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Parliamentary Standards Bill

I am grateful to those who have contributed to this short debate. There is consensus that it is a good thing for Members of another place to continue to have outside interests in addition to being Ministers and office holders. We were told when the rise of professional lobbyists started; I think that it started a little before the date that the noble Lord, Lord Lester, suggested. When I first entered another place, the most efficient lobby, by a considerable degree, was the National Farmers’ Union. It was extremely experienced at lobbying and had done it for many years, although it was not alone in the field. I entirely accept that, since then, there has been a huge rise in the number of professional lobbyists and, for that matter, a decline in the number of MPs with substantial outside interests.