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Ministerial Code: Policy Announcements
29 October 2024
Lead MP
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
NHSTaxation
Other Contributors: 27
At a Glance
Nick Thomas-Symonds raised concerns about ministerial code: policy announcements in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
The Minister reassures the House that the Government's obligations are taken seriously, particularly in response to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's statement on fiscal rules. The Chancellor will present a Budget tomorrow with details on economic and fiscal forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. A four-day debate will follow to discuss the measures outlined in the Budget. The Labour Government commits to fixing the economy’s foundations and investing in Britain's future, including rebuilding the NHS while ensuring working people do not face higher taxes.
Laura Trott
Con
Sevenoaks
Question
The Conservative shadow criticises Labour's justification of its actions based on past mistakes, including cronyism, betrayal of pensioners, politicisation of institutions, and breaches of the ministerial code. She questions who will take responsibility for the Budget leaks and if it is a breach of the ministerial code.
Minister reply
The Minister responds with cynicism about Conservative Members’ new-found passion for parliamentary conventions, noting their failure to update the House before major announcements in the past. He asserts that Labour will never play fast and loose with the nation’s finances and will focus on investment to rebuild Britain.
James Frith
Lab
Bury North
Question
In Bury North, rents and mortgages are still sky-high due to the economic legacy of the last Conservative Government. Is it no surprise that Conservatives want to talk about anything other than their economic record?
Minister reply
The Minister agrees with James Frith's statement, citing Kwasi Kwarteng’s comment on his Budget not being perfect.
Sarah Olney
Lib Dem
Richmond Park
Question
It is a sad state of affairs when the run-up to the Budget resembles that of the previous Government with consistent leaks and briefings. Will the Minister toughen up the ministerial code by enshrining it in law?
Minister reply
The Prime Minister will publish an updated ministerial code shortly, addressing issues such as the Tory freebie loophole.
Laurence Turner
Lab
Birmingham Northfield
Question
Will the Minister confirm that the former Conservative Treasury Front-Bench team had paragraph 9.1 of the ministerial code drawn to their attention twice this year?
Minister reply
The Minister agrees and criticises the irony of Conservatives talking about ethics and standards.
Bernard Jenkin
Con
Harwich and North Essex
Question
Did the Chancellor break the ministerial code when announcing in America last week?
Minister reply
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury made a statement yesterday, and the entire Treasury team has been here answering questions today. The Chancellor will deliver the Budget tomorrow.
Louise Jones
Lab
North East Derbyshire
Question
My constituents in North East Derbyshire are still paying the price of the mini-Budget with rises in their mortgages and rents. Should Conservatives be talking about that instead of distracting everyone?
Minister reply
The Minister agrees and notes the absence of a 'sorry' from the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Karen Bradley
Con
Staffordshire Moorlands
Question
As Chair of the Procedure Committee in the previous Parliament, I made a point of making sure that when Ministers had breached the rules, it was clear to them that both the Committee and others were very unhappy. Will the Minister confirm that he will make sure that the revised ministerial code makes it clear that announcements need to be made to this place first, as has always been the case?
Minister reply
With the greatest respect to the right hon. Lady, she will not have long to wait for the ministerial code. In my opening remarks to Mr Speaker, I indicated my respect for this House in regard to the matter that she is talking about.
Matthew Patrick
Lab
Wirral West
Question
The chutzpah from Conservative Members is quite incredible. Does the Minister agree that although they make a point today about process, they totally ignored the Office for Budget Responsibility ahead of the disastrous mini-Budget, which is still causing immense pain to my constituents?
Minister reply
Absolutely. It is no surprise that we have a Conservative party that wants to talk about process, but it will not take responsibility for the £22 billion black hole that it left in our finances.
Julian Lewis
Con
New Forest East
Question
Yesterday, Mr Speaker, you made the strongest statement of condemnation on a subject of this sort that I have heard from the Chair in 27 years in this House. The Minister is a decent chap and, for all I know, he may be a skilled cricketer, but he must admit that he is batting on a sticky wicket today. Does he understand that if his defence is just to say, “We did it because the previous party did it,” nobody will ever break this cycle? His party has a big majority. It could just say sorry and resolve to do better in future.
Minister reply
I have a great deal of respect for the right hon. Gentleman. I am not a cricketer, as it happens, so I cannot comment on the condition of the wicket. With regard to Mr Speaker, I did initially set out in my remarks today my respect for what he said both yesterday and today, and my respect for Members of this House.
Fred Thomas
Lab
Plymouth Moor View
Question
I think we all understand that Conservative Members are desperate to talk about anything other than their record of 14 years of failure in government. We hear from hon. Friends and Opposition Members how those failures are affecting constituents every single day. My question is, what next? How will the Conservatives distract us next?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is entirely right about the Conservative party’s desire to distract from its record, whether it is the lockdown parties or the PPE VIP lane for contracts. This Government are appointing a covid corruption commissioner to get the public’s money back.
