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the behaviour of elected officials, both during their time in office and afterwards, that relies far too heavily on an outdated “good chaps” theory of regulation.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.
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...
The UK’s lobbying body, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL), has found that a Qatar-based lobbying firm did not need to declare its lobbying of a UK...
Yesterday the House of Lords saw the first reading of a crucial Private Members’ Bill* which would significantly improve ethics regulation in government. The Public Service (Ethics, Integrity and Independence)...
Today Spotlight on Corruption is releasing a scorecard on how the new government is implementing key recommendations on lobbying transparency. These recommendations were made by the UK’s top ethics body,...
Today we are releasing a lobbying scorecard on where the new government has got to on lobbying transparency. While the previous government committed to implement three major recommendations to enhance...
Last night the government’s latest departmental lobbying transparency data dropped – two months late. So late in fact that the content is primarily of historical interest: the data relates to...
In introducing this week’s King’s Speech, the new Prime Minister said “the fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era.” But some key measures crucial for restoring...
Political integrity crises are not unique to the UK. Over the past decade, Australia has faced its own issues, dropping in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index by over 10...
