AT least 20 politicians, political advisers and civil servants in Scotland have quit to work as professional lobbyists trying to influence their former colleagues, prompting criticisms of the “revolving door” in Scottish politics.
An investigation by The Ferret has found six politicians or advisers for the LibDems, four for the Conservatives, two for the SNP, two for Labour and one Green – as well as two people whose party allegiance has not been identified and three civil servants – got jobs with specialist lobbying companies or as lobbyists for companies or campaigns.
Anti-corruption campaigners warned that revolving doors between politics and lobbying risked “abuse” if people in power used their positions to help win themselves jobs outside government and parliament. Others argued that lobbyists were hired for their contacts and that UK regulations needed to be reformed.
There is no evidence that any rules have been broken and lobbying associations argue that lobbying helps improve democracy. One of those who has gone through the revolving door is Raymond Robertson.
He was a minister in the Scotland Office under John Major between 1995 and 1997. He lost his Aberdeen South seat in 1997 and subsequently became the chair of the Scottish Conservative Party.
After failing to return to parliament for Eastwood in 2001, he set up an Edinburgh-based lobbying agency called Halogen Communications.
The firm’s clients now include the world’s seventh biggest arms company Airbus, tobacco firm Philip Morris, short-term letting agency Airbnb, and food and drink giant Nestlé.
On Nestlé’s behalf, Robertson met in July with Scottish Government political advisers Leanne Dobson and Davie Hutchison to give the company’s views on recycling and healthy food.
Another Edinburgh-based lobbying agency led by a former senior Scottish Tory is Message Matters. Its directors are Peter Duncan, who was MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale between 2001 and 2005, and Andy Maciver, a former Scottish Conservative head of communications who worked on MSP Murdo Fraser’s bid to be Scottish Tory leader.
Until July 2018, Duncan was also a trustee of a “dark money” trust funding the Scottish Conservatives. After The Ferret revealed his role in the trust, he resigned his position.
Other Edinburgh-based lobbying agencies who have hired former political insiders include Caledonia Public Affairs, Charlotte Street Partners and Orbit Communications.
As well as hiring lobbying agencies, companies employ their own in-house lobbyists. Alex Anderson, a former adviser to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, now lobbies for the Centrica energy company, which owns British Gas.
Former Scottish Government media manager, Greg Maxwell, now works for Edinburgh Airport, where he lobbies for tax cuts on flights. Similarly, former head of policy for the LibDems, Polly Jones, now works for the supermarket giant Asda, where she has lobbied against recycling measures.
According to Dr Will Dinan, a Stirling University lecturer in culture, media and communications, there is “a lack of transparency around the revolving door in Scottish politics.”
He said: “If the Scottish Parliament wishes to be seen as a bastion of probity and transparency it might consider introducing a cooling off period for key representatives and officials, and a meaningful public register of post-public employment.”
AS there is no official revolving door register, there are likely to be more former politicians and officials working in lobbying than the 20 The Ferret has identified through the Scottish lobbying register, Linkedin and other sources.
Campaign group Transparency International said that there was nothing “inherently wrong” with individuals moving jobs between public office and the private sector.
“But this comes with the risk that officials will abuse the power entrusted to them to secure future employment or other personal benefit,” said the group’s research manager, Steve Goodrich.
He added: “In the UK, where our systems for overseeing the revolving door are toothless and unfit for purpose, this risk is particularly stark. The whole system must be overhauled and the regulator granted effective enforcement powers to prevent questionable lobbying practices, or worse, corruption.”
Campaign Against Arms Trade echoed the call for tougher regulation. “One of the main reasons that big businesses hire former parliamentarians to lobby for them is because they want to use their connections to gain access and influence policy,” said the group’s spokesperson, Andrew Smith.
“Companies like Airbus aren’t focused on the public good, the main things that they are interested in are boosting their profits. There should be more regulation and far greater transparency in the process.”
For two years after leaving government, former Scottish and UK ministers, as well as senior civil servants, are supposed to apply to the London-based Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) for approval when they get a new job.
The Cabinet Office says the purpose of this is to avoid any suspicion that an appointment might be a reward for past favours or that the former public servant’s inside information and contacts might give their new employer an unfair advantage.
However, ACOBA has been criticised as “ineffectual” by Westminster’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
The committee said ACOBA was weakened by the fact it was not a statutory regulator. As a result, ACOBA can only give advice, cannot enforce its advice and has no powers or resources to investigate whether its advice has been followed.
Transparency International has called for ACOBA to be “replaced with a new statutory body with sufficient resources and powers to regulate the post-public employment of ministers and sanction misconduct”.
Many of those in politics and the civil service are outwith ACOBA’s remit. It doesn’t cover MPs, MSPs and most civil servants, including most senior officials.
Most senior civil servants apply to their own department for advice on a job outside government rather than to ACOBA. Oxford University professor and expert in public ethics, David Hine, said this system was also flawed.
“There can be little confidence in the scrutiny given to applications to take up post-employment offers by departments because the process is not transparent,” he told The Ferret.
“There is no proper mechanism for ensuring that advice or conditionality is similar across all departments, and there are few resources available to ensure that any conditions imposed on individuals regarding lobbying are complied with.”
WHILE revolving door regulation is UK-wide, Scotland has its own lobbying register. This details who is meeting with ministers, MSPs, special advisers and top civil servants and what they are discussing.
The Scottish register has been criticised by campaigners for only recording face-to-face meetings. It does not include lobbying by phone, email or other means.
In contrast, the Westminster lobbying register just lists the clients of lobbying firms over three months. It does not say who they met and the reason for the discussion.
Westminster’s lobbying register only includes specialist lobbying agencies and omits in-house company lobbyists.
A report by Transparency International estimated that the Westminster lobbying register is missing more than 95% of lobbyists.
Green MSP John Finnie, said: “I’m pleased that now we have a register in place there is greater transparency around who is lobbying MSPs and ministers.”
Peter Duncan from Message Matters responded: “With respect, what complete tripe. We won’t dignify by commenting.”
The Cabinet Office, Centrica, ASDA, the Association for Scottish Public Affairs and Halogen Communications have not responded to requests for comment. Edinburgh Airport also declined to comment.
The Ferret is an editorially independent, not-for-profit co-operative run by its journalists and subscribers. You can find it at https://theferret. scot/ and can subscribe for £3 a month here: https://theferret. scot/subscribe/
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