Brendan O'Hara
SNP
Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
Question
Those of us who have been in this place for some time will remember the outraged indignation of the now Government, when they were in opposition, every time the now Opposition pulled a stunt like this. The only constant is you, Mr Speaker, and your efforts to have whichever of them is in power treat this House and its Members with respect. Can the Minister not see that the Government displaying such arrogant contempt for the rules only feeds the public perception that one is as bad as the other? Rather than delivering the change it promised, the Labour party is really saying, “It’s our turn now.”
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman cannot possibly be saying that there is any comparison with breaching the rules during the covid pandemic. He really cannot; that is not a serious proposition. Nor is it a serious proposition to suggest that this is comparable with the money that was lost in the PPE VIP lane—it really is not.
Mark Ferguson
Lab
Gateshead Central and Whickham
Question
Despite the rumours being spread, including by the Conservative party, can my right hon. Friend confirm that not a single change to taxation has yet been announced, and that they will in fact be announced at the Budget tomorrow?
Minister reply
As my hon. Friend says, the measures will be announced at tomorrow’s Budget in the normal way, with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic and fiscal forecast. The Conservative party may denigrate the Office for Budget Responsibility, but this Government respect our financial institutions.
Harriett Baldwin
Con
West Worcestershire
Question
Can the Paymaster General confirm that the Chancellor receiving £7,500-worth of free clothes and declaring them as office support is a breach of the ministerial code?
Minister reply
I must say, the Conservatives have learned absolutely nothing. They trashed ministerial standards and standards in this House when in government.
Sam Carling
Lab
North West Cambridgeshire
Question
People in my constituency are still paying the price, in their mortgages and rents, for the disastrous Conservative economic record. Is it any wonder that the Conservatives are so desperate to speak about anything other than their disastrous record?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the Conservatives will talk about anything but their own record. Is it any wonder that they did not conduct a spending review before they called a general election? The reality is that they made unfunded spending commitments and then ran away.
Christchurch
Question
A remit of the new Modernisation Committee is to enhance the ability of Members of this House to hold the Government to account. In the light of the failure that has been exhibited over recent days, would the Minister be in favour of referring this issue to the Modernisation Committee?
Minister reply
I was not aware that financial mismanagement by the Conservative party was a matter for the Modernisation Committee, but it should certainly be referred to something.
Josh Simons
Lab
Makerfield
Question
Like others, I am surprised to hear that Conservative Members recently rediscovered their moral compass—the one that they lost perhaps when the former Prime Minister sent out the “bring your own bottle” invite to Downing Street, when he spent taxpayers’ money jetting his girlfriend around the world, or when they unlawfully suspended this place. Perhaps the Minister agrees that there might be another motivation. Does the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott) want to keep her job next week?
Minister reply
Of course, we wish the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott) well for the reshuffle next week. As ever, my hon. Friend makes a very persuasive point. The Conservatives will talk about anything apart from their record.
Tim Farron
Lib Dem
Westmorland and Lonsdale
Question
At 10 pm last night, the Government announced a £70 million increase in funding for radiotherapy. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for radiotherapy, I very much welcome that, but would it not have been better and right for the Government to make a statement to the House so that the policy could be properly scrutinised? That £70 million equals about 30 linear accelerators, but it will take 70 linear accelerators just to replace those that are going out of date this year. It will not meet the needs of people living in rural communities such as mine. We desperately need a satellite radiotherapy unit in Kendal so that people can get to treatment quickly. Will the Paymaster General put that lack of scrutiny right by arranging for a Health Minister to meet me and the rest of the all-party group, so that we can work closely to take forward those plans together?
Minister reply
I will certainly pass on that request to the relevant Health Minister. Putting aside the point that the hon. Gentleman makes about scrutiny, I am sure that he joins us in welcoming the focus on radiotherapy, and there will be a real desire to work on it with him across party lines.
Kevin Bonavia
Lab
Stevenage
Question
I was elected to keep the promises that we made in our manifesto. The Conservative party broke nearly every promise that it made in its 14 years in government. Does the Minister agree that it is only right for this Government to confirm that we will honour the pledges we made at the election?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am afraid that trust was one of the many things that the Conservative Government destroyed over 14 years, and this Government are determined to rebuild it.
James Wild
Con
North West Norfolk
Question
The Chancellor, the Education Secretary, the Health Secretary and the Work and Pensions Secretary have all made significant announcements to the media and not to the House. Will those breaches of the ministerial code be investigated? Why has the Prime Minister not yet published an updated version of the ministerial code—are the Government still working out whether it is right to accept suits and glasses?
