Tag • #lobbying

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Government adviser on disruptive protest accused of conflict of interest

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 05:00

John Woodcock, whose review proposes bans for protest groups, has lobbying links to firms in arms and fossil fuel sectors

Activists have accused the government’s independent adviser on political violence of a conflict of interest, after it emerged that he had lobbying links to companies that would benefit from curbs to protesting.

John Woodcock, formerly a Labour MP and now a crossbench peer, has prepared a review of “far-left” involvement in disruptive protest , which includes activism against climate change and war. At the same time, he has been chairing and advising lobby groups representing arms manufacturers and fossil fuel firms.

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Conflict of interest concerns raised over MEPs’ second jobs

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 6 May - 04:00

Seven out of 10 have outside work with six earning more with work than as parliamentary representatives, analysis shows

Half a dozen members of the European parliament earn more from second jobs than as EU lawmakers, according to analysis that raises questions about potential conflicts of interest.

The campaign group Transparency International EU found that 70% of the European parliament’s 705 members have side jobs. Just over a quarter (26%) of side jobs were paid, with six lawmakers earning more than their €120,900 (£103,000) annual gross MEP salary .

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Make ministers declare WhatsApp contact with lobbyists, MPs say

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 2 May - 14:15

Committee say use of WhatsApp should be banned on official devices unless there is transparency

Ministers should have to publicly declare contact from lobbyists on WhatsApp or face a ban on its use on official government devices, a committee of MPs has said.

The public administration committee said current transparency measures did not command public confidence, in the wake of the Greensill scandal over David Cameron’s private lobbying of ministers on behalf of his employer.

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Watchdog rejects request to investigate Tory MP over City lobbying complaint

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 2 May - 13:00

Parliamentary commissioner for standards says there was not sufficient evidence to justify opening investigation into John Baron

Parliament’s standards watchdog has turned down a request to investigate a senior Conservative MP over whether he used his role on the Commons Treasury committee to lobby for changes to City rules.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, said a request submitted on behalf of campaign group Unlock Democracy had not provided any evidence that John Baron MP was not acting in the public interest, or breached any rule related to lobbying, that would be sufficient to justify opening an investigation.

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Chris Whitty urges MPs to ignore lobbying and pass smoking ban bill

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Tuesday, 16 April - 07:00

Exclusive: England’s chief medical officer says tobacco industry is the ‘one gainer from the death and disease’ caused by its products

Read Chris Whitty’s comment piece in full

Chris Whitty has said lobbying by big tobacco “needs to be addressed head on”, as email evidence emerged of campaigning tactics being used to put pressure on MPs to sink Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban bill.

The landmark legislation, which would bar anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes and make England the first country in the world to ban smoking, is due to be debated in parliament for the first time on Tuesday.

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Chancellor gave Fujitsu executive advice on gaining contracts

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Monday, 26 February - 16:00

Exclusive: Labour says emails show ‘same old informal route for Tory cronies appears to be fully open for business’

Jeremy Hunt gave advice at a Conservative fundraiser to a senior Fujitsu executive who lobbied him in relation to government spending on AI and supercomputers, according to released emails.

Keith Dear – a former Downing street adviser who leads the firm’s work on quantum, supercomputers and next-generation AI – wrote to Hunt a day after a Conservative party fundraiser at the end of September.

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Former British army chief joins Lynton Crosby’s lobbying firm

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 6 December - 13:15

Gen Sir Mark Carleton-Smith will support work on opportunities arising from Aukus defence pact

A former head of the British army has joined a lobbying firm run by the veteran Conservative party strategist Sir Lynton Crosby as it seeks to capitalise on business deals in the defence industry.

Gen Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, who until last year was one of the UK’s most senior military officers, will work as an adviser at Crosby’s influential Anglo-Australian consultancy, CT Group.

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Mathias Poujol-Rost ✅ · Tuesday, 2 May, 2023 - 08:59

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Greenwashing, entre-soi et déni des alternatives : une journée comme une autre dans la bulle bruxelloise

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Big Tech lobbyist language made it verbatim into NY’s hedged repair bill

news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 16 February, 2023 - 16:19 · 1 minute

Repair shop technician solders on laptop-size circuit board

Enlarge (credit: Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

When New York became the first state to pass a heavily modified right-to-repair bill late last year , it was apparent that lobbyists had succeeded in last-minute changes to the law's specifics. A new report from the online magazine Grist details the ways in which Gov. Kathy Hochul made changes identical to those proposed by a tech trade association.

In a report co-published with nonprofit newsroom The Markup , Maddie Stone writes that documents surrounding the drafting and debate over the bill show that many of the changes signed by Hochul were the same as those proposed by TechNet, which represents Apple, Google, Samsung, and other technology companies.

The bill would have required that companies that provide parts, tools, manuals, and diagnostic equipment or software to their own repair networks also make them available to independent repair shops and individuals. It saw heavy opposition from trade groups before its passing. New York Assemblymember Patricia Fahy, the bill's sponsor, told Grist that backers had to make "a lot of changes to get it over the finish line in the first day or two of June." The bill passed with broad bipartisan support, but it was pared down to focus only on small electronics.

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