Starmer, national sovereignty and the Ministerial Code

Since the Mandelson/Starmer matter questions are being asked about whether the Ministerial Code has been breached.

This prompted me to look at how the current PM changed the Code when he came to power, and one item jumps out. It relates to the extent to which international law and treaties may override our national sovereignty.

Paragraph 1.6 of the 2010 edition issued under the then new Con-LibDem coalition government read thus:

“The Ministerial Code should be read against the background of the overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law including international law and treaty obligations and to uphold the administration of justice and to protect the integrity of public life.”

In October 2015, following the General Election which returned a Conservative government under Cameron, the italicised words were omitted. Officially it was said not to be a substantive legal change but in that case why the change in wording?

In a letter to The Guardian newspaper the Treasury Solicitor Paul Jenkins said:

“As the government’s most senior legal official I saw at close hand from 2010 onwards the intense irritation these words caused the PM as he sought to avoid complying with our international legal obligations, for example in relation to prisoner voting.

“Whether the new wording alters the legal obligations of ministers or not, there can be no doubt that they will regard the change as bolstering, in a most satisfying way, their contempt for the rule of international law.”

According to Grok critics

“argued it was motivated by frustration within parts of the Conservative government — particularly Cameron himself — with certain international obligations, especially:

“The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (e.g., on prisoner voting, deportation cases, or counter-terrorism).

“Broader tensions with international law in areas like military action, immigration, or treaty commitments.”

In November 2024 under the new PM Sir Keir Starmer the relevant paragraph was amended to read:

“The Ministerial Code should be read against the background of the overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law, including international law and treaty obligations, and to protect the integrity of public life.”

It remains the same in the 2025 edition.

It seems clear that Starmer wishes to see our sovereignty re-subordinated to supranational governance.

This is evidenced in the proposed new law to bring our legislation into “dynamic alignment” with EU law and implement it via “Henry VIII” powers so as to bypass Parliamentary scrutiny.

Sir Keir is the deliberate enemy of our liberty and independence.