Re your editorial (The Guardian view on the Cameron inquiry: democracy versus chumocracy, 13 April), chumocracy is too cosy a word. In the 18th century, they had other words for it. The men who benefited from public office awarded to friends, relatives and schoolmates, the sinecures, the monopolies of trade or the supply of the navy, the lucrative jobs and peerages given to former politicians or their wives, called it “the system”. It paid for thousands of aristocratic lifestyles and, probably, for more of the great houses and gardens of England than even slavery.
One, Cannons in north London, belonged to James Brydges, paymaster of the Queen’s forces – today he might be called chief procurement officer – who made £600,000 from the office between 1705 and 1713, the equivalent of £1.8bn today.
The radical writer William Cobbett knew the system for what it was: he called it “the old corruption”. The Guardian should now do the same.
Roderick Floud
Haddenham, Buckinghamshire
• Rafael Behr’s sorry tale of sleaze in the Johnson government (Britain believes it’s free of corruption. But there’s still the stench of decay, 13 April) was spot-on as usual. Where I do disagree is when he seems to suggest that Boris Johnson is in danger of heading into the same mire that engulfed John Major’s government in the 1990s. It is already in a far worse place. On top of rampant cronyism and corruption, it has illegally prorogued parliament and quite brazenly declared its intention to renege on treaty obligations and break international law.
Your editorial reminds us of the principles that should govern ministers’ conduct. This Tory administration has failed to live up to a single one. The problem for our country and our democracy is that not enough people seem to care. Or perhaps Covid has deprived us all of our sense of smell.
Jane Barrett
Buxton, Derbyshire
• The David Cameron lobbying story highlights the problems with the Lobbying Act which Mr Cameron himself introduced. It shows also that ministers need to be much more transparent. It is time for reform.
The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) represents the lobbying industry, and we are proud of the contribution our industry makes to public life. Without lobbyists, policymaking would be badly informed and ineffective. But all lobbying needs to be transparent, ethical and open, in line with the requirements that we impose on our members. They cannot hold parliamentary passes; they must declare the names of all of their staff and clients on a quarterly basis; and they must adhere to a rigorous code of conduct. All of these are far in excess of what the government currently demands.
We have proposed a programme to restore public confidence in the decision-making process: expand the Lobbying Act to cover all who lobby; ensure it applies to contact with senior civil servants and special advisers; stop ministers from becoming lobbyists for at least five years after they leave office; compel ministers to publish their meeting schedules; stop MPs and peers handing out parliamentary passes to non-parliamentary staff; and make all who sign up to the government’s lobbying register adhere to an independently enforced code of conduct.
The lobbying industry has far higher ethical standards than the government. It is time for the government to put that right. A new lobbying act built around those six reforms would be welcomed by professional lobbyists and should be a priority for the government.
Liam Herbert
Chair, public affairs board, PRCA
