25th July 2025

Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP

Cabinet Office

Dear Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP, 

We are concerned that the government's proposals for the Ethics and Integrity Commission do not go far enough to restore public trust.

The litmus test for any changes to standards is whether they would have prevented some of the appalling behaviour we’ve seen in recent years that has so damaged trust in the system. 

In this, the Government’s proposals fail the ‘Boris test’.

We support the idea of an Ethics & Integrity Commission, but it needs real teeth and it must be independent. Allowing the Prime Minister to have the final say over consequences for wrongdoers would allow a rogue Prime Minister to run roughshod over the rules. 

And the plan to withdraw severance pay from ex-Ministers who break ACOBA rules would hardly be a real deterrent for the kind of salaries we’ve seen offered to ex-Ministers and ex-Prime Ministers.

In opposition, Labour said that they wanted to clean up politics. That’s a great goal and we stand ready to support proposals that would do that.

To that end, we hope you will meet with us to discuss how this might be achieved.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Brake

Director

Unlock Democracy