“UK Labour Party to Bar Former Ministers from Lobbying for 5 Years After Leaving Office”
The UK Labour Party plans to prevent former ministers and civil servants from lobbying the government for at least 5 years following their departure from office. Offenders would face potential fines. The proposal is part of a broader effort to clean up Westminster, which comes in the wake of several high-profile incidents related to ethics. Labour’s Integrity and Ethics Commission would oversee such regulations and have the power to investigate ministerial conduct and impose sanctions.
These measures follow calls by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, an anti-corruption watchdog, to prohibit former ministers and civil servants from working for private companies for five years after leaving office. The party’s national political forum will review the proposal for more strenuous regulation and the creation of an integrity and ethics commission.
Previous bodies, such as Corporate Appointments Advisory Board (Acoba), have typically only barred former government officials from lobbying for less than two years. In 2021, Acoba chairman Lord Eric Pickles called for more powers to be given to the “essentially toothless” Acoba. Its decisions can be overridden by influential individuals.
The ban follows high-profile cases of lobbying involving former politicians and officials, including former Prime Minister David Cameron, who was discovered to be lobbying government officials repeatedly on behalf of Greensill Capital, his former employer. Additional cases include former Cabinet Minister Owen Paterson, who resigned as a Conservative MP after Parliament’s Standards Commissioner discovered he had committed a “gross violation of paid attorney” on behalf of two companies.
Additional Piece:
While the Labour Party’s latest proposals could be viewed as a step in the right direction for greater transparency and ethical practice within the UK government, it is important to recognize that such regulations can only go so far in terms of preventing undue influence and corruption.
In the era of digital media and intense political polarization, the pressure on governments and their officials to act in alignment with partisan interests is immense. Consequently, policies that merely restrict lobbying behavior may prove insufficient. A more holistic approach that prevents conflicts of interest both inside and outside of the government would have far-reaching benefits and promote better accountability.
There are a few different strategies that could be used to encourage public officials to act in the public interest instead of their party’s interests. For example, some countries have adopted pay structures that ensure officials are paid enough to live on modestly but are not incentivized to seek additional income from outside sources. This system increasingly works well in nations like Singapore, which boasts an excellent record of low corruption through strict regulation.
Another approach might be bolstering ‘ethics’ training for officials who become involved in the government. Such initiatives typically focus on promoting ethical decision-making and fostering principles of behavior that guide decision-making. These programs can help establish an ethical environment within the government and create a culture of accountability among the officials.
While efforts to strengthen laws and regulations related to lobbying and more general ethical conduct are critical, they cannot be relied upon solely to protect against undue influence and related misconduct. Instead, focus needs to shift towards preventing such activities from taking place beforehand through the establishment of a broader system of values and accountability throughout the government.
Summary:
The Labour Party in the UK plans to bar former ministers and officials from lobbying the government for five years after leaving office and impose fines on violators. The proposed Integrity and Ethics Commission would oversee this regulation, which occurs amid calls by other organizations for longer periods required for post-government work with private companies in the interest of preventing corruption. Previous committees have demonstrated limitations in curbing undue influence. The reported priority is creating a broader, more holistic system to promote accountability and prevent conflicts of interest.
—————————————————-
| Article | Link |
|---|---|
| UK Artful Impressions | Premiere Etsy Store |
| Sponsored Content | View |
| 90’s Rock Band Review | View |
| Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide | View |
| Nature’s Secret to More Energy | View |
| Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss | View |
| MacBook Air i3 vs i5 | View |
| You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield | View |
Former ministers will be barred from lobbying the UK government for at least five years after leaving office and offenders will be fined under a Labor government, according to plans to be presented to the party’s political body this summer.
Senior officials said the move, which comes as the party finalizes its general election manifesto, was part of a wider attempt by Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner to “clean up Westminster” following a series of disputes related to ethics.
In 2020, the Financial Times reported that former Prime Minister David Cameron had he repeatedly lobbied government officials on behalf of Greensill Capital, his then employer.
As of 2021, former Cabinet Minister Owen Paterson has resigned as a Conservative MP after Parliament’s Standards Commissioner discovered he had committed a “gross violation of paid attorney” on behalf of two companies.
Labour’s anti-lobbying plan follows an appeal by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the anti-corruption watchdog, to bar former ministers and civil servants from working for private companies for five years after leaving office.
The party’s national political forum will also consider a proposal to create an integrity and ethics commission, which would have the power to investigate the conduct of ministers without the prime minister’s authorization and to impose sanctions. At the moment, the prime minister’s ethics adviser can only intervene at the request of Downing Street.
The body will replace the Corporate Appointments Advisory Board (Acoba), which reviews external appointments of former ministers and civil servants.
Acoba’s function is to prevent any suspicion that an appointment may be “a reward for past favors” or the risk that an employer might gain an improper advantage by appointing a former official with information about his competitors or upcoming government policies.
But while the watchdog has previously barred former government members from engaging in lobbying, those sentences usually run for less than two years.
In March 2022, Acoba said Lord Edward Udny-Lister, senior adviser to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to delay the move to DP9, a planning advisory group, by six months and not to lobby officials for two years.
The work is awaiting a decision from the body on the matter Sue Greyformer senior civil servant, he will have to take a long period of gardening leave before joining the party staff.
Last year Acoba chairman Lord Eric Pickles called for more powers for the “essentially toothless” body, saying its decisions could be overridden by “thick-skinned” individuals.
“The system is creaking and waiting for reform,” he said. “Without reforms, further scandals are inevitable.”
His remarks echo Rayner’s description of Acoba as a “toothless watchdog” in need of a stronger mandate.
In 2021, Lord Jonathan Evans, chairman of the commission on standards in public life, urged ministers to ban lobbying for up to five years after leaving office, with possible penalties for breaking the rules. But his recommendations have been largely ignored by the government.
Evans’ comments came after the FT revealed Cameron had sent numerous messages to former colleagues, including then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to grant Greensill, a supply chain finance firm, access to a Bank of England coronavirus loan scheme.
While Cameron’s efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, they led to 10 meetings between the supply chain finance firm and senior Treasury officials, raising questions about transparency and undue influence.
Cameron said his emails, messages and WhatsApp messages to ministers and officials were “not the right way for a former prime minister to interact with the government”.
A Labor spokesman confirmed that proposals to ban ministers from lobbying for five years after leaving office and to set up an ethics commission were on a draft list of policies to be considered by the national policy forum of the party, before the publication of its general election manifesto.
https://www.ft.com/content/9f6717a7-6c30-4bac-b619-f2e480adaa77
—————————————————-