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Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorMichael Smyth/Patricia Barratt/Fraser Campbell
Pages307-310

Appendix 5


Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament1

Prepared pursuant to the Resolution of the House of 19th July 1995

I. Purpose of the Code

1. The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to assist all Members in the discharge of their obligations to the House, their constituents and the public at large by:

(a) establishing the standards and principles of conduct expected of all Members in undertaking their duties;

(b) setting the rules of conduct which underpin these standards and principles and to which all Members must adhere; and in so doing

(c) ensuring public confidence in the standards expected of all Members and in the commitment of the House to upholding these rules.

II. Scope of the Code

2. The Code applies to a Member’s conduct which relates in any way to their membership of the House. The Code does not seek to regulate the conduct of Members in their purely private and personal lives or in the conduct of their wider public lives unless such conduct significantly damages the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole or of its Members generally.

3. The obligations set out in this Code are complementary to those which apply to all Members by virtue of the procedural and other rules of the House and the rulings of the Chair, and to those which apply to Members falling within the scope of the Ministerial Code.

1 This version of the Code of Conduct was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on
27 March 2012, following a resolution of the House on 12 March 2012 approving the revised Code of Conduct set out in the Annex to the Nineteenth Report of the Committee on Standards and Privileges (HC 1579).

308 The Law of Political Donations

III. Duties of Members

4. By virtue of the oath, or affirmation, of allegiance taken by all Members when they are elected to the House, Members have a duty to be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, her heirs and successors, according to law.

5. Members have a duty to uphold the law, including the general law against discrimination.

6. Members have a general duty to act in the interests of the nation as a whole; and a special duty to their constituents.

7. Members should act on all occasions in accordance with the public trust placed in them. They should always behave with probity and integrity including in their use of public resources.

IV. General Principles of Conduct

8. In carrying...

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