The governments is once again mired in corruption following its ill conceived attempt to save Johnson ally and former cabinet minister, Owen Paterson (pictured) after he was found to have broken lobbying rules by accepting illicit payments. (Photo credit: Richard Townshend/UK Parliament)

It was always going to be just a matter of time before Boris Johnson’s handpicked Government gets mired in ‘sleaze’, an all-purpose word used in Britain in place of ‘corruption’, often reserved for charges against other countries. In recent years, the Tory party has become ungovernable and exacerbated by the selection of a leader for his popularist image. There are uncanny similarities between the rise of Donald Trump in the US and his adoption by the Republicans.

As is so often the case with Johnson, he is his own worst enemy. The warning came from among others, his former boss at the Daily Telegraph, who spoke out two years ago that he was ‘utterly unfit’ to be Prime Minister and that he “cares for nothing but his own fame and gratification.”

The ruling party already has a recent history of sleaze in being able to bend the rules of Parliament to serve it own interests. Concerns have arisen not only about Tory funding and the Government awarding lucrative contracts, but also the conflicting interests of taking second jobs, often much more rewarding than Parliamentary salaries.

The latest own-goal was over ill-thought-out attempts to save Johnson ally and former cabinet minister, Owen Paterson, after he was found to have broken lobbying rules by accepting illicit payments. As often is the case, the Prime Minister avoided accountability by refusing to go to Parliament to face a rather bruising session about the fallout. His tactic, as always, was to distract attention instead by visiting Hexham hospital and provoke controversy by not wearing a mask to show his disdain. The latest ploy is simply to gloss over the surface of dealing with corruption.

Not one for sound bites Labour Leader Keir Starmer has accused Johnson of dodging responsibility, and leading the Tories “through the sewers and the stench lingers.” The PM has, consistently, undermined institutional checks and balances. His Government is pushing through a bill to take increasing political control of the Electoral Commission that is presently investigating the scandalous funding of the refurbishment of his Downing Street apartment.

The bill will also make it more difficult, especially for people to vote who are less likely to be Tory supporters. Among other measures, his Government has also taken aim at the courts, seeking to limit judicial review of public bodies’ actions, echoing Trumpian tactics meant to bend the rules of democracy.

If anything, the Paterson fiasco simply confirms the threat Johnson poses to British democracy. It also raises the question of why politics seems to attract the worst rather than the best people for what should be one of the most important jobs. Cleaning up the British system ought to be a stunningly simple task if it was not mired in archaic conventions that need complete reform rather than knee-jerk reactions and temporary patchwork solutions.

If MPs performed their duties properly and diligently, they ought not to have time for second, third or fourth jobs. Yet records show just over a third of the members of the House of Commons took home £4.9 million between them in outside earnings in the 12 months since March 2020.

Being in charge of their own affairs has also put MPs above the law in many respects, few are going to vote to change it. Drastic reforms are needed, but without them, the history of sleaze will continue to repeat itself.