Post by thomas on Feb 17, 2024 14:02:08 GMT
Labour bars press from secretive lobbying event at Scottish party conference
Exclusive: Party has refused to provide a list of sponsors and attendees at Glasgow forum for ‘high-level’ discussions
Scottish Labour has blocked journalists from attending a lobbying event for business which is running alongside its party conference in Glasgow this week.
A number of frontbench figures will appear at the Scottish Labour Business Forum, which will “allow C-suite business leaders an opportunity for high level discussion with senior UK and Scottish Labour politicians”.
While Labour members, trade union delegates and the press will be milling around the main conference at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, business leaders will mix with senior politicians and party officials just around the corner at a sold-out private event in the Crowne Plaza hotel.
While press were able to attend the UK party’s recent business conference in London, when asked a Scottish Labour spokesperson told openDemocracy that "there will be no press accreditation for our Business Forum event," and refused to provide a copy of the agenda or a list of attendees.
Tom Brake, director of standards campaign group Unlock Democracy, said: "Good habits are formed in youth. Some of these MPs could be ministers in the next government. They could set an early good example, get ahead of the game, and publish details of whom they are meeting and why, just as they will need to do in Government. This will reassure the public that they are listening to all sides of the argument and won't be influenced only by business interests."
As the requirements for transparency around lobbying differ in Scotland from England and Wales, certain lobbyists will have to register their engagements with MSPs at the conference in the next set of lobbying returns, which are published every six months.
However, there is no requirement for lobbyists to register their attempts to influence opposition parties in Westminster. Campaigners have previously called for changes to the lobbying transparency system to include opposition lobbying, which the head of the lobbying watchdog has said would “make it a more comprehensive system”.
“Any political party committed to ethics and integrity should make transparency a standard feature of their engagement with outside interests. Parties should be open about who is getting access to them, and encourage those attending events like these to complete their lobbying returns in quick time.”
www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/scottish-labour-conference-lobbying-press-banned/?utm_source=webpushr&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=scottihs%20labour%20presseHy2dzwr2P
Exclusive: Party has refused to provide a list of sponsors and attendees at Glasgow forum for ‘high-level’ discussions
Scottish Labour has blocked journalists from attending a lobbying event for business which is running alongside its party conference in Glasgow this week.
A number of frontbench figures will appear at the Scottish Labour Business Forum, which will “allow C-suite business leaders an opportunity for high level discussion with senior UK and Scottish Labour politicians”.
While Labour members, trade union delegates and the press will be milling around the main conference at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, business leaders will mix with senior politicians and party officials just around the corner at a sold-out private event in the Crowne Plaza hotel.
While press were able to attend the UK party’s recent business conference in London, when asked a Scottish Labour spokesperson told openDemocracy that "there will be no press accreditation for our Business Forum event," and refused to provide a copy of the agenda or a list of attendees.
Tom Brake, director of standards campaign group Unlock Democracy, said: "Good habits are formed in youth. Some of these MPs could be ministers in the next government. They could set an early good example, get ahead of the game, and publish details of whom they are meeting and why, just as they will need to do in Government. This will reassure the public that they are listening to all sides of the argument and won't be influenced only by business interests."
As the requirements for transparency around lobbying differ in Scotland from England and Wales, certain lobbyists will have to register their engagements with MSPs at the conference in the next set of lobbying returns, which are published every six months.
However, there is no requirement for lobbyists to register their attempts to influence opposition parties in Westminster. Campaigners have previously called for changes to the lobbying transparency system to include opposition lobbying, which the head of the lobbying watchdog has said would “make it a more comprehensive system”.
“Any political party committed to ethics and integrity should make transparency a standard feature of their engagement with outside interests. Parties should be open about who is getting access to them, and encourage those attending events like these to complete their lobbying returns in quick time.”
www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/scottish-labour-conference-lobbying-press-banned/?utm_source=webpushr&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=scottihs%20labour%20presseHy2dzwr2P