STOP PRESS

20th APRIL 2010

Yesterday the Conservatives said they backed a statutory register for lobbying. But today it emerges that the commitment, made by the Tory manifesto writer Jeremy Hunt himself, was in fact a gaffe.

The Tories have since confirmed that they’re going to stick to their plans for self regulation – plans which are extremely popular with lobbyists but are derided as woefully inadequate by transparency campaigners and the other two political parties.

Yesterday we welcomed what looked like a major breakthrough but today we’re back to square one where the Tories are concerned. What can be going on when the manifesto writer himself says one thing only to be rebuked by Central Office hours later? Could it be that pressure from behind the scenes from the lobbying industry is throwing policy on transparency into disarray?