Rayner Has No Role in New ‘Ethics and Integrity’ Commission – Guido Fawkes

Rayner Has No Role in New ‘Ethics and Integrity’ Commission

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Angela Rayner will not be involved in the new Labour ethics commission despite leading on the campaign for it in opposition. The Cabinet Office has finally today announced plans for a “Ethics and Integrity Commission” to come alongside a new ministerial code. 12 months after the election and a series of ministerial scandals and resignations…

Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life Doug Chalmers will be chairman of the Ethics and Integrity Commission. Acoba will be closed and the new commission “will include a new obligation to report annually to the Prime Minister on the overall health of our standards system, and a new function of regular engagement with public sector bodies to assist them in the development of clear codes of conduct with effective oversight arrangements.” Sounding like a rebrand…

Two additional changes will “ask” former ministers to repay their severance if Business Appointment Rules are found to have been breached and cut ministers off from severance payments if they resign a) if they have served for fewer than six months or b) if they “leave office following a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.” Reminder: This would not have cut off the severance pay for scandal-ridden minister Tulip Siddiq on her resignation…

Rayner led on this project, which was announced back in 2021, as shadow Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster. She however has had and is penned in to have no involvement with this commission which is under the remit of Pat McFadden. Seeing as Rayner is about to have a formal presence in the Cabinet Office she could have retained control over her ethics court. Now McFadden gets all the flak for punishing Labour politicians…