The UK government has agreed a five-week delay for consultation about its controversial Lobbying Bill, as it faced the prospect of defeat in the House of Lords.
During the short pause, ministers say they will "consult widely all of the interested parties, members of this House and the many others outside".
Lord Wallace said this evening (5 November 2013) that he would draw on the work of the Commission on Civil Society and Democratic Engagement, chaired by the former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries.
The Commission, supported by Ekklesia and a wide range of other NGOs and charities, has warned that Part 2 of the Transparency in Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning, and Trade Union Administration Bill risks "profoundly undermining the very fabric of our democracy" by shackling non-party advocacy groups a year before election time.
Trade unions are similarly concerned that Part 3 of the Bill will tie them up in unnecessary and restrictive red tape, while Part 1 is inadequate to tackle abuses of corporate lobbying – the ostensible reason for the drafting of the bill, and the subject of considerable public and media concern.
Critics have called the government's proposed legislation a "gagging bill".
Lord Harries said tonight that the five-week delay was a “very, very short period indeed.”
The former bishop added: “The Government’s Lobbying Bill will prevent charities from campaigning for fear of breaking the law. The proposals, which have been hurried through without any consultation, will stifle debate and are totally unacceptable in a democratic society.”
Peers have received emails, phone calls and tweets from nearly 60 NGOs and many individuals since Monday morning, asking for a pause to address manifest problems with both the propriety and workability of the bill.
In the end a rebellion was headed off by the government delaying the Committee stage of Part 2 of the Bill until 16 December 2013 (far less than the three months asked of it), by agreeing to raise the regulatory threshold (though as yet unspecified), by agreeing to consider raising the new constituency spending threshold, by agreeing to consult widely to address the whole range of concerns that have been raised, by acknowledging problems with the definition in the PPERA 2000 legislation, and by agreeing to produce a report before Committee stage for peers to scrutinise.
Simon Barrow, co-director of the Christian political think tank Ekklesia, commented: "This is a significant step forward in a reconsidering a hasty and potentially dangerous piece of legislation, but it is far from a victory until the government genuinely takes on board the concerns of the voluntary sector, churches, civic advocacy groups, trade unions and many others.
"In parts 2 and 3 of the Transparency in Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning, and Trade Union Administration Bill there are provisions which could criminalise the legitimate and transparent activity of such groups in the run-up to elections, while political parties backed by corporate interests spend millions of pounds virtually unchallenged.
"Voluntary organisations are a vital outlet for citizen concern and engagement with public issues. At a time when there is a vital need to extend democratic participation, and when there is unprecedented concern about the unaccountability of corporate power and the dominant political class, it is entirely inappropriate to be imposing significant limits on civic democratic involvement and free speech.
"It is also important to realise that five weeks is unlikely to be long enough to consult seriously and overhaul the bill. What we have been offered is a 'breather', not a proper pause of the kind we and others would like to see. Government should commit to lengthening the delay if needed, and should engage directly with the Commission on Civil Society and Democratic Engagement."
Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: "This is an encouraging move but the government must now use this extra time to solve the problems with its rushed legislation. We still need to see substantial changes in order to ensure normal charity campaigning, which has been part of public life in this country for decades, is truly protected.”
Michael Burrell, chair of the Association of Professional Political Consultants, added: "The government's decision to pause this flawed Lobbying Bill is absolutely the right decision. Ministers need to think long and hard about how best they can ensure genuine transparency for all of the UK"s lobbying industry.”
Alexandra Runswick, the director of Unlock Democracy, added: “Part 2 of the Lobbying Bill has not been consulted on and received no pre-legislative scrutiny so the government’s decision to pause and consult on these proposals is very much to be welcomed. There is a lot to be done in a very short time frame to improve these proposals and ensure that that they don’t stifle voluntary sector campaigning which is a vital part of our democracy.
"Had this bill been passed the uncertainty produced by complex and ambiguous regulations would have a chilling effect on campaigns in the run-up to an election. Now the government has a chance to address those fears. We look forward to working with the government to ensure that revised bill does not restrict the everyday activities of charities and campaigning groups.”
The process for consultation and further work on the lobbying bill has not been clarified by the government yet.
"This bill is still a very real threat to legitimate campaigning and we still have a big fight still on our hands," another political reform campaigner said this evening.
* Read the full Commission on Civil Society and Democratic Engagement report here: 'Non-party campaigning ahead of elections' - http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/19330
* Previous Ekklesia statement: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/19331
* More on the Bill from Ekklesia: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/lobbyingbill
* 'Government needs to rethink Lobbying Bill, says Christian think-tank': http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/19392
* CCSDE briefing on the case for a 3-month pause on Part 2 of the bill (*.PDF Adobe Acrobat document): http://civilsocietycommission.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Commission...
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