This article is about political journalism in the UK. For other uses, see Lobby.
The terms the Lobby and Lobby journalists collectively characterise the political journalists in the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament. The term derives from the special access they receive to the Members' Lobby.[1]Lobby journalism refers to the news coverage, largely unattributed, generated by reporters from the political proceedings in Parliament.[2]
In the 1870s a list was drawn up of parliamentary reporters who were permitted to mingle with MPs in the Members' Lobby. According to the parliamentary press gallery this had become necessary after the speaker Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington had stopped members of the public wandering into the Members’ Lobby.[3] Only people, including reporters, on the list kept by the Serjeant at Arms would be given access.[4]
During the 20th century the nature of the Lobby evolved, from a secretive system whose existence was barely acknowledged, to a more or less formal briefing system, though still unattributable. During the government of John Major, cabinet secretary Lord Gus O'Donnell, agreed to allow lobby briefings to be attributed to "Downing Street sources".[3] Lobby members can be briefed by other government and opposition spokespeople, but the Lobby rules insist that the identity of sources must not be revealed.
The Lobby rules are developed and enforced by its members through a committee, not imposed by government or parliament. Although it is a subsidiary of the press gallery, it has long operated independently.[3]
An independent review of government communications in 2003, chaired by Bob Phillis, then chief executive of the Guardian Media Group, found that the Lobby system was not working effectively. The report, presented to the Cabinet Office in January 2004, concluded that the credibility of both government and the media are damaged by the impression that they are involved in a "closed, secretive and opaque insider process".[5]
According to evidence received by the review, editors and journalists disliked public information being used as "the currency in a system of favouritism, selective release and partisan spinning". Ministers and officials in turn complained about the media offering a partial and distorted version of events, "often with little relationship to what was said at lobby briefings and relying on off-the-record sources or, as some have alleged, deliberate misrepresentation".[5]
The Phillis review recommended that all major government media briefings should be on the record, live on television and radio and with full transcripts available promptly online. This recommendation was not acted on and many other recommendations were also "set aside or watered down".[6]
On 7 January 2019, television cameras were allowed in the Lobby for the first time ever, first shown on BBC News and then on Sky News a few hours after. However, the briefings themselves continued not to be televised.[citation needed]
In January 2020 the Government moved its twice-daily briefing sessions for journalists from the House of Commons to 9 Downing Street, against the wishes of many Lobby journalists.[7] In the same month, the Lobby chairman allowed for briefings to be reported live, after Guido Fawkes reporters live-tweeted them.[8]
On 3 February 2020 the Government refused to allow some members of the Lobby to receive part of a briefing. Government communications director Lee Cain, asked what grounds he had for selectively briefing to some political editors and not others, is reported to have replied "We’re welcome to brief whoever we like, whenever we like".[9] In response, the majority of the Lobby walked out of the event at Downing Street in protest. Responding to an urgent question in the Commons on the walkout the parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, Chloe Smith, said that briefings to smaller groups of Lobby journalists are "entirely normal, standard and routine, and have been so over successive Governments".[10] The Lobby walkout was commended by the Society of Editors, which called for a reversal of the Government decision.[11]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, government ministers, civil servants and other public sector officials took part in daily televised press conferences. Two televised prime ministerial statements, by Boris Johnson, were also made: on 23 March 2020 and 10 May 2020. Following these televised press conferences, it was announced in July 2020 that the afternoon lobby briefing would be replaced with a televised press conference from October 2020.[12][13]
Journalists who are members of the Lobby, along with other members of the press gallery or accredited for parliamentary broadcasting, are required to register other employment advantaged by their parliamentary pass. The interests are published in the Register of Journalists' Interests.[17]
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London, England.
Kevan David Jones is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham since 2001. He served as a defence minister under Gordon Brown, and resigned as a shadow defence minister in January 2016 in protest against a front bench reshuffle by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Reporters Without Borders is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as founded on the belief that everyone requires access to the news and information, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that recognizes the right to receive and share information regardless of frontiers, along with other international rights charters. RSF has consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie.
The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events. This is generally one of the galleries overlooking the floor of the house and can also include separate offices in the legislative or parliamentary buildings accorded to the various media outlets, such as occurs with the Strangers Gallery in the British House of Commons or the Canberra Press Gallery in the Australian Parliament.
The White House press corps is the group of journalists, correspondents, and members of the media usually assigned to the White House in Washington, D.C., to cover the president of the United States, White House events, and news briefings. Its offices are located in the West Wing.
9 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been used as a separate address to the better known 10 Downing Street since 2001 for various government functions.
A press pool, media pool or news pool is an arrangement wherein a group of news gathering organizations combine their resources in the collection of news. A pool feed is then distributed to members of the broadcast pool who are free to edit it or use it as they see necessary. In the case of print reporters, a written pool report is distributed to all members. A pool spray is a brief photo opportunity, for instance at the White House following a meeting.
Paul De Laire Staines is a British-Irish right-wing political blogger who publishes the Guido Fawkes website, which was described by The Daily Telegraph as "one of Britain's leading political blogsites" in 2007. The Sun on Sunday newspaper published a weekly Guido Fawkes column from 2013 to 2016. Born and raised in England, Staines holds British and Irish citizenship.
The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the Australian Parliament. The name derives from the press galleries, which are enclosed viewing areas above the chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which the President and the Speaker have allocated to the media.
David Whitton is a Scottish journalist, Labour Party politician and former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). He was elected to the Scottish Parliament for Strathkelvin and Bearsden in 2007, defeating the incumbent Independent MSP Jean Turner, and losing the seat at the 2011 election to Fiona McLeod of the Scottish National Party.
Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton is a British former political aide, journalist, and writer who served as Downing Street Press Secretary under Boris Johnson from November 2020 to April 2021.
Claire Louise Perry O'Neill is a British businesswoman and former politician who is the managing director for climate and energy at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, having previously served as Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth from 2017 to 2019. Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Devizes in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2019.
Guido Fawkes is a right-wing political website published by British-Irish political blogger Paul Staines.
Left Foot Forward (LFF) is a left-wing political news and comment site in the UK, established in 2009. Its creator, Will Straw, the son of Alice Perkins and Jack Straw, edited the newspaper until December 2010.
Operation Motorman was a 2003 investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office into allegations of offences under the Data Protection Act by the British press.
The Downing Street Press Secretary is an adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on news media and how to manage the image of the British government to the press. The position is part of the Prime Minister's Office and involves using information on what is happening in the UK and around the world, to decide on how the Prime Minister should present his or her reaction to the media. The incumbent also advises on how to handle news stories and other information which could affect the current Prime Minister or the Ministry.
Harry Cole is a British journalist who has been the political editor of The Sun since 2020, having previously been the deputy political editor of The Mail On Sunday.
Svitlana Zalishchuk is a politician, public leader, journalist, human rights campaigner and former member of Ukrainian Parliament.
Thomas Hedley Fairfax Harwood is a British journalist, political commentator, and television show host. He became the deputy political editor of GB News in March 2023. Harwood previously worked as a reporter for the right-wing political news website Guido Fawkes between 2018 and 2021, and was a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph, writing online columns from 2019 to 2021.
The Downing Street Press Briefing Room is a news media room located in 9 Downing Street where press conferences are hosted by the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers, and government officials. The Prime Minister also uses the room to give ministerial broadcasts to the country and the press.
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