Fulfil your pledge to govern with integrity, faith leaders urge prime minister
Quakers in Britain have joined others from across the faith and belief spectrum in calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to stand by his pledge to govern with integrity.
In a letter signed by 19 different faith and belief groups, signatories highlight how democracy has been weakened by the repeated undermining of integrity, and the failure of existing structures to hold politicians to account.
It asks the Prime Minister to strive for a culture of truth and integrity in government and parliament.
The letter comes as Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab faces an investigation into his behaviour, after two formal complaints against him.
It calls on the Prime Minister to appoint a new Independent Adviser on Ministers' interests, as he pledged when coming into office.
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By being honest and true to our values, we can have the right relationship with ourselves, others, and the ultimate truth
- Faith Leaders
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“All of us hold truth and integrity as sacred or intrinsic to our beliefs," the letter says. “By being honest and true to our values, we can have the right relationship with ourselves, others, and the ultimate truth.
“We want our political leaders to be role models for these values, as set out in the Seven Principles of Public Life."
The independent adviser should be chosen by an independent appointments process, and have the authority to initiate investigations and determine breaches of the Ministerial Code, the letter says.
The independent adviser could then oversee further changes to strengthen integrity in government.
Signatories include Bishop Mike Royal, general secretary, Churches Together in England; Paul Parker, recording clerk, Quakers in Britain; Lord Indarjit Singh, director, Network of Sikh Organisations; Rajnish Kashyap, general secretary/director, the Hindu Council UK; Trupti Patel, president, the Hindu Forum Britain; and Zara Mohammed, secretary-general, the Muslim Council of Britain.
The full letter is available on Quakers in Britain's website and was published in The Times on 18 November 2022.