NIS News Bulletin, The Hague, 19/12/2007

A clear majority of 56 percent of MPs trusts lobbyists. One in five MPs have little or no confidence in such people, research by lobbying consultancy bureau Public Matters shows.

Transport sector lobbyists have the best image, with 88 percent of MPs saying they have reasonable to a lot of confidence in them. Tobacco lobbyists score worst: 80 percent of MPs have little or no trust in them. Among alcohol lobbyists, this proportion is 68 percent and among those promoting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry, 64 percent.

If lobbyists want to be effective, they must have personal talks with MPs, according to the research. According to four out of five MPs, a meeting is the most effective means of lobbying. Practically no MP would find SMS messages from a lobbyist effective. An e-mail is even more pointless.

Lobbyists must also be well-informed, the parliamentarians say. "The quality of information is a very important hallmark of confidence. If it is not right one time, then I will be less inclined the next time to do something with information from the organisation," as one parliamentarian put it.