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.

The idea was previously promoted by the party’s then-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?

The Ethics and Integrity Commission was launched by the government on 13 October 2025, replacing the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CPSL), the non-departmental advisory body previously tasked with advising the Prime Minister on ethical standards for public servants. We are therefore rating this pledge as “achieved”.

The government had previously said the commission’s remit would 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”.

The terms of reference for the commission were also set out on 13 October 2025. It is chaired by Doug Chalmers, who was previously 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” (this remains a separate role, held by Sir Laurie Magnus) and added that the commission would be put “on a statutory footing” to remove the risk of political interference, which is currently not the case.

It is also worth noting that as part of wider reforms, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), which regulated business appointments for former senior politicians and Crown servants, was also closed, with its functions transferred to the Independent Advisor on Ministerial Standards and the Civil Service Commission.