Thread by @AngelaRayner

Yesterday I gave a speech at @instituteforgov setting out Labour's plans to clean up politics - tougher rules and proper enforcement of the rules by an independent body that is not controlled by the Prime Minister.

You can read it in full here.. (1/17)

labour.org.uk/press/angela-r…

The truth is that the current system only works when there is respect for the rules and there are consequences for breaking them.

Because of Boris Johnson there is no respect for the rules and no consequences for breaking them. That is why we need to change the system. (2/17)

Corruption is happening in plain sight and it is rife right through this government. But the rules are only as good as the mechanisms that are there to enforce them.

Our democracy cannot hinge on gentlemen’s agreements - it needs independent and robust protection. (3/17)

Why do rules and standards matter? Because the people who are picking up the bill for this corrupt govt are the taxpayers whose money Ministers are wasting and abusing.

That is why we will replace the broken system and the alphabet soup of toothless committees & advisers. (4/17)

Labour’s Independent Integrity and Ethics Commission will set tougher rules. We will ensure tougher enforcement of those rules by a body independent of political control & we will protect taxpayers’ money against the abuse and corruption we have seen from this government. (5/17)

Take the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.

That role is not independent - an investigation can only happen if the Prime Minister says so.

And the 'advice' is ignored - just like when the Home Secretary broke the Ministerial Code and faced no sanctions at all. (6/17)

In no other walk of life would the person under investigation be judge, jury and in charge of the person investigating.

And my complaints are answered with explanations that the Prime Minister decided that there shouldn’t be an investigation, so the case is closed... (7/17)

The new independent commission will have the power to open investigations into Ministers’ conduct without the approval of the PM, and set clear, binding sanctions for breaches of the Code so the Prime Minister is no longer judge and jury over the conduct of Ministers. (8/17)

We also need to overhaul the rules that apply to former Ministers after they leave office.

There can be no stronger evidence that the rules are broken than the case of David Cameron and his dodgy mate Lex Greensill. If the former PM can text everyone in his phonebook.. (9/17)

to help his dodgy mate Lex Greensill access taxpayers’ money, help himself to a $200m bonus and then rely on a defence that everything he did was within the rules..

Then it's clear that the rules themselves are broken and so is the system that is supposed to uphold them. (10/17)

Forget the revolving door, we currently have a system where the door is held wide open for former Ministers who want to line their pockets as soon as they leave office.

The system is pointless because the rules are too weak and there is no enforcement of them. (11/17)

The Committee can’t even enforce its own rulings or take action when the rules are broken.

When the Committee said that the former Chancellor Philip Hammond broke lobbying rules the government agreed, but then said they wouldn't be taking any action to enforce them. (12/17)

So Labour will ban former Ministers from lobbying for at least 5 years after they leave office.

No ifs, no buts. No letters after a role has already been accepted and no exceptions. A total ban. And consequences – including financial sanctions – if the rules are broken. (13/17)

We will stop former Ministers profiting from contacts and information gained whilst they were serving in public office and we will close this revolving door for good.

Public servants should serve the public without one eye on a cushy lobbying gig as soon as they leave. (14/17)

The changes that I set out yesterday will overhaul the broken system that has failed to stop the spread of corruption under this PM.

And we will put the Independent Commission on a statutory footing enshrined in legislation to rebuild the regime that is not working. (15/17)

Never again will a Prime Minister and his Ministers be able to break the rules with impunity because the rules are too weak, they aren’t enforced and it is the Prime Minister himself in charge of them.

We will stamp out Conservative corruption. (16/17)

theguardian.com/politics/2021/…

Under a Labour government the rules will be strengthened, enforcement will be toughened up and power and control over the rules will be taken away from those the rules hold to account.

It will be a Labour government that cleans up our politics. (17/17)

labour.org.uk/press/angela-r…