BRIEFING HOW CAN RISHI SUNAK DEMONSTRATE INTEGRITY, PROFESSIONALISM & ACCOUNTABILITY?

Rishi Sunak’s commitment to appointing a new Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, expressed during the summer leadership contest, and repeated by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Jeremy Quin, yesterday in the House of Commons (albeit following the somewhat problematic reappointment of Suella Braverman), is therefore welcome and important. [...] The independent Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) made recommendations last year to increase the effectiveness of the Independent Adviser, including by giving them the power to initiate investigations into alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code. [...] Defending the rule of law Integrity and accountability in government both demand a renewed commitment to the rule of law, and to respecting both domestic and international legal obligations. [...] The bill, which is currently before the House of Lords, has been described as ‘not constitutional’ by the (Conservative) chair of the Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, and as a departure from the UK’s international obligations by the chair (again Conservative) of the Commons Justice Committee. [...] Sunak should also take care over the number of members appointed to the Lords – Johnson’s appointments (87 while in office plus another 26 handed on to Truss, and others possibly to follow) flouted the recommendations of the committee established by the Lord Speaker to manage down the size of the chamber.