Debate contribution: Members' Code of Conduct and the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members
Debate contribution by Ms Diana Armstrong on .
- MLA
- Ms Diana Armstrong
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 28 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Committee Business
- Heading
- Members' Code of Conduct and the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5762456
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The Ulster Unionist Party does not sit on the Committee on Standards. However, I will make some comments on behalf of the party. Given the events just now, with the non-appearance of the First Minister to respond to a question for urgent oral answer, this debate could hardly be more relevant. At the heart of public service is a simple principle: that those entrusted with representing the public must conduct themselves in a way that earns and maintains the public's trust. The Assembly's code of conduct exists to establish the ethical standards expected of every Member, to provide clear and transparent rules and, ultimately, to protect public confidence in this institution. The changes before us today are, as has been outlined by Committee members, largely technical and procedural in nature. They reflect the work undertaken by the Committee on Standards and ensure that the rules remain fit for purpose and consistent with evolving expectations around behaviour, accountability and public life. Every Member is expected to uphold the principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. Alongside those principles, we have obligations around respect, professionalism and the way we conduct ourselves towards colleagues, Assembly staff and members of the public. The revised code strengthens the Assembly's ethical framework in several important ways, and those have been clearly articulated by members of the Committee today. The amendments help to ensure that the standards framework governing Members remains robust, relevant and credible. Members are elected to serve the public. We are entrusted with public office, public resources and the responsibility of legislating on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland.
With that privilege comes a responsibility to lead by example. At a time when public confidence in political institutions can never be taken for granted, it is more important than ever that the Assembly demonstrates its commitment to the highest standards of conduct.
The public rightly expects those who make laws and hold others to account to be willing to uphold those same standards themselves. Therefore, as we consider the revisions, we should reaffirm our collective commitment to integrity, transparency, accountability, respect and service. By doing so, we not only protect the reputation of the Assembly but strengthen public confidence in our democratic institutions. The credibility of the Assembly rests on not only the decisions that we take but the standards that we uphold while taking them. The public rightly expects those standards to be high, and we should expect nothing less of every Minister and MLA. I commend to the House the updated code of conduct and guide to the rules relating to the conduct of Members.
437 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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