Surveys of public opinion – including our own – continue to show that trust in the UK’s elected officials is abysmally low. The blame for much of this can be laid at the door of the behaviour of senior political figures in the last decade. But those actions have been enabled by a lax system of regulating the behaviour of elected officials, both during their time in office and afterwards, that relies far too heavily on an outdated “good chaps” theory of regulation.
Spotlight advocates for improvements in the way standards in public life are regulated and monitors the government’s efforts in this area. As part of this work, we recommend putting the standards regulators on a statutory footing and giving them the resources and independence to do their jobs properly. We also advocate for improved lobbying transparency and more effective procedures for tackling conflicts of interest in government.
There is rightly huge public demand that Mandelson and those who saw fit to appoint him face meaningful accountability. But former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown’s intervention over the weekend that...
The Mandelson scandal must lead to a review of whether the new misconduct in public office offence in the Hillsborough Bill is robust enough, and urgent measures to ensure greater...
The Anti-Corruption Strategy – containing 120 commitments, spanning everything from tackling professional enablers to facilitating asset recovery – is undoubtedly welcome. Coming three years after the previous Anti-Corruption Strategy expired,...
Spotlight welcomes today’s official launch of the new Ethics and Integrity Commission but warns that there are serious gaps which means the body will face tough headwinds in its mission...
The focus on yesterday’s introduction of the proposed Hillsborough Law has largely been about ensuring those in public office tell the truth and are transparent. But yesterday’s Bill – with...
Today’s announcement of a new Ethics and Integrity Commission must be the first step in a more ambitious upgrade of standards regulation that independent experts have long called for. Without...
Four years ago the Law Commission recommended a complete overhaul of the archaic misconduct in public office (MIPO) offence. The UK government has yet to provide a formal response to...
