Standards Czar's bright idea - MPs must be honest! I say they should also show humility

Here's a bit of a joke, the Committee on Standfards in Public Life is asking the PM to get MPs to sign up to some simple ethical standards, like honesty and openness. See the patronising letter nbelow.
But, criminally, the Committee Chairman, Lord Bew, doesn't mention that quality almost totally absent from public life - humility.  Let's have more oif it.  Compulsory!



Foreword from the Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life

Dear Prime Minister,
The message of this report is very simple. Awareness and understanding of the Seven Principles of Public Life
cannot be left to chance. We need to make sure that all of those in public life, whether employed, appointed or
elected, are aware of their ethical responsibilities and are prepared to act as ethical leaders. The public expects
nothing less.
An important first step in building that ethical awareness and understanding is induction. For most of those in
public life, receiving induction is a normal part of taking up post, just as it is for those working in large
organisations in the private and voluntary sectors. During the course of this project, we were pleased to note
that many areas of public life have established induction programmes in place that referenced ethics – in Local
Government and the Civil Service, for example. We were also pleased to note the calls, from Parliament and
beyond, for induction to be introduced in areas where it was lacking, for example in relation to Police and Crime
Commissioners and Special Advisers.
We did, however, identify areas where improvements could be made and the profile of ethical standards raised.
Of particular concern to us was the reported lack of engagement with induction by large numbers of Members
of Parliament. With the prospect of a Recall Bill, which will give the public the power to remove MPs who have
behaved in ways that fall short of the standards expected of them, the stakes have never been higher. In effect,
ethical issues will now be under even greater scrutiny. More than ever, MPs need to be fully aware of the
principles and the rules that guide their behaviour; Parliament and the political parties need to provide the
opportunities for them to build that awareness and understanding. An induction programme that fully embraces
ethical standards should be the first of those opportunities.
The recently-announced Review of the Standards System by the House of Commons Standards Review
Sub-Committee will doubtless be examining these issues and taking evidence from a wide range of
perspectives. We hope this Report will be a useful contribution to their deliberations. This report is also a
reminder to those in public life that the recommendations of Lord Nolan in his First Report continue to apply:
it is essential that more is done to inculcate high ethical standards through guidance, education, and training,
particularly induction training. I commend this Report to you.
Lord Paul Bew
Chair, Committee on Standards in Public Life, July 2014
 
Full report here
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yeugh cult!

Image
Everyone knows so-called 'probiotic drinks are sugar and water masquerading as health food.  And that great customer relations is about listening to what people are saying.  So how do you explain this - below - from the distributors of Yakult in response to my mate 'Nutters's’ complaint?? First, I'd better explain that the milkman left 24 free samples of this expensive confection at 'Nutters's' place of work.  'Nutters' didn't ask for them ... didn't welcome them and told Mr Yakult as much. You will notice that Yakult's careful, official, line is not to claim health benefits, just the weasel words about ‘positive outcomes’.  I shall be following this up at some reputable sources, including Quack Watch and Bad Science. Watch this space. Here's the official response: Subject: RE: Yakult freebies Dear , Thank you for your email; I am very sorry that you were disappointed with your recent free delivery of Yakult. Just to give you so...
Read more

An African-German who wanted to join Hitler Youth and became a ground-breaking editor – amazing, true, inspiring

Image
Every so often you read of someone whose life has been so unimaginable, so extraordinary – so inspiring – it takes your breath away.   This was my experience, today, reading of the life of Hans Massaquoi – a black teenager in Germany during the war who failed in an adolescent bid to join the Hitler Youth, survived the carpet bombing of Hamburg, played saxophone for American servicemen, emigrated to the USA, served in the Korean war and edited two ground-breaking black American magazines. Massaquoi died on 19 January - his 87th birthday, He also published his autobiography - see cover photo above. Read on, please: telegraph.co.uk independent.co.uk wikipedia
Read more

Mick Woollett, a true gent.

Mick, a proper gent – I’ll miss him Mick Woollett (easy to remember the name, double everything except ‘e’ and ‘w’) died on Monday.   He was my editor at Motor Cycle Weekly in the ‘seventies and early ‘eighties.   He was mature in every sense of the word, made editor in his early fifties and a proper gentleman, having to work with an office-full of (mostly) youngsters. He never lost his cool, was unfailingly courteous, never swore and was always perfectly mannered.   Extraordinary. I plan to get a lot more off my chest about Mick, but for the moment I’ll leave you with this, true, story from, about 1982. MCW had one mouthy sub, a Kiwi called Brendan who was always shouting off about everything.   He knew everything, was witty, but packed full of bluster and b**s**.   In the run-up to the Daytona Speed Week one year he’d been shouting the odds about how HE ought to join the team because of all his experience, skills and how he’d do a better j...
Read more