Should we pity Eirian Walsh Atkins (EWA) who resigned from her job on Friday having been caught tweeting about Unlock Democracy (UD), a leftish leaning campaign group seeking, inter alia, greater transparency in the lobbying industry (to which they belong)? EWA wished that UD would die and offered to help them along. The problem was that EWA's job was as head of constitutional policy in the Cabinet Office, a position that sits on the front line of government policy making just where it meets the lobbying world.
Unlike many lobbyists who have a cosy relationship with government departments, UD encourages people to write to their MPs (lobbying) and raise issues of constitutional import. UD is not well funded, although Joseph Rowntree Foundation money has come their way in the past, but is very active.
The following 2 links provide details:
http://www.spinwatch.org/blogs-mainmenu-29/tamasin-cave-mainmenu-107/5479-government-lobbying-reforms-in-disarray
http://unlockdemocracy.org.uk/blog/entry/whitehalls-cosy-relationship-with-the-lobbying-industry-needs-to-die
Sadly I cannot link to the Times as I won't pay cash to a Murdoch newspaper.
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