Don't Let Lobbyists Buy Access to UK Government Officials!
- by: Judith B.
- recipient: David Cameron, Prime Minister, UK
One thousand, eight hundred pounds can buy you a lot of things, including access to senior government ministers, which is a boon for energy industry executives.
The Chemistry Club runs previously banned networking events providing company executives with valuable access to key decision makers, including senior MPs, special government advisors and cabinet ministers. For this service, companies are, unsurprisingly, happy to pay up to £1,800.
At its climate change events, executives from Shell, BP, and Gazprom get the opportunity to have quiet words with the government officials who decide on energy and environment policy.
Tell the UK government to stop allowing lobbyists the opportunity to influence government policy to such an extent. Dubious, paid-for networking events like these are, at the very least, on the borderline of corruption and have no place in the UK.
We the undersigned ask that the Chemistry Club networking events, where companies pay for their representatives to meet top government officials, be banned once again.
These meetings are not in the public interest and they smack very heavily of corruption. The coalition government needs to back up its claims of introducing transparency with real actions.
We ask that you end these meetings, which benefit industry lobbyists, not the UK people. When lobbyists want to make their points, they should use the avenues available to everybody else, not pay for direct access to decision makers.
Thank you for your attention.
