Keir Starmer needs to crack down on misconduct in politics, John Major says
Keir Starmer needs to reset standards in public life and bring in proper sanctions before trust in the UK system is damaged beyond salvage, John Major has said.The former Conservative prime minister said proposals for an ethics commission appeared to be “in the long grass” but No 10 could strengthen the Nolan principles of public life and make sure there was punishment for misconduct within the standards framework.In a speech to mark the 30th anniversary of the Nolan principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership, which Major brought in as prime minister, he said the system was still a good one but needed to be more enforceable.With No 10 rethinking the idea of setting up a new ethics commission, as promised in the Labour manifesto, Major said it was time for action to improve the system.“It has been our past practice to offer guidance on good conduct, and trust it will be delivered.
That was the Nolan approach.But experience has taught us that no rules can deal with individuals prepared to ignore them, and sometimes sanctions are required.“The problem is that to rely on convention leaves loopholes for those with lax scruples.That being so, it is time to strengthen the safeguards around propriety, to ensure our public life is as free from fault as we wish it to be.”He said the misconduct of a small minority of politicians has left trust at too low a level, citing scandals in political funding, the award of honours, lobbying, “unsavoury” behaviour, bullying and Partygate, as well as whole governments breaking or bending the law and shielding their own colleagues from censure.
His suggestions for improvement include:Asking the House of Lords advisory commission to scrutinise the suitability of political peerages as well as their propriety,Giving statutory powers to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments so they can impose sanctions on former politicians and officials who flout time-limited lobbying bans,Ensuring the government responds swiftly to recommendations from the committee on standards in public life,New protections to prevent wealthy foreign interests influencing politics through mega donations,A cap on individual contributions is under consideration.
Returning the electoral commission to being an independent body free of government guidance.Major said he hoped Starmer would strengthen the system against abuse.“With a few tweaks, the Nolan system can become an even more formidable protection against bad behaviour,” he told an audience at the Institute for Government.“I know our present government promised a new ethics commission but, so far, this seems to be stuck in the long grass.“Concerns about propriety are well made but I see no need to reinvent the wheel.
My very friendly advice to the prime minister would be to stiffen up Nolan, and leave the ethics proposal where it is.”Major said Britain previously had a widely envied reputation for being free of corruption and bad practice.“I regret the slow erosion of that reputation which we would once have thought indestructible,” he said.“It is time for us to reverse this trend before the damage becomes beyond salvage.”No 10 has come under scrutiny over its failure to bring in a new ethics watchdog almost a year after the election.
This month, the House of Commons public administration committee said it was launching an inquiry to push the government on what has happened to its ethics commitments.It was one of Starmer’s main manifesto pledges that the Labour government would “establish a new independent ethics and integrity commission, with its own independent chair, to ensure probity in government”.The party promised to “restore confidence in government and ensure ministers are held to the highest standards”, and to enforce restrictions on ministers lobbying for companies they used to regulate, with meaningful sanctions for those breaching the rules.Government sources said work was continuing on the ethics and integrity commission, but suggested that voters cared more about tough outcomes in relation to misconduct than about the process of setting up new bodies.Insiders also pointed to the fact that Starmer had pushed out two ministers who failed to uphold high enough standards under the current rules.
Reeves promised oil industry ‘quid pro quo’ over windfall tax in private meeting
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told a fossil fuel company the industry would receive a “quid pro quo” in return for higher taxes on its windfall profits, it can be revealed.In a meeting with the Norwegian state energy company Equinor on 27 August, Reeves suggested that the government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) subsidies were a payoff for oil firms being hit with a higher tax rate.Minutes of the meeting obtained by DeSmog and seen by the Guardian state that Equinor’s CEO, Anders Opedal, raised concerns over the energy profits levy – also known as the “windfall tax” – and “its impact on the value” of Equinor’s UK portfolio.In response, Reeves said that raising the windfall tax from 35% to 38% was a “manifesto commitment”, but stated that “Equinor should recognise the quid pro quo – the funds raised enable government investment in CCUS etc”.CCUS is the controversial practice of trapping the emissions produced by fossil fuel plants before they enter the atmosphere
Keir Starmer needs to crack down on misconduct in politics, John Major says
Keir Starmer needs to reset standards in public life and bring in proper sanctions before trust in the UK system is damaged beyond salvage, John Major has said.The former Conservative prime minister said proposals for an ethics commission appeared to be “in the long grass” but No 10 could strengthen the Nolan principles of public life and make sure there was punishment for misconduct within the standards framework.In a speech to mark the 30th anniversary of the Nolan principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership, which Major brought in as prime minister, he said the system was still a good one but needed to be more enforceable.With No 10 rethinking the idea of setting up a new ethics commission, as promised in the Labour manifesto, Major said it was time for action to improve the system.“It has been our past practice to offer guidance on good conduct, and trust it will be delivered
‘He just told me lies to have sex with a teenage girl’: Natalie Fleet MP on grooming, statutory rape and fighting back
At 15, she began seeing an older man and conceived her beloved daughter. It was years before she properly understood it as abuse. Now she is working tirelessly in parliament for other survivorsNatalie Fleet is nervous about this interview. Her assistant has warned me and Fleet tells me several times, before and during. “I just feel sick,” she says
Keir Starmer to chair emergency Cobra meeting to discuss Israel-Iran conflict
The UK government will have to sign off on the US use of its Diego Garcia base in any bombing raid on Iran, it has emerged, as ministers gathered to discuss a range of scenarios amid further increasing tensions in the region.The prime minster, Sir Keir Starmer, chaired an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the UK’s response to the crisis in the Middle East which could escalate further should the US enter the conflict between Israel and Iran.After the prime minister landed back in Britain following the G7 summit in Canada, he brought together ministers and senior officials to update the UK’s response beyond urging de-escalation.But with Donald Trump still not revealing what action he may take, the UK government is working on a series of options dependent on whether the US pursues military action, and if it asks allies for support at any stage.One key issue for the UK would be whether to give permission for the US to fly B-2 stealth bombers from the Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean to attack Iran’s nuclear enrichment site, which is between 80 and 90 metres inside a mountain at Fordow
UK benefits system could collapse if payments are not cut, Liz Kendall says
Britain’s benefits system faces collapse without cuts to disability payments, Liz Kendall has said, as the government published plans that put it on a collision course with dozens of angry Labour MPs.Kendall published her welfare reform bill on Wednesday, confirming it would lead to benefit cuts for 950,000 people by 2030. She said the country’s £326bn social security net might cease to exist if costs continued to escalate.The bill includes several concessions designed to win over fractious Labour MPs as ministers look to ward off the biggest rebellion of Keir Starmer’s premiership. But the efforts were met with hostility by many in the party, who said they still intended to vote against the bill next month
DWP says transitional payments scheme for those losing Pip ‘one of most generous ever’ – UK politics live
The Department for Work and Pensions has now published the text of the universal credit and personal independence payments bill. It runs to 16 pages, and it’s here.Here are the explanatory notes.And there are two impact assessments – here and here.In its news release, the DWP confirms that the plans include a three-month transitional payment for people who are losing the personal independence payment
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