THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK.
One of the reasons said to be a cause of the emphatic Conservative defeat in July’s general election was their perceived lack of integrity. In particular, the three-year reign of Boris Johnson was believed by many to be the nadir of political veracity and truthfulness.
Labour won 411 seats but secured only 34% of the popular vote. Some believe that the first past-the-post voting system we have is very unfair and unrepresentative. Others are happy that we seldom must worry about messy coalitions
Nevertheless, I think one thing most people did expect from the new government, whatever its majority, was a much higher level of integrity, particularly as Labour politicians - among others - were very quick to point the finger at alleged Tory sleaze.
However, it turns out that members of the new government are at it too! What really sticks in the craw is the repeated claim by senior Labour politicians that the gifts and donations they received were ‘within the rules. So, we have Angela Rayner’s claim on a current affairs TV show that “MPs have accepted donations and gifts for years. All MPs do it”. So that’s all right then!
They just don’t get it do they? Most of us think that, even if it’s within the rules, it’s morally repugnant. What has happened to integrity in public life? For Christians it must be different. A verse from Proverbs comes to mind: The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
It certainly did for the Tories. Labour politicians had better watch out!
© Ian Williams. 2024.
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