By Hannah Connolly
t's been hard to miss the word sleaze over the last few weeks. It has been printed across the front pages and heads up newspaper digital covers, ‘Boris Johnson Skips Sleaze Debate,’ ‘Owen Paterson Still In Line For Peerage,’ ’Tory tax scandal…’ But what does sleaze mean, what's happening in UK politics and why does it matter?
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is currently facing his lowest opinion poll ratings since he entered No.10 back in 2019. In fact, Johnson is at the epicentre of a series of scandals that are undermining public opinion as well as adding to growing discontent from members of his own party.
To break down the significance of sleaze in UK politics - the people involved and the impact on the PM and his cabinet - The Stack narrows in on political jargon (see the bottom of this article for a definition cheat sheet) and explores the significance of recent events…
What is Sleaze in the context of UK politics?
Political sleaze refers to misconduct enacted by elected officials. The word itself came into the British political lexicon in the mid 1990s and has been a constant ever since, though the concept is invariably as old as politics itself. It refers to financial dishonesty, ethical violations and sexual exploitations enacted by politicians.
It is often a tool to sway the political power balance. Take the ‘New Labour’ landslide victory of the 1990s that saw Tony Blair knock the Conservative party off their 18 year pedestal as leaders.
The 2009 expenses scandal is also a good example, alongside a string of ministers and politicians resignations amid cheating scandals over the last 50 years. A more recent example would be the not so secret affair of Matt Hancock and his top aide Gina Coladangelo.
"Political sleaze is often a tool used to sway the political power balance."
Why was there a sleaze debate & why is sleaze in the news?
The government has been accused of sleaze over the handling of the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal amongst other issues, with the latter resulting in the recent resignation of Mr Paterson. An independent standards authority ruled that Mr Paterson was involved in “egregious” breaches of the rules.
The Tory party attempted to block the initially proposed suspension and to, instead, call for a review into the Standards Commissioner, before being forced to concede to a publicly embarrassing U-turn which ended in the resignation. This was the catalyst for the three hour debate or ‘sleaze debate’ on Tuesday 9th of November.
What is lobbying?
Lobbying is when individuals, business, trade unions or charitable organizations attempt to get the government to change policies and is akin to ‘persuasion’.
The UK Public Affairs Council defines: “In a professional capacity, attempting to influence, or advising those who wish to influence, the UK Government, Parliament, the devolved legislatures or administrations, regional or local government or other public bodies or any matter within their competence.”
What did Owen Paterson do and how did it break the rules?
Paterson was found to have broken the rules by approaching and meeting officials of the the Food Standards Agency and ministers at the Department for International Development a number of times over issues involving and directly impacting two companies he worked as a consultant for.
Mr Paterson was paid £8,333 a month by Randox for 16 hours work and £2,000 every other month by Lynn’s Country Foods for 4 hours work.
The Commons Standards Committee also said he used his parliamentary office and tax-payer funded Commons stationery for his consultancy work whilst failing to declare his interests in some of the meetings. The Commissioner has ruled that the contact with officials and ministers were “serious breaches” of the rules.
The Commons Standards Committee also said he used his parliamentary office and tax-payer funded Commons stationery for his consultancy work whilst failing to declare his interests in some of the meetings. The Commissioner has ruled that the contact with officials and ministers were “serious breaches” of the rules.
Mr Paterson was paid £8,333 a month by Randox for 16 hours work and £2,000 every other month by Lynn’s Country Foods for 4 hours work.
What has Sir Geoffrey Cox been accused of?
The former Attorney General, Sir Geoffrey Cox, is under mounting pressure as the Labour Party calls for an investigation. The investigative process is to be carried out to ascertain as to whether or not the MP “blazenly” used his office to participate in legal hearings representing the government of the British Virgin Island. For his role the MP has earned more than £700,000. Sir Geoffrey is also practising barrister for which he earnt almost £900,000 in the last year alone.
The issue surrounding the former Attorney General's involvement was revealed by The Times in a video that shows Sir Geoffreey participating in a zoom call from his Commons office. At one point leaving his desk and returning around half an hour later. Coinciding with a Parliamentary vote which he participated in on the Government's health and social care funding reforms.
The Daily Mirror has also reported that Sir Geoffrey has been claiming for accommodation in the capital whilst simultaneously renting out the flat he owns outright also in London. The situation regarding Mr Cox is emblematic of growing anger towards the earnings of MPs with second jobs boosting their annual income which is already more than £50,000 more than the UK average.
So Can MPs have second jobs?
MP’s are allowed to take extra work and do, but they must declare their additional income. In other words in order to take secondary employment an MP must retain frank visibility in their dealings at all times.
A second job facilitates MP’s with extra incomes, with a basic salary of a Member of the House of Commons at almost £82,000 as of April 2020. On top of this MP’s are allowed to claim allowances which are granted to cover the costs of running an office, employing other members of staff, maintaining a constituency residence or a residence in London. Basically meaning in the same way you may expense charges such as business lunch meeting or petrol MPs are granted extra money to cover the costs of their ‘daily dealings’.
"A second job facilitates MP’s with extra incomes, with a basic salary of a Member of the House of Commons at almost £82,000 as of April 2020 , £50,000 annually more than the UK average."
