Ahead of today's Westminster Hall Debate Iain Anderson, chairman of CIPR Public Affairs, came out in support of lobbyists to government.

The debate this morning, called by Paul Flynn, MP for Newport West, was due to look at Parliamentary lobbying. In a blogpost, Anderson wrote that ‘Our democracy does not need to be protected from lobbying. It needs to be protected from greed.’

Anderson welcomed the debate, saying, ‘It gives us the opportunity to make our case robustly’.

The CIPR has welcomed the statutory register of lobbyists whilst defending the role of lobbying as the open and ethical way to influence public policy.

Anderson hopes that the register will lead to a positive attitude to the role of lobbying in democracy, a level playing field for all those who seek to influence policy and increased professionalism in the public affairs sector.

In wake of the Liam Fox affair, lobbying has faced increased scrutiny, and regulation of its pathways is now on the national agenda. Anderson believes that total transparency is needed and says that a register, combined with the integrity of the majority of people involved would provide a considerable safeguard against corruption.

In his post, Anderson emphasized that the reality of lobbying activity is a far cry from the depiction of lobbyists in the headlines, giving positive examples such as Macmillan Cancer Support, which makes the case for free prescriptions for cancer patients.