Submission on Greensill

In May 2021, we submitted to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry into Propriety of Governance in Light of Greensill.

The revelations around Greensill have cast much-needed light on The revelations around Greensill have cast much-needed light on the way in which lobbying works in the UK. It has provided a textbook example of the ways in which those with access to decision-makers may abuse seek to use this for the benefit of private interests, and ultimately personal gain, highlighting just how much lobbying is conducted in a way that circumvents legislation and regulations intended to address it.

Transparency, integrity, and accountability are of critical importance to any functioning democratic system, and the UK is no exception. We urgently need reform to the UK’s systems for managing standards in public life, conflicts of interest, the revolving door, and lobbying.

In less than a year’s time, the US is due to host a global Summit for Democracies, with fighting corruption as one of its pillars. If the UK is to show that it is serious about addressing the threat of corruption and play an effective role in supporting democracy around the world, we urge the Committee to take this opportunity to push for long overdue reform.

In our submission, we make recommendations on the following areas:

• Ensuring high standards and effective codes of conduct

• Managing conflicts of interest

• Managing the revolving door

• Effective Lobbying regulation