Politicians must not only observe the rules, but understand the principles behind them
3 min read
Keir Starmer says “rules really matter”. Yes, they do, but a sincere effort to comply with all the rules will not alone protect reputations.
So far, so obvious, but this is something I often found myself saying to colleagues about the Commons Code of Conduct, while serving on the Standards Committee.
Make every effort to comply with the rules, but don’t imagine technical compliance is the be-all and end-all. They are not a substitute for your own judgement, since you will be measured against the principles behind the rules. Using compliance with the rules as an excuse for unbecoming conduct is unedifying. This is why the latest donations episode is so damaging, not just for Starmer’s personal reputation, but for public confidence in our whole system.
This will not restore our own reputation for any of our own failings
Starmer insists “there is a massive difference between declarations and corruption”, adding, “declarations is about declaring so you and everybody else can see properly made declarations.” Right, but only up to a point. It is wrong to think that it’s fine to accept thousands of pounds worth of clothes as a gift from a major Labour donor at the same time that his government is inflicting harsh cuts on much poorer pensioners, whether declared or not.
Any decent and sensitive person would surely regret finding themselves exposed in this situation. It must be painfully embarrassing to him. He could have saved himself from all this by thinking beyond what the rules permit.
Inevitably, the Conservative Party has led the criticism about the failure to declare on time, but this echoes no more or less than the kind of outrage which Starmer and others levelled at Boris Johnson over who paid for the redecoration of the No 10 flat. In what is normal for party politics, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, but is this leading to anything positive, apart from satisfaction that a Labour Prime Minister – who at the outset promised to maintain high standards – is being damaged.
Conservatives should be realistic. This will not restore our own reputation.
The lesson of this is that we could all be more mindful, not just of the rules, but of maintaining our fullest understanding of the Seven Principles of Public Life which underpin the Commons Code: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
How a politician lives these values is more important than observing the rules. They should help us manage all the conflicts of interest which confront us.
Applying the Seven Principles to one’s own life is far from simple. How should a politician who is ambitious also be selfless? Selflessness would seem the very opposite of what competitive politics is about: gaining election, manoeuvring for influence and ultimately striving against others for high office. The public probably forgives that, but getting donors to decorate your living quarters or to buy clothes for you or your spouse is hard to see as selfless. It is certainly not the best example of leadership.
We would do better to see the need for declarations as an opportunity to provoke more thought about accepting a gift. There may be no requirement to make a declaration, but that does not necessarily mean it is ok under the Seven Principles.
There should be far more formal and informal discussion about how we do that, not just about how to stay compliant with rules.
It is documented in her own handwriting that Margaret Thatcher insisted on paying for the ironing board for the No 10 flat when she moved in – a far cry from accepting gifted redecorations and designer clothing.
That was a different age, before there was a Commons Code of Conduct.
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