Phil Brickell

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on the Nolan principles; I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) on securing it. As chair of the APPG on anti-corruption and responsible tax, let me say that it is on all of us to speak truth to power in a spirit of constructive criticism, regardless of which party is in power. I wish to focus my remarks on two topics where, collectively, it is my view that we are falling short of the Nolan principles: lobbying reform, which is long overdue, and MPs’ outside employment. Let me say from the outset that lobbying is a vital part of public discourse in driving workable policy solutions. It ensures that differing viewpoints are heard by the Government before decisions are made, but we need to know who is being lobbied by whom so that politicians, the public and the media can accurately scrutinise the machinery of government. Regrettably, that is not the case in the United Kingdom in 2026. In July, the Ethics and Integrity Commission published its review “Lobbying, Business Appointment Rules and Disclosure: Access to Government Decision Making”, which details 37 recommendations to modernise the regime. Doug Chalmers, the EIC’s chair, wrote in that report that the lobbying system “fails to deliver the required level of transparency and, in doing so, falls short of meeting the Nolan Principles.” Over the years, review after review and scandal after scandal have shown that the current system is broken. Only about 4% of all lobbying activity is required to be declared on the register of consultant lobbyists. That means that 96 out of 100 lobbying interactions simply fall outside the disclosure requirement, including in-house lobbyists, lobbyists with a turnover of below £90,000, non-VAT registered foreign businesses, the activities of special advisers, and informal comms such as WhatsApp.