Rule breakers: Is the ministerial code fit for purpose?

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Society & Culture, Politics, Government

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2023

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The ministerial code is a set of rules members of Government are expected to abide by. But they don’t all manage it. Is it fit for purpose? And have ministers become more unscrupulous – or do we just have higher expectations than we used to? Tim Durrant of the Institute for Government tells Ros Taylor that the system, tested to its limits during Boris Johnson’s premiership, works better than you might think. “We need to know that information coming from the government is honest and true.” – Tim Durrant “Ministers have a huge amount of power in public life and therefore it’s incumbent that they merit that.” – Time Durrant “I think you could almost argue that the removal of Boris Johnson was proof of the system working”. – Tim Durrant “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with expecting political leaders to be good people.” – Tim Durrant www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:55.9	theirs with dental life. Pick up dental life in the pet food aisle. Hello and welcome to the bunker I'm Ros Taylor. Every week or so one minister or
1:16.3	another is accused of being in breach of the ministerial code.
1:19.6	Suella Braverman asked her civil servants whether she could avoid doing a speed awareness cause.
1:24.8	There were questions about whether her links to Rwanda had finessed her deal with the government there.
1:29.5	In Scotland, an SMP minister was accused of delaying rail works to favour her constituents.
1:35.7	But what is the ministerial code and why does it seem to be so toothless?
1:39.9	Are politicians just ignoring it?
1:41.9	And would they do that if they were still
1:43.4	expected to resign if they breached it? Tim Durant is a program director at the
1:48.3	Institute for Government and he knows the code inside out. Welcome to the
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