© House of Commons

This summary provides a quick-reference guide to Keir Starmer’s adherence to the Ministerial Code (also called the Accountability Charter). It outlines the key rules aimed at strengthening democratic accountability, ensuring transparency, and preventing abuse of power. The Prime Minister’s performance from July 2024 to late 2025 is analysed — and it remains largely unremarkable.

Key Provisions of the Ministerial Code

The ten provisions of the Ministerial Code are as follows:

Extended PMQs	Weekly Prime Minister’s Questions expanded to 60 minutes, plus monthly thematic PMQs.
Oversight Committee	Quarterly appearances before a cross-party oversight committee.
State of the Nation	Annual address with cross-party questioning.
Duty of Direct Answers	Written follow-up within 72 hours if questions are not answered directly.
Truthfulness Obligation	Knowingly misleading Parliament is a statutory offence.
Accountability Commissioner	Independent officer to investigate misleading or withheld information.
Citizens’ PMQs	Annual Q&A session with randomly selected citizens.
Media Engagement	At least four unscripted press conferences per year.
Transparency	Publish Cabinet decision summaries (excluding security matters) and an annual ethics report.
Sanctions	Non-compliance may lead to reprimand, loss of salary, resignation, or legal action.

Performance of Keir Starmer

1. Extended PMQs
Status: So far ignored
PMQs remain at the traditional 30-minute weekly slot. There’s no record of extending it to 60 minutes or adding monthly thematic sessions.

2. Oversight Committee
Status: So far ignored
No record exists of Starmer committing to or appearing before a cross-party oversight committee dedicated to holding the Prime Minister accountable.

3. State of the Nation
Status: So far ignored
No annual address followed by structured cross-party questioning has been recorded.

4. Duty of Direct Answers
Status: So far ignored
There’s no formal rule requiring unanswered questions to be addressed in writing within 72 hours.

5. Truthfulness Obligation
Status: So far ignored
Misleading Parliament remains a political, not statutory, offence. Ministers are expected to resign if found guilty, but it’s not legally enforceable.

6. Accountability Commissioner
Status: Partially implemented with limited progress
The 2024 Ministerial Code strengthened the independent adviser on ministerial standards, granting power to initiate investigations without the Prime Minister’s prior consent.

A proposed Ethics and Integrity Commission will oversee public ethics but won’t handle individual cases. Enforcement remains limited to advisory functions.

7. Citizens’ PMQs
Status: So far ignored
No evidence of an annual Q&A with randomly selected citizens — the proposal hasn’t been implemented.

8. Media Engagement
Status: Not reliably implemented
While Starmer has held press sessions, there’s no commitment to at least four unscripted press conferences annually.

9. Transparency
Status: Partially implemented
The Ethics and Integrity Commission will produce annual ethics reports, but Cabinet decision summaries remain undisclosed. Traditional confidentiality persists.

10. Sanctions
Status: Not institutionalised
Sanctions remain largely political. Although reforms propose withholding severance pay for serious breaches, no binding legal enforcement exists.

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Overall Summary and Verdict

As of late 2025, most provisions of the Ministerial Code remain unfulfilled. Some reforms have been proposed but not fully enacted.

Starmer revised the Code in November 2024, strengthening independence in investigations. However, despite public pressure — including the dropped China spy case — no official findings have indicated Starmer personally violated the Code.

An ethics test emerged with Angela Rayner’s resignation over a Code breach, which many viewed as a benchmark for Starmer’s ethics policy.

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Conclusion

The Ministerial Code ensures that the Prime Minister remains accountable to Parliament, the media, and the public. It promotes truthfulness, openness, and transparency — key pillars of democracy.

Yet, Keir Starmer’s government has not fully met these standards. The reforms remain partial and untested, leaving the UK’s ministerial accountability system still evolving.