The preferred approach in the UK, as in New Zealand is to regulate the object of interest group activity, rather than interest groups themselves (Malone: 6).
As a result of ongoing concerns with the integrity of parliamentarians, and government institutions, there has been growing interest in the regulation of lobbying.
A report by the Public Administration Select Committee of the House of Commons in 2009 strongly recommended the establishment of a register of lobbying activity to capture information about lobbyists and those being lobbied. The report acknowledges the porous boundaries, and difficulties of definition ’ (PASC 2009: 6) in regulating the interaction between private interests and government.
The committee recommends a broad definition as the starting point for developing regulation “between those working in the public sector and those attempting to influence their decisions (PASC 2009: 6).”
The recently elected Conservative-Liberal Government included in their collation agreement a commitment to establish a compulsory register of interest groups and indicates a political desire for interest group regulation there as well.
