Words: Amy Lurring (she/her)
Who are our representatives really accountable to? Is it the voters who elect them, or the donors who bankroll their access to power?
ABBA had it right: ‘it’s a rich man’s world.’ While they probably weren’t thinking of Westminster or Washington when they wrote their 1976 hit, they might as well have been. Today, lobbying is so tightly interwoven with politics that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Money no longer just buys influence, it also shapes the agenda. The threat lobbying poses to democracy is real. The practice blurs the line between representation and manipulation, transforming politics into a marketplace where influence is currency, access is for sale, and the public’s voice is consistently drowned out.
One of the most notorious lobbying factions in Western politics is the pro-Israel lobby. In the US, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has shaped foreign policy with near-total impunity for decades. Those who dared to challenge them risked political exile at best, and torrents of abuse at worst. Tides, however, are changing. The year 2025 marks the very first time that cracks have begun to show in the once-impenetrable force. Public opinion of Israel is transforming – and fast. 59% of Americans now hold an unfavourable view of the “Zionist state”, with nearly half believing it is committing genocide in Gaza. This represents an extraordinary reversal from only a few years ago, when bipartisan support for Israel was a given.
Shifts in public opinion are destabilising the hegemony of lobbyists in US politics. Several lawmakers have begun distancing themselves from AIPAC, publicly rejecting or returning donations. Congressman Seth Moulton recently announced he would return AIPAC funding, citing its close ties to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its hostility to a ceasefire in Gaza, thus justifying this decision. A generation ago, such moves would have been unthinkable. This is not just about individual conscience, it is about the shifting structure of political influence. As progressive movements, younger voters, and a considerable portion of the Jewish community turn away from Israel’s terror, the old calculus is breaking down. AIPAC’s multimillion-dollar spending machine can still buy attention, but it can no longer guarantee loyalty.
On home turf, the UK’s lobbying industry is facing its own reckoning. A 2024 Declassified UK investigation revealed that nearly 1 in 4 MPs – 180 out of 650 – had accepted funding, trips, or hospitality from pro-Israel lobby groups or individuals. The total funding exceeded £1.2 million, with over 130 Conservatives and 41 Labour MPs receiving donations. Even more troubling, the report found that multiple members of Starmer’s cabinet were amongst the top recipients. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper all received especially large sums. Suddenly, Cooper’s move to proscribe Palestine Action makes perfect sense.
The figures lobbyists are donating aren’t trivial. When these actors finance MPs’ travel, research, or even staff salaries, it raises profound questions about democratic integrity. Who are our representatives really accountable to? Is it the voters who elect them, or the donors who bankroll their access to power? Even when lobbyists act according to guidelines, the perception that money buys influence persists, corroding the trust of the electorate and normalising a political culture where access is transactional. Policy becomes a prize to be won by those who can afford it.
Unfortunately, the erosion of one powerful lobbying sector doesn’t mean the practice is waning. When one faction loses legitimacy, another rises. Tech giants, private health providers, and arms manufacturers remain deeply embedded in the political sphere. Take Palantir, a tech firm that has repeatedly won – and even sued for – major defence contracts by cultivating relationships with senior officials. Influence is no longer limited to campaign donations; lobbyists are interweaving themselves inside the very policy-making process.
The slow retreat of pro-Israel lobbyists shows that the battle against influence can be won. Grassroots pressure, social media exposure, and investigative journalism are forcing transparency once thought impossible, while younger politicians are increasingly rejecting lobbyist donations. The myth of “benign influence” is collapsing under the weight of evidence and outrage. Lobbying doesn’t have to be toxic, and the AIPAC’s decline proves resistance works, yet we must remember power never disappears – it adapts. Unless citizens stay vigilant, democracy will permanently remain on sale to the highest bidder.
ABBA’s lyric remains hauntingly true: ‘it’s still a rich man’s world’. The question is whether we’re happy to keep dancing to its tune.
