Cameron in 2010: “I believe that it is increasingly clear that lobbying in this country is getting out of control… Some MPs are approached over one hundred times a week by lobbyists. Much of the time this happens covertly.”
In 2021, Cameron acknowledges: “As a former prime minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation.”
He went on to add: “Concern has been raised about the nature of my contact [with chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Matt Hancock] via text message and email. I understand that concern, but context is important: at that time the government was – quite rightly – making rapid decisions about the best way to support the real economy and welcomed real time information and dialogue.”
Cameron in 2010: “This isn’t a minor issue with minor consequences. Commercial interests – not to mention government contracts – worth hundreds of billions of pounds are potentially at stake.”
In 2021, Cameron writes, “While I understand the concern about the ability of former ministers – and especially prime ministers – to access government decision makers and the sense, and reality, of ease of access and familiarity, I thought it was right for me to make representations on behalf of a company involved in financing a large number of UK firms.”
Cameron in 2010: “In this party, we believe in competition, not cronyism. We believe in market economics, not crony capitalism. So we must be the party that sorts all this out.”
The current government has been beset with allegations of “crony COVID contracts”, covering billions of bounds of work given to firms connected to ministers and the governing party.
Cameron in 2010: “We believe in social responsibility… Dealing with the lobbying issue may be painful, but it needs to happen and because we are from a new generation at ease with openness and accountability, because we believe in social responsibility not state control, we will clean things up.”
As prime minister, Cameron oversaw the introduction of a lobbying register in 2014, which drew criticism (including from within the lobbying industry) over its voluntary nature that left it filled with loopholes, and its lack of effective sanctions for “rogue” lobbyists.
In 2021, Cameron says, “In my representations to government, I was breaking no codes of conduct and no government rules. The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists has found that my activities did not fall within the criteria that require registration.”
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Seth Thevoz | Radio Free (2021-04-12T15:45:51+00:00) David Cameron then and now: How the ex-PM changed his tune on lobbying. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2021/04/12/david-cameron-then-and-now-how-the-ex-pm-changed-his-tune-on-lobbying/
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