Tory sleaze hits Johnson
The latest allegations have impacted Johnson more than Brexit and covid mismanagement.
This example can be used by politics students in essays on democracy and parties.
The Conservatives have had a bad couple of weeks. It’s all to do with ‘sleaze’ – a term given to the apparent corrupt (or unethical) practices of government ministers. Sleaze dates back to the John Major government, many believe it was bought down by a constant slew of lurid headlines about the financial misdemeanors of MP’s.
So, what happened?
The problems for the government began when MP Owen Paterson was suspended for 30-days by the House of Commons watchdog after Paterson was found guilty of breaching parliamentary lobbying rules for his second job. He was earning 100,000 a year from outside work and, it was found, used his position to lobby for his employers. Having outside work is not illegal for an MP, but not declaring a conflict of interest is.
The suspension would have triggered a recall motion, leading to a by-election.
The government decided it would raise a motion to change the rules, this would then overturn the Owen Patterson decision – giving him the right to appeal. The government said it was doing it out of fairness and it had NOTHING to do with Mr Paterson. But it was clear they were trying to save one of their own.
The motion passed, the government whipped its reluctant MPs. However, a public and media backlash led to the government realising it had overreached. Johnson withdrew his support for Patterson and Patterson resigned as an MP. But the damage was done.
Further revelations about MPs and their second jobs – revealing their lax commitment to the Commons – followed. Johnson even used his COP26 platform to tell world leaders and the press that the UK was not corrupt as the sleaze reports dominated the news cycle.
The government spent the weekend trying to put an end to the slew of allegations. On Monday it decided to (bizarrely) pass a motion that would cancel out the earlier motion. But to everyone’s surprise, Conservative MP Sir Christoper Chope, shouted ‘object’. This means the motion now has to go to a debate. Extending the excruciating harm for the government.
Why Chope? Why?
Chope is a parliamentary puritan. He believes all motions should be properly debated. In the past, he used similar tactics to object to private members’ bills that looked to outlaw upskirting and FGM. Chope is like that awkward uncle who believes standing up for tradition is worth being unpopular. But this time, his parliamentary colleagues are pretty angry that they have to endure another day of headlines.
Why does this matter?
Opinion polls suggest the sleaze allegations have already damaged the Tories’ standing. Redfield and Wilton’s latest survey on Thursday put Labour ahead of the Conservatives for the first time in a year. ComRes said almost half of voters oppose MPs holding second jobs.
The FT reports these allegations are going down badly with voters in the so-called ‘red wall’ seats.
Here’s a list of MP’s and their external earnings. You would have thought being an MP would be a full-time job? apparently not.
To come
For those of you studying global politics - I am going to write up the main outcomes of the COP26 climate summit (soonish).