The United Kingdom has launched a review of its existing lobbying transparency framework. The independent Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC), which advises the government on standards in public life, has published a report recommending significant changes to the current system. If implemented, these proposals could represent the most substantial reform of the UK’s lobbying transparency regime in more than a decade.
Importantly, this is not about creating an entirely new system. Rather, it is about improving one that has been operating for years. That is precisely what makes the UK’s experience particularly relevant.
Lobbying has long been an integral part of the UK’s parliamentary democracy. Engagement between businesses, professional associations, civil society organisations and public authorities has traditionally been shaped by parliamentary practice, political culture and well-established standards of public service. However, dedicated legislation governing the transparency of certain lobbying activities was introduced only in 2014 with the adoption of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act. The Act established the Register of Consultant Lobbyists, which became operational in 2015.
After more than ten years of practical implementation, UK public institutions have accumulated sufficient experience to evaluate how effectively the system works. The current review is therefore not a response to the absence of regulation. Instead, it reflects a recognition that the existing framework no longer fully meets today’s expectations for transparency and public accountability.
Among the Commission’s key recommendations are expanding registration requirements to cover a broader range of lobbying activity, increasing transparency around contacts with public officials, creating a single digital platform that brings together lobbying disclosures and government transparency data, and strengthening enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance. Many of these proposals would require legislative changes before they could be implemented.
For Ukraine, the significance of this development lies not so much in the individual recommendations themselves.
Following the launch of the Transparency Register on 1 September 2025, Ukraine’s Law on Lobbying entered into practical operation. The Ukrainian framework already provides for a Transparency Register, regular reporting by registered lobbyists, and disclosure of information on lobbying objectives, contractual relationships, financial indicators, ultimate beneficiaries and other information required by law.
Ukraine is only beginning to build practical experience under its new lobbying framework. Public authorities, the professional community and market participants are now entering the first stage of implementing the legislation while simultaneously discussing its future development and possible improvements.
In this context, the UK’s experience should not be viewed as a model to be copied. Every country develops its own lobbying transparency framework according to its constitutional system, legal tradition and political culture. The real value of the British experience lies elsewhere. It demonstrates that adopting legislation is not the final stage of institutional development. Practical implementation, evolving communication channels, technological change and rising public expectations inevitably lead governments to reassess and refine existing rules.
The UK’s review of its lobbying transparency framework is therefore unlikely to be the last. For Government Relations professionals, this offers an important reminder that lobbying transparency is not a static regulatory model but an institution that evolves alongside government, business and society.
