Politics is at all time low - Liz can restore faith by telling the truth, says TIM FARRON

Prime Minister Major urged a return to traditional morality in private and public life… a call that backfired badly when several of his MPs got caught with their trousers down. In some cases, literally.

When I talk about morality here, I’m not thinking of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll – but more that there is a need to tell the truth, play by the rules, keep your word, act fairly. Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s good for politicians to understand issues of right and wrong and to seek to do the right thing. We shouldn’t be hypocrites, but neither should we be a moral vacuum.

The year before Mr Major’s infamous speech, in the 1992 general election, Theresa May and I found ourselves on the same ballot paper, as we both stood for the then safe Labour seat of North West Durham.

Who knows, maybe our debates in the working men’s clubs of county Durham helped to hone Mrs May’s skills, enabling her to capture the top job years later?

Following this experience, I led a training session at Lib Dem conference in 1994 for fellow young Lib Dems interested in standing for Parliament.

I cannot be certain, but it is likely that another future Conservative PM – Liz Truss - was in that audience. At this event I remember joking that the Conservative party was nose-diving so catastrophically in the polls, that any young careerist might be advised to join the Tories at that point, setting them up for when the Party’s fortunes eventually turned. Could it be that young Liz heeded my tongue-in-cheek advice and hot footed it over to the blue team?

Just to be clear, I don’t really think that the rise of Theresa May or Liz Truss to the top had anything to do with me! However, Liz Truss becomes Prime Minister with trust in politics at an all-time low.

Yet with crippling inflation, the Ukraine conflict, sewage polluting our waterways and a host of other crises, we are in desperate need of a unifying leader whom people can trust.

So what can Prime Minister Liz do to give voters confidence that integrity can make a comeback?

At PMQs she could shock everyone by actually answering the questions that she is asked. That includes tricky and partisan questions from Keir Starmer. Blunt, honest, direct and even self-deprecating answers would surprise and impress everyone.

Second, and controversially, she should keep out of the debate over the Commons Privileges Committee’s deliberations on Boris Johnson’s fate.

She should not undermine the Committee, before or after its judgement and – if Mr Johnson is found guilty – she should publicly accept the verdict.

You may love or loathe the former PM, but rules about honesty in public life should apply to everyone.

Third, Liz Truss should state from the outset that the ministerial code will be strictly applied to her government, including herself, and that those who breach it will face the consequences, including dismissal from office.

All leaders lead by example, whether deliberately or accidentally.

Liz Truss should take this opportunity to set a firm example not just for her ministers, but for our wider society – including our young people who should see that there is no advantage in dishonesty or avoiding responsibility.

As a Christian in Parliament, I am keen to emphasise that Christians are not necessarily better or more moral people than others – indeed, we are simply those who realise we need forgiveness!

Yet, like PM Liz Truss, we have an opportunity to set a good example – whatever our party – to gain for our politics a better reputation for truth and fairness.

In my new book ‘A Mucky Business’, I examine why Christians should care about politics, and how we might engage in this much-maligned arena.

Is politics a mucky business? Well, yes… but so is everything else in this flawed world – which means Christians should involve ourselves in current affairs, making informed opinions, praying for our leaders, and even joining them in putting integrity at the heart of political life.

• Tim Farron's book A Mucky Business: Why Christians should get involved in politics is published in November.