We need an independent process for holding those in political office to account for their conduct and to bolster the statutory footing of our politically impartial civil service.

congress.tuc.org.uk/motion-33-st...

The issue at hand is not when ministers or the Prime Minister act with integrity - taking responsibility for their actions, even when they’ve made an honest mistake - but what happens when they don’t.

That’s why we believe a strengthened independent pay review process - for the whole of the service, not just senior ranks - would stand the best chance of resisting the short termism and political intervention that we’ve witnessed for decades. (3/3)

but it's eye popping when looking at senior leadership roles managing billions in budgets and tens of thousands of staff, or for specialist skills. Politicians in successive govts have always baulked at addressing this - focussing on narrow & immediate political imperatives. (2/3)

The civil service cannot publicly defend itself, that is the role of elected ministers. Time for them to step up to the plate. 5/5

The civil service cannot be isolated from legitimate public interest or criticism, but what we are seeing is the constant drip feeding of stories, designed to undermine individuals and the service as a whole. This will do nothing to attract the best talent from outside the service. 4/5