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Anti-sleaze reforms will go ahead, the deputy PM has said after three peers and an MP were accused of agreeing to do parliamentary work for payment.
Critics say the coalition is taking too long to bring in a statutory register of lobbyists despite a pledge to do so.
Nick Clegg, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said he and the PM were "determined" it should go ahead.
Lord Cunningham, Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Lord Laird, and MP Patrick Mercer all deny wrongdoing.
On Sunday Lord Laird resigned the Ulster Unionist party whip and Labour suspended the other two peers pending an investigation. Patrick Mercer resigned the Tory whip on Friday.
'Groundhog Day'
Mr Clegg said newspapers had been filled with "the murkier side of British politics" over the weekend and that the latest "unsettling but not surprising" allegations were symptomatic of a political system "long crying out for head-to-toe reform".
"It's the political equivalent of Groundhog Day: MPs accused of abusing their position; businesses of getting too close," he wrote.
He added it was disappointing to the Lib Dems "that moves to introduce elections to the House of Lords were blocked" and said he remained committed to "the view that we should end the culture of safe seats - which effectively give MPs jobs for life".
He said: "We need to be realistic: there is no single, magical protection against an individual politician determined to behave unethically or inappropriately."
But he added: "I know that the absence of the [statutory lobbyists'] register from last month's Queen's Speech raised some concerns.
"So let me be clear: it will happen.
"Having consulted on the proposal, the detail is being looked at thoroughly in government."
On Sunday, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude suggested lobbying reform could get under way before the 2015 election.
Salvaging reputations
Mr Clegg also said he wanted a new power of recall so that MPs found guilty of serious misconduct could be forced to resign.
But in the same newspaper, an article written by two Conservatives - MP Douglas Carswell and MEP Dan Hannan - argues for a different mechanism to give voters a greater say in removing MPs who abuse their position.
BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said that, once again, MPs and peers of all parties were struggling to find ways of salvaging the reputation of Parliament.
The debate follows the release by the Sunday Times of secretly-filmed footage that shows Lord Laird, Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate and Lord Cunningham appearing to offer to help a fake solar energy company.
The House of Lords code of conduct says peers cannot engage in "paid advocacy" - using their access to Parliament to make a profit.
On Saturday, the BBC's Panorama programme released footage - again secretly filmed - of Mr Mercer appearing to offer a Commons security pass to a fake Fijian firm that paid him £4,000 to ask parliamentary questions
All four have denied breaking parliamentary rules but have referred themselves to the standards watchdog.
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