Minister reply
We have already said that the Prime Minister will update the ministerial code and publish it shortly to ensure that it is fit for purpose, deals with problems such as the Tory freebie loophole, as I have said, and meets the high standards that the Prime Minister expects.
Richard Tice
Reform
Boston and Skegness
Question
We hear a lot about “14 years of failure”, but it seems to me that this Government have had 14 years to learn how the ministerial code works. In reality, the announcement made by the Chancellor last week moved the markets: bond yields went up, which means that mortgages and people’s bills have gone up. The right thing for the Government to do is to apologise.
Minister reply
First, we will see the impact of what the Chancellor announces tomorrow and in the days afterwards. The ministerial code will be published shortly. That stands in stark contrast to what the previous Government did. I watched from the Opposition Benches as they tried to tear up the entire rulebook to protect one of their friends—that is not something that we will do.
Graham Stuart
Con
Beverley and Holderness
Question
After your statement yesterday, Mr Speaker, I think you will have been as disappointed as I was that when the Chancellor came to the Chamber for Treasury questions this morning, she failed to apologise for the serious and important announcements that she had made outside the House. Without deflecting any further by talking about the previous Government’s record, will the Minister promise now that the ministerial code, and the Speaker of this House, who represents us all, will be respected by the Government?
Minister reply
Of course this Government respect both Mr Speaker and the ministerial code, but I make no apology whatsoever for holding the Conservative party to account for its record.
Alan Gemmell
Lab
Central Ayrshire
Question
Conservative Members, in their faux outrage, have complete amnesia about their series of egregious failures in government, for which people in my constituency are still paying the price. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to consider the future that this Government can bring to the people of Central Ayrshire?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In recent weeks, we have had the investment summit, where this Government—an active Government —got pledges of £63 billion of investment into our economy. That is already a much better record than that of the Conservative Government, under whom investment was in decline.
Clive Jones
Lib Dem
Wokingham
Question
I declare an interest as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital, and a family member of mine has a shareholding in a health company. Yesterday, I asked the Chief Secretary to the Treasury whether he would commit to urgent funding for the Royal Berkshire hospital, and I was told very politely to wait for Wednesday’s Budget. Does the Minister agree that there is a democratic deficit when elected MPs cannot get an answer on issues that affect their constituents, but details of the Budget are, at the same time, being briefed to the press?
Minister reply
There are a range of ways in which the hon. Gentleman can get answers for his constituents, from written parliamentary questions to securing a debate in Westminster Hall or an Adjournment debate. He does not have long to wait for the Budget, and he will have four days of debate afterwards to raise that point.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
I say this very gently to the Minister, but it must be said: throughout his term, Mr Speaker has been painfully clear that there is a procedure for this House that we must all follow. Does the Minister not agree that this Government, who have come to power on a mandate to do things the right way, must pay respect to that convention? It is not in place simply due to tradition but to ensure that policy changes are heard and debated in this Chamber first, which is the purpose of this House, rather than heard and debated in TV studios throughout the country with a simple nod in the direction of the discourse of democracy.
Minister reply
I have huge respect for this House, to which the hon. Gentleman is a frequent contributor. The Government’s respect for the ministerial code, for Mr Speaker and for Members of this House is absolute.
Luke Evans
Con
Hinckley and Bosworth
Question
Over the past few days, we have had multiple leaked definitions of what working people are. Will the Government place in the House of Commons Library a definition ready for tomorrow’s Budget, so we can all understand who they are talking about?
Minister reply
I can tell the hon. Gentleman about working people. Working people are the people who have been so appallingly let down by the Conservative party. They are the people who are paying extra costs in their mortgages and their rents every month; they are the people hit by the cost of living; they are the people left on record waiting lists by the Conservative party; and they are the people who this Government are determined to deliver for.
Paul Holmes
Con
Hamble Valley
Question
Thank you, Mr Speaker—there I was ready to defend your honour, Sir. Even after your ruling yesterday, the Government made more announcements on the BBC this morning concerning health services, so has the Paymaster General asked his advisers at the Cabinet Office whether they think the Chancellor or any other Minister has broken the ministerial code? If he has not asked for that advice, why not?
Minister reply
Come on. The Conservative party, which showed zero respect for the ministerial code in office, trying to put questions like that is appalling—it is double standards.
Shadow Comment
Laura Trott
Shadow Comment
The Conservative shadow criticises Labour for justifying its actions based on past mistakes of both Conservative and Labour Governments. The critique includes cronyism, betrayal of pensioners, politicisation of institutions, breaches of the ministerial code, and hypocrisy over Budget leaks. Laura Trott questions who will take responsibility for the Budget leaks and if it is a breach of the ministerial code.
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