What does the pledge mean?

Labour’s manifesto pledged to “ensure ministers are held to the highest standards” by establishing “a new independent Ethics and Integrity Commission, with its own independent Chair, to ensure probity in government”.

All UK government ministers have to follow the UK government’s ministerial code, a series of rules which set out the “standards of conduct” expected of them in their role. This requires, among other things, that ministers “must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise” between their public and private interests, and should use government resources primarily for their official duties.

This non-statutory code reaffirms the expectation for ministers to adhere to the seven principles of public life—called the Nolan Principles—of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

Breaches of the ministerial code are investigated by the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, currently Sir Laurie Magnus. The role of the adviser includes providing advice to ministers on standards, investigating alleged breaches of the ministerial code, and advising the Prime Minister on conduct matters.

However, sanctions for ministers who breach the ministerial code are decided by the Prime Minister and can range from dismissal to lesser sanctions, such as requiring a public apology, or the removal of ministerial salary for a certain period of time.

Labour’s manifesto did not say exactly what form its proposed ethics commission would take, or what its powers would be.

When we asked the Cabinet Office in June 2025 for more information on what form the commission would take, we didn’t receive further details.

The idea was previously promoted by the party’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, in 2023 as a “new independent” body to “enforce standards” and “replace the failing aspects of the old system and restore public trust”.

What progress has been made?

We are currently rating this pledge as “appears on track”, as on 21 July 2025 the government announced that it would create its Ethics and Integrity Commission by reforming the existing Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL), a non-departmental advisory body.

The government said the commission’s remit will include “convening and coordinating ethics bodies” and to “act as a ‘one-stop shop’” for members of the public looking for information on standards in public life.

It added that the commission will be required to “report annually to the Prime Minister on the overall health of our standards system”, and committed to responding to reports “in a reasonable timeframe”. It will be chaired by Doug Chalmers, the current CSPL chair.

The new commission will not investigate individual cases, but instead coordinate cooperation between existing ethics bodies.

While this package accords with Labour’s manifesto promise, which did not specify the commission’s form and powers, it does differ from the commission proposed by Ms Rayner in 2023.

In that speech, Ms Rayner said the commission would “subsume the Independent Advisor on Ministerial Interests” (the government’s announcement in July 2025 suggests this will not be the case) and added that the commission would be put “on a statutory footing” to remove the risk of political interference, which was also not mentioned in the ministerial statement.

In July 2025, the new body’s chair said further discussions with the government were to take place “on the Terms of Reference and the resources needed” for the commission. He added in a letter that he understood the government intended to introduce the commission from October 2025.

We have asked the Cabinet Office when these terms of reference are expected to be published, and when the transition between the CSPL into the new ethics commission will occur. We will update this page if we receive a response.

It is also worth noting that as part of wider reforms, ministers have pledged to scrap the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), which regulates business appointments for former senior politicians and Crown servants. Instead, the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards will regulate jobs ministers take after leaving office, while the Civil Service Commission will oversee former officials’ employment.