Is the UK Politically Corrupt?

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How close is the UK to being a corrupt country? Thirty years after the Nolan Principles of standards in public life first came into being, this Sussex Spark will explore whether they are still fit for purpose - and if not, whether they should be updated or replaced.

Britain's public sector is governed by the Nolan Principles of standards in public life - selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership - introduced after a succession of 'sleaze' scandals in the 1990s. This approach to public office, depending on people behaving correctly, is sometimes seen as an anachronism, but also fiercely defended as a distinguishing feature of the public service ethos. Recently, the principles have been severely challenged, not least by a Prime Minister who was widely seen as breaching more or less every one of them.

Faculty members of the University of Sussex's Centre for the Study of Corruption have provided expert advice to the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the Parliamentary Standards Committee about the Noan Principles. They are joined by experts from two leading think-tanks. This panel with the audience, will explore whether the Nolan Principles are a sensible basis for setting standards in the post-Johnson era, or whether we need firmer rules and sanctions to take their place. The discussion will focus on important questions such as whether the outsourcing of public services means that the Nolan Principles have been superseded, whether it is reasonable to expect today’s politicians to operate to the standards of yesteryear, and whether the current government is giving a sufficiently high priority to ethics and integrity.

In addition to the Q&A with the panel, the audience are invited to take part in a live survey on key questions, to help inform and stimulate the discussion.

In partnership with University of Sussex