Nolan principles ‘under pressure’ after much political turbulence – Lord Evans

Political turbulence in recent years has placed the Nolan principles of public life under “great pressure”, the chairman of Whitehall’s standards watchdog has warned.

Lord Evans said there should be an overhaul of the system for ensuring compliance with the rules after “significant” damage caused by scandals such as the Owen Paterson affair.

Speaking at an Institute for Government event on Tuesday, he cited the fallout, which emerged after the former minister lobbied for two firms that employed him, as one of a number of recent incidents that has undermined trust in politics.

Lord Evans said the seven Nolan principles – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership – are not on their own enough and must be underpinned by strengthened codes of conduct.

The damage done to the trust and confidence that the public have in those in political and public life has been significant

“The principles haven’t changed but the polarised and unstable nature of British politics in recent years has placed them under great pressure,” he said.

“Our political institutions as well as our standards bodies and structures have faced great challenge.

“The attempt to tear up the independent system for maintaining standards in Parliament in November 2021 … the Owen Paterson affair was scandalous and it was damaging, and we’ve also seen instances of poor practice in hospitals, in police and elsewhere – all part of a wider public landscape that undermines public confidence.

“The damage done to the trust and confidence that the public have in those in political and public life has been significant.”

Lord Evans said that the crisis surrounding Brexit in 2019 also contributed to a “polarised” public landscape, which makes the consensus on which agreed norms of conduct rest more fragile.

Polarisation also opens the door to extremism and intimidation of those in public life, he said, leading to difficulty in recruiting some of the best candidates, especially among women and ethnic minorities.

“We don’t yet know how far this is just history that can be put behind us or whether it will continue to haunt public debate over the next parliament, but we should be clear that for all its adversarial elements, the Westminster model relies on an underlying commitment to a system of conventions and rules of conduct that are central to preserving high standards and to maintaining public confidence, and form part of the unwritten constitution,” he said.

On parliamentarians’ outside interests in particular, Lord Evans said the public is clear that being an MP should be a “full-time, principal job” but that current rules do not meet that expectation.

“Significant” risks including of foreign interference also arise from the Government’s failure to close loopholes in election donations law, Lord Evans said.

“This is where public standards meets national security and clear vulnerabilities have not been addressed by the Government.”

He added: “The Government system for ensuring compliance with standards is very weak and needs overhaul.

“The priority given to this in Government departments is low and this opens a door to opacity and potentially to corruption.”