LABOUR are likely to scale back a pledge to ban former ministers from lobbying jobs for five years ahead of a push to “crackdown on cronyism,” reports have said.
Keir Starmer is set to give a speech on Thursday setting out his plans to restore standards in public life to mark the beginning of a General Election year.
Only six months ago, deputy leader Angela Rayner vowed to fine former ministers or dock their pensions if they breached tough rules to crack down on lobbying.
But now, ahead of his speech in London, the Guardian reports that a pledge to impose a five-year moratorium on former ministers lobbying on behalf of companies they previously had oversight over is likely to be scaled back.
It is not clear how far Labour intend to change the pledge made in July last year.
The initial proposals would have stopped ministers from taking lobbying, advisory or portfolio-related jobs for at least five years after they leave government.
A new integrity and ethics commission would be given responsibility for examining cases involving former ministers moving into the former sector, to investigate any potential conflicts of interests.
To enforce this, Labour were said to be considering fines or financial penalties, such as recouping costs from pensions or the severance payment given to politicians when they leave government.
“Labour will stop the revolving door between government and the companies that ministers are supposed to regulate, banning ministers from lobbying for at least five years after they leave office, and with proper enforcement against those who break the rules,” Rayner (above) said at the time.
She added: “We’ll deliver the tougher rules and proper enforcement mechanisms our democracy needs.”
It comes ahead of Starmer’s speech later this week where he is expected to set the tone ahead of the upcoming General Election.
The party is reportedly considering creating a new offence of fraud against the public purse, which could lead to a 10-year jail sentence.
The UK Labour leader is expected to say: “Trust in politics is now so low, so degraded, that nobody believes anyone can make a difference any more.
“After the sex scandals, the expenses scandals, the waste scandals, the contracts for friends – even in a crisis like the pandemic – people think we’re all just in it for ourselves.”
Starmer will add: “To change Britain, we must change ourselves – we need to clean up politics. No more VIP fast lanes, no more kickbacks for colleagues, no more revolving doors between government and the companies they regulate.
“I will restore standards in public life with a total crackdown on cronyism.”
Starmer is expected to refer to his work as a human rights lawyer, adding: “When it comes to the work I’ve done with people around the world, living on death row – life and death decisions in your hands.
"Now there’s pressure that comes with that – of course there is, that goes with the territory. But that’s the responsibility of serious government, the responsibility of justice.
“It’s not a game. Politics isn’t a hobby, a pastime for people who enjoy the feeling of power, and nor is it a sermon from on high, a self-regarding lecture, vanity dressed up as virtue.”
Previously, the SNP said that Labour's New Year resolution should be "no more U-turns".
It comes as Michelle Mone, appointed as a Tory peer by David Cameron, and her husband Doug Barrowman have come under fire for their role in the Covid “VIP lane” scandal, making millions from supplying the UK Government with PPE.
Barrowman released a statement on New Year’s Day insisting that the couple are being “hung out to dry” by ministers and confirmed they are being investigated by the UK’s National Crime Agency.
