This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Rejected petition Rewrite the Ministerial Code. Hold MPs to the standards of other professions
Regardless of allegiance, people appear united in anger and dissatisfaction with the way MPs chose to inform the public during the referendum
Misleading at best. Lying at worst. How is this allowed to happen without repercussion?
One reason is that MPs’ own Ministerial Code tacitly permits it
More details
Other industries require accurate information is given to the public, so we regulate to ensure it is correct
The ASA compels advertisers to be truthful. The Ministerial Code, however, merely: provides guidance… in order to uphold standards
It only ‘expects Ministers to behave in a principled way’ and ‘should be as open as possible’
Why do we only suggest that MPs be honest?
The Ministerial Code must be rewritten to hold MPs to the standards we do of others, and be independently enforceable
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action. You could start a new petition explaining the specific change you would like to be made to the Ministerial Code.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.