Political Comment

Web www.nhsexposed.com

Email to a friend

Action for Justice

To Signatories and Supporters,

Action for Justice's 18 advertisements in national publications (Financial Times, Sunday Business, Guardian, Independent, Observer, New Statesman, Big Issue) circa 1994-96 pointed out the double standard between ministers and people in local government. Bolstered by an impressive list of signatories from across the political spectrum, we suggested that the standards that applied already to those in local government should apply to ministers.

There is good reason to believe that this campaign was responsible for the July 1997 recommendation by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (then Nolan) for the creation of a statutory criminal offence of Misuse of Public Office to apply to everyone, including ministers and judges.

In a little over two weeks, voters will decide whether or not to return a Labour government. We are told that, given the state of the Conservative Party, there is no doubt that Labour will again prevail.

Should A4J/Campaign for A Fair Hearing try to alert the press to the fact that the Labour government has "disappeared" this recommendation which is effectively a recommendation to scrap Crown Immunity? (Major promised that his government would implement everything Nolan recommended.)

If you go to the website of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, you will find (1) that you can't order a copy of the July 1997 recommendation through HMSO (it's the only one unavailable); and (2) that it has been transformed into proposals to apply only to local government.

My letters to the Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers produced some strange replies--no one seems to know which minister is responsible for implementing the Nolan recommendation. The official reply in early 1999 was from Lord Bassam, the local government minister, enclosing a written reply from Hansard in July 1998 in which Jack Straw said the working committee would be making their report at the end of 1998. Most recently, Lord Bassam said the report would be published in Autumn, 2000. And this was well before the mishandled foot and mouth crisis.

My question to you is, should I make any attempt to get this published before the election? A4J and the Fair Hearing Campaign are non-party and only seek to introduce accountability. It is true, however, that the time when power politics is at its most vulnerable is just before an election. I would appreciate having any comments or opinion.

I have repeatedly attempted to get the government to follow through, but the response has been minimal to the point of dismissal.

In common cause,
Suzon

Suzon Forscey-Moore
Adviser to Action for Justice (grass roots campaign for ministerial accountability)
Organiser of The Campaign for A Fair Hearing (umbrella organisation for judicial accountability)
PO Box 54, Cambridge CB5 8BB
Tel: 01223 327634
Fax: 01223 327042

Email to a friend

[Home] [NHS Exposed] [Patients] [Health Workers] [NHS in Crisis] [Legal Issues] [Media] [Helpdesk] [Public Views]

All copyright remains with original authors unless otherwise stated.
No material from this site may be copied, reproduced or stored, electronically or otherwise,
without the express written permission of NHS Exposed.
Where material is reproduced from this site without the express written permission of NHS Exposed, NHS Exposed reserves the right to recover a fee of £100 per copy from the individuals and / or organisations concerned. Use of this site, and / or reproduction of material from this site without the written permission of NHS Exposed, will be taken as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
All material is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act.