This was major news back in 2009, and what developed was a full blown political scandal where Members of Parliament were found to be abusing/misusing allowances and expenses. The news was released in stages by the Telegraph feeding growing public discontent. The PM at the time was Gordon Brown. The former PM himself was ordered to pay back £12,000 for cleaning and gardening costs, becoming the highest profile state figure in the proceedings. Brown described the incident as a “scar” on British democracy,
Brown was succeeded by Tory leader David Cameron. Important to note that in the run up to the General Elections of 2010 Labour candidates struggled with a legacy of sleaze whilst Tories, though also implicated in the scandal went on to win the majority.
The Tax Scandal
The latest scandal to embroil the Johnson cabinet is a probe into MPs Tax reduction tactics. Revealed by The Times, at least 10 Members of Parliament have channeled their incomes from additional work through their own firms and though legal, reduces their overall taxes to be paid.
These MPs filter their cash through cooperation tax that sits at 19%, rather than income tax at 45%.
This further adds to growing discontent, the consensus that if these are the self same people that set the taxes in which everyone else is held to account why should they profit from a loop hole?
What are the sleaze incidents surrounding Boris Johnson and his cabinet?
Aside from the incident regarding Owen Paternson and tax filtration the government is also facing public and cross party anger for other examples of political sleaze. Here are the topline issues…
1.) Cash for honours The police are being urged to take a closer look at the presence of “cash for honours” peerage. Peerage is granted by the Government to honour individuals and give them the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords. What has emerged is that individuals nominated by the Tories have donated millions of pounds to the Party. This has raised questions about the volition of nomination at the hands of the Conservatives undermining the purpose of the Commons. The Met Police have not yet responded to calls for an investigation.
2.) Coivd Contracts The ongoing criticism regarding the government's dealing of coronavirus contracts has also served to undermine public opinion and garnered scrutiny from officials. This has been strengthened by the Department of Healths refusal to publish the minutes of a call between the aforementioned Mr Paterson and the former Health Minister Lord Bethell days before the firm which Paterson consulted for was awarded a £133million testing contract despite lacking equipment.This is just one such example of covid contracts going to ‘friends’ of the party to the tune of billions of pounds.
3.) Downing Street Refurbishment A recent Downing Street flat refurbishment has also come under heavy fire, in a row that has been dubbed as “cash for curtains” by the press. Questions were raised when the PM decided to overhaul his luxury residence at No.10. The renovation which is said to have cost up to £200,000 in total carried out by Lulu Lytle was originally funded by a Tory donor before the PM repaid the cost to himself.
4.) PM's Holiday The PM’s holiday has also not bode well for public opinion levels, with Johnson having been reported to the standards watchdog after refusing to declare the cost of his holiday to Spain. Staying in a luxury hideaway outside of Marbella, belonging to a Tory peer, Zac Goldsmith. Last week the PM submitted a formal declaration which stated the holiday was “provided free of charge by the Goldsmith’s.”
5.) Debate Abscence Not turning up to the sleaze debate itself, it hasn't boded well for the PM who sent another MP in his place as he was otherwise occupied with an appointment in the North of England.
"The severity of some of the accusations and the frequency at which they are happening could seriously damage the Prime Minister's reputation as well as the Conservative party at large."
What does all of this mean?
“A fish rots from the head down, it's the same with Boris Johnson’s corrupt and sleazy government.” These were the words of the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain who secured the sleaze debate. These comments come amongst a chorus of similar words from opposition leaders and from the public. The Tory Government is no stranger to sleaze allegations and arguably most governments do not go unscaved from incidents considered as sleaze. However, the severity of some of the accusations and the frequency at which they are happening could seriously damage the Prime Minister's reputation as well as the Conservative party at large.
The big picture…
The newspapers of all political leaning have tapped into the sleaze scandals, with titles that usually support Tory MPs also verging on criticism. It opens the doors wide for the return of dormant stories from the past as well as deeper scrutiny on the Governmental conduct. Overall it serves to weaken voters' trust in politicians at large. Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer has said to the press “On the broader point and just reflecting over recent events, I think for us as a government, it’s fair to say we need to do better than we did last week and we know that.”
The permanence and the lasting effects of this sleaze storm are to be seen but if history is to go by sleaze accusations stick like glue and it can be hard for Goverments to deftly recover unscaved.
Political Jargon/Terminology Cheat Sheet:
House of Commons: The House of Commons is the democratically elected house of the UK Parliament. This is the group of people who are responsible for making laws and holding the Government to account/checking their work.
House of Lords: This group is the none elected arm of the UK Parliament and acts as the second chamber. The aim is to complement the work of the elected House of Commons.
‘Sleaze:’ Refers to misconduct enacted or accused against an elected official in the British Government.
Peerage: An honour granted by the Government which gives the recipient the right to vote in the House of Lords.
Lobbying: To Lobby is when an individual or group tries to persuade someone in Parliament to support a particular policy or campaign.
Commons Standards Committee: The Committee’s role is to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards across public life.
Attorney General: Is a title referring to the main legal advisor of the government.
Chief Whip: The Chief Whip is responsible for administering the ‘whipping system’ that ensures members of their party attend and vote in Parliament as the party leadership desires.
What is political sleaze and why is it significant? The Stack breaks it down.
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