Amid the Media Noise About ‘Cronyism’, Keir Starmer Is Quietly Reforming Political Standards for the Better

Keir Starmer has quietly published his new Ministerial Code, setting out the standards required of Government ministers for their conduct and behaviour. 

If ministers break the Code, the expectation is generally that they will be sacked, so any rule-changes have a significant bearing on what happens in the event of a political scandal.

The Prime Minister has received some criticism for the several-month delay to publishing his new Code, with most PMs putting out their own versions within a few weeks of office. 

The criticism follows a series of stories about “cronyism” in Starmer’s new Government, following the appointment of Labour party donors to Government roles.

However, while it is early days in the new administration, the new Code does include several weighty and positive reforms, many of which have long been demanded by transparency campaigners.

These include:

• The PM’s independent adviser on ministerial standards will now be able to initiate investigations without Prime Ministerial approval (an issue that plagued Boris Johnson’s Government in particular) 
• Ministers’ gifts and hospitality records will be published monthly rather than quarterly (ending a loophole where backbenchers faced tougher transparency rules than actual ministers in power) 
• Cash values will now be disclosed for all gifts (ending an absurd loophole)
• Outdated limits on the number of special advisers (i.e. political SpAds) have been removed (Britain lags far behind many Western countries in terms of staffing capacity for ministers)
• Ministers must explicitly commit to following international law, which could help avoid Johnson-era headlines such as: “UK bill will break international law ‘in limited way’, minister says” 
• The Ministerial Code has been restructured with ethical guidelines front and centre

Backtracking?

Despite those transparency wins, the fledgling Labour Government has reversed a commitment made by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to publish monthly data on meetings between ministers and external organisations, maintaining the quarterly reporting schedule. 

Labour minister Baroness Twycross told the Lords earlier this month: “Work on the new register [for ministerial gifts and travel] is progressing and further details will be published in due course. 

“Transparency data for ministerial meetings and overseas travel, special advisers and senior officials will continue to be published quarterly as it has been under previous administrations.”

Several key manifesto promises on political reform also remain unaddressed (so far):

• There’s no new independent appointment process for Independent Adviser, or a duty on Government to publish their findings within eight weeks, as previously recommended 
• No progress yet on extending voting rights to 16-year-olds 
• No timeline yet for introducing an 80-year retirement age for peers or capping their numbers
• Limited action on election integrity and political funding reform
• The Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion position remains unfilled after ~900 days (by definition, a long-running problem)

And Labour’s promised ‘Ethics and Integrity Commission’ – promoted during the election as a cornerstone of its political reform agenda – also remains elusive, with no details about its structure or powers.

Lobbying industry newsletter Politico London Influence reports that ministers are considering establishing the Commission as an umbrella organisation – bringing together existing bodies – rather than replacing current watchdogs.

There is also no news on when the first Covid corruption commissioner, to be introduced to claw back lost Covid contract billions, will be appointed (the expectation however is that it will be soon).

Duncan Hames from Transparency International UK told Politico: “We keenly await the appointment of a Covid corruption commissioner… The Prime Minister has now given a lead, but he really needs colleagues focussed on driving this agenda forward.”

Meanwhile, the toothless Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) watchdog is recruiting a new chair to replace outgoing Conservative chair Lord Pickles, suggesting it may continue largely in its current form. 

That’s despite earlier proposals for reform of the revolving-door regulator, which provides advice to former politicians and civil servants on conflicts of interest and what jobs they can take. 

ACOBA currently has no power to sanction people – like Boris Johnson – who ignore its advice and rulings, which are designed to limit cronyism and corruption. The recent Boardman review into lobbying had recommended that outgoing ministers should be forced to sign a commitment to abide by ACOBA advice on leaving office.

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Little Fanfare

We have heard little about all this though, for a number of reasons. Cynically, one could suggest that the Conservatives spent so long ignoring the recommendations of every review into lobbying (and taking part in scandals) that this topic isn’t high up their list.

And despite promises around ensuring integrity following partygate, PM Sunak’s Government introduced no significant reforms to tackle political misconduct. 

In contrast, the new Commons leader Lucy Powell has already, separately, clamped down on lobbying jobs among MPs, and launched a new Modernisation Committee to bring House of Commons rules into this century. 

Considering the progress, it’s a shame that these changes were put out in the week of the US election. Perhaps Keir Starmer doesn’t want a debate on ministerial standards right now.

The Government maintains the timing of the Code’s publication was put out as part of normal Government business. But it was, as would be expected, buried amid the US election chaos. 

While noting “more will be needed” to be done to restore trust in politics, Tim Durrant, programme director at the Institute for Government, strongly welcomed the updated Code. 

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“By bolstering the independence of his adviser, and setting out in no uncertain terms what he expects of his ministers, Keir Starmer has taken an important first step in improving standards in Government. 

“This is a wholesale, and long overdue, reset of ministerial standards,” Durrant said. 

As a Spotlight on Corruption spokesperson notes, the way forward is clear. We need a proper timeline for introducing further transparency reforms on lobbying and political finance. We need legally-binding safeguards to stop corrupt revolving-door appointments of former politicians to industries they used to regulate. And we need the proposed Ethics & Integrity Commission.

“Most importantly, the new Government must ensure that its upgrades to standards are enshrined in legislation that leaves a lasting legacy for future Governments to follow. This must include putting standards regulators on a statutory footing and ensuring they are properly resourced,” Spotlight on Corruption argues. 

Crucially though, unlike over the past decade, the door is actually open to further reforms. For all the talk of unfulfilled promises, these are early days for the new Government. More has been done to boost standards than 14 years of Conservative rule. 

The real test is whether these first steps are followed up, and whether they contribute to a permanent culture shift in years ahead. Because rules are only as strong as they are enforced, and we can’t afford to go back to the darkest days of sleaze.

Read the new Ministerial Code here.

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Josiah Mortimer also writes the On the Ground column, exclusive to the print edition of Byline Times.

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