freebies – and who loses out

Posted on by

Firms who wine and dine officials may gain a seat at the policymaking table while the third sector is squeezed out

Ministers from Keir Starmer downwards have sometimes seemed perplexed about what they see as the fuss made over their acceptance of hospitality in the last nine months.

From their point of view, free tickets to concerts and sporting events are a paltry form of compensation for the disruption to their private lives that comes from being a frontline politician.

Continue reading...

Revealed: ‘Grassroots’ campaigns opposed to assisted dying financed by conservative Christian pressure groups

Posted on by

Religious lobbyists are secretly coordinating and funding bodies that claim to be led by disabled people and health workers

Campaigns against assisted dying that claim to be led by healthcare workers and disabled people are being secretly coordinated and paid for by conservative Christian pressure groups, an Observer investigation has found.

The “grassroots” campaigns have been central to the debate on legalising assisted dying in England and Wales before a landmark vote by MPs this month.

Continue reading...

Meat, oil and pesticide industry lobbyists turned out in record numbers at Cop16

Posted on by

Questions raised over influence after 1,261 business and industry delegates registered for biodiversity summit in Colombia

Record numbers of business representatives and lobbyists had access to the UN’s latest biodiversity talks, analysis shows.

In total 1,261 business and industry delegates registered for Cop16 in Cali, Colombia, which ended in disarray and without significant progress on a number of key issues including nature funding, monitoring biodiversity loss and work on reducing environmentally harmful business subsidies.

Continue reading...

Will Labour resist the ‘killer tactics’ of industry’s enemies of public health?

Posted on by

A new report lays down a challenge to Keir Starmer to take on vested interests of food, drink and tobacco companies

Illness, disease and death can be the result of bad luck, genetic factors or people’s lifestyles – whether someone smokes, drinks a lot or consumes a lot of junk food, for example.

The role of lifestyle in explaining why the UK is an increasingly sick country, and the growing pressures on the NHS, is often underappreciated. Experts tend to cite the growing and, especially, ageing population, which are both key factors.

Continue reading...

UK MPs urged to give up freebies from tobacco, alcohol and junk food firms

Posted on by

Health groups challenge Starmer to ban ‘unhealthy products’ firms from lobbying MPs by giving them gifts

MPs are being urged to stop accepting freebies to sports and cultural events from tobacco, alcohol and junk food firms because their products cause so much illness and death.

More than 100 health groups are urging Britain’s lawmakers to reject offers of gifts and hospitality from “unhealthy products industries” because they use an array of underhand tactics to disguise the harm they create in order to protect their sales.

Continue reading...

Conflict of interest concerns raised over MEPs’ second jobs

Posted on by

Seven out of 10 have outside work with six earning more with work than as parliamentary representatives, analysis shows

Half a dozen members of the European parliament earn more from second jobs than as EU lawmakers, according to analysis that raises questions about potential conflicts of interest.

The campaign group Transparency International EU found that 70% of the European parliament’s 705 members have side jobs. Just over a quarter (26%) of side jobs were paid, with six lawmakers earning more than their €120,900 (£103,000) annual gross MEP salary.

Continue reading...

Watchdog rejects request to investigate Tory MP over City lobbying complaint

Posted on by

Parliamentary commissioner for standards says there was not sufficient evidence to justify opening investigation into John Baron

Parliament’s standards watchdog has turned down a request to investigate a senior Conservative MP over whether he used his role on the Commons Treasury committee to lobby for changes to City rules.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, said a request submitted on behalf of campaign group Unlock Democracy had not provided any evidence that John Baron MP was not acting in the public interest, or breached any rule related to lobbying, that would be sufficient to justify opening an investigation.

Continue reading...

Tories may face Blackpool byelection as Scott Benton loses suspension appeal

Posted on by

MP for Blackpool South, who offered to lobby for gambling industry, loses appeal against 35-day Commons suspension

Rishi Sunak may face another difficult byelection after an MP lost his appeal against a 35-day suspension from parliament for lobbying ministers on behalf of the gambling industry.

Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, formerly a Conservative, had asked for a reconsideration of the standards committee verdict that he had committed an “extremely serious breach of the rules”.

Continue reading...

‘How to greenwash’: propane industry tries to rebrand fuel as renewable

Posted on by

Lobbying group spent nearly $30m on ads touting the ‘clean energy’ potential of propane – and downplaying its full climate impacts


This story is co-published with Heated

Members of a propane industry lobbying group strategized to downplay the full climate impacts of propane and market it as renewable or “clean energy”, recordings reviewed by the climate newsletter Heated and the Guardian reveal.

Continue reading...