Keir Starmer needs to make bold changes on ethics

From clothes to football tickets, Keir Starmer has accepted by far the most in gifts of any MP since the 2019 election. So after a summer when rows about appointments by ministers dominated the news, the autumn has brought a series of stories about hospitality and gifts. The row has been overshadowing any other announcement the government was hoping to land, with cabinet ministers seeing interviews focus on the gift issue rather than their policy agenda. There is a real risk that the narrative is set for Labour’s first conference as the governing party since 2009. To shift the story, and return the focus on what Labour actually wants to achieve in government, the prime minister should use the gathering in Liverpool as an opportunity to get back on the front foot on ethics and standards in government.  

Starmer has not broken any rules, but his government is facing widespread criticism

Starmer has declared all the gifts and hospitality that he has received in the Commons’ register of interests, and has been clear that his team have sought advice multiple times (presumably from the Commons authorities) as to what he needs to declare.  

But following the letter of the rules has not prevented accusations that he’s failing to meet the spirit of them (just like David Cameron’s lobbying for Greensill during the pandemic). From appointments to donations, there has been a steady drip of stories that is beginning to undermine the strong position on standards the Labour Party took in opposition. Sleaze scandals tend to stick, and whether Starmer or his colleagues feel some of the criticism is fair or not, ultimately they need to take bold action to reassert the commitments made in opposition – otherwise he risks being tarred with the “they’re all the same” brush he worked hard to avoid.

Starmer needs to draw a line under the issue, with a bold set of actions

The prime minister must set out his stall on standards and ethics in government. That includes getting the basics right, but also setting out the programme for reform of ethics and standards in government. Conference is a chance to change the tone; then when he is back in Westminster there are three things the prime minister should do:

• Publish the updated ministerial code. The code and foreword are an important signalling device across government. Starmer needs to publish his – by the time parliament returns he will have taken longer than all other PMs, other than Theresa May, to publish.

  
• Confirm the independent adviser has the powers to initiate investigations into breaches of the code. This is something Labour committed to in opposition and needs to be included in the new code. This would go a long way to show that ethics in government is not just the prime minister marking their own homework.
   
• Set out the details of the Ethics and Integrity Commission. This was the centre piece of Labour’s ethics and standards policy in opposition. Now is the time to start converting the commitment into a detailed plan for delivering the new watchdog. Starmer should set out its powers, make the relevant senior appointments, and get the new commission in place as soon as possible.  

But above and beyond this, the government needs to realise that – given the strength of their commitment in opposition to govern differently – it must set the tone on standards. Each decision must be judged by whether it lives up to the promises Labour made in opposition to restore trust in politics. There is pressure on them, from both the wider public and the press, to live up to the standards they worked so hard to establish before the general election. With trust in politicians remaining low, party conference could either be a moment where standards overshadow the story the party wants to tell, or a moment to tell the public what the party really stands for.