The Liberal Democrats and ‘Constructive Opposition’ - what does this mean for anti-corruption?

By Peter Munro

A beautiful weekend on the Brighton seafront – with scorching sun and clear skies – matches-up nicely with the current mood of the Liberal Democrats. Suddenly having to manage third party responsibilities and 72 MPs, after going into the election with 15, will cause some headaches. But after 10 years down the parliamentary pecking order, the party has been dreaming of these problems for a long time…

Photo by Jeffrey Young on Unsplash

During their conference, questions emerged about Lib Dem identity in the new Parliament and, specifically, how the party responds to a Labour government. Without the Conservatives in government anymore, the Lib Dem electoral strategy becomes more challenging. 

Whilst we’ll leave the strategy talk for others, the party line – repeated by its new intake of MPs - was to focus on ‘constructive opposition’.  

So, what does this mean for anti-corruption issues?

Standards and Integrity in Public Life 

Whilst the Lib Dems did play their role in removing the Conservatives from office, a major factor for the government’s downfall was self-inflicted problems of sleaze and scandal. The general smell of corruption, whether it was related to party donations, covid VIP-lane contracts, or second jobs and lobbying, was arguably just as potent for voters as sewage, if not more so. 

Whilst in opposition, Labour and the Lib Dems rode on the highs brought about by dives in opinion polling for both the Conservatives and the SNP, as corruption scandals frequently cut through to the electorate.  

Both parties did have promising commitments during the campaign, including the Lib Dems showing ambition to tighten rules for Ministerial behaviour, and Labour developing proposals for an Ethics and Integrity Commission to “stamp out corruption in government.” 

However, with questions already being asked of Labour’s early integrity on various fronts, including donations, appointments, and freebies, anti-corruption experts have not been blown away by the first couple of months of the new government.  

On many policy areas, the Prime Minister has said that things will get worse before they get better – but this doesn’t need to extend to sleaze, scandal, and anti-corruption policy.  

But this is precisely one of the areas that the Liberal Democrats should be making all sorts of noise about - and it would be in their interests to do so.  

‘Constructive opposition’ aimed at Labour’s delivery on their anti-corruption agenda is vital – but His Majesty’s Official Opposition aren’t exactly well placed to do so, yet. 

With that in mind, there are opportunities for the Lib Dems here.  

Firstly, with their biggest haul of seats in over 100 years, they have the strength in numbers to seriously probe the government on their election promise to clean up politics. When asked a question on this matter in Brighton, Paul Kohler MP, newly elected for Wimbledon, remarked how when speaking to government ministers about issues of integrity and standards, they have often shrugged their shoulders saying, “it’s fine, we’re Labour”. Voters across Lib Dem constituencies – famously not keen on Labour - will be glad to see their new MPs not give the new government a free pass on anti-corruption now they’re finally in power. Sarah Olney MP (Richmond Park), as new Cabinet Spokesperson, can certainly be a great champion to hold them to account.  

Secondly, the newly reformed Modernisation Committee, tasked with reforming Commons procedures, driving up standards, and improving working practices, offers the Lib Dems a tangible vehicle to make change. Party Whips are usually not ones for the spotlight and prefer to stay in the darkened backrooms of Parliament, but Wendy Chamberlain MP (North East Fife) is the refreshing exception. Putting the Chief Whip forward to sit on the Committee, alongside Marie Goldman MP (Chelmsford), new ‘shadow’ Leader of the House, sends a message that the party is taking this issue head on. Again, with only one more member on the Committee than the Lib Dems, it is unclear whether the Conservatives will be a constructive or destructive opposition on parliamentary standards. 

Finally – and this one is the most difficult - how do they react to a scandal? With such a large group of parliamentarians, not only is there a higher chance of something going wrong, but official standards watchdogs will be looking a bit closer at the party now they are more of a force. With more people wanting the ear of the Lib Dems – and possibly interested in sending donations - education, transparency, and an honest culture will be important to prevent any issues. Our recent polling found that 68% of Liberal Democrat voters (more than any other party) say their voting intentions will likely be affected by the issue of corruption.   

Illicit Finance and Economic Crime 

For more information on our panel event at Brighton – see our LinkedIn video with panelist Margot Mollat from Transparency International UK. 

With thanks to our Chair, Dominic Martin (TI Board and East Hampshire PPC), and other panellists Lord William Wallace of Saltaire, Edward Lucas (The Times and Cities PPC), and Dr Susan Hawley (Spotlight on Corruption), here are some key takeaways for the Lib Dems on the issue. 

Firstly, whilst the UK has gone through some legislative changes to improve our defence against economic crime, some loopholes remain on the issue, particularly surrounding the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories (CDOTs), which remain hubs for dirty money and tax evasion/avoidance. Labour made some good commitments on working with the CDOTs in the run-up to the election, but the Lib Dems can use their parliamentary strength to push the issue further.  

Secondly, the use of British service providers, such as lawyers, accountants, estate agents, and others, to assist in money laundering and economic crime has gone on long enough. With a consultation currently on Labour’s desk that could stop these professional enablers, the Lib Dems must not let the government water down their ambitions on this front.  

Finally, our law enforcement agencies are up against some of the richest and most powerful criminals and corrupt individuals in the world, and the UK Government is woefully underfunding their efforts. Time and time again, research shows that economic crime law enforcement agencies often bring in money than they spend due to the recovery of assets and breaking up crime networks. So, it is worth investing more resource into agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the National Crime Agency (NCA), so that they can go after the big targets, rather than the low hanging fruit.

The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has events at Liberal Democrat, Labour, and Conservative party conferences. Now the post-election dust has settled, this 3-part blog series will take a look at how each party may handle anti-corruption issues in the years ahead.  

For details of our events in Brighton, Liverpool, and Birmingham, please see our events page.