The debasement of politics and politicians

Events occured during the course of the past week that did not show politics nor politicians in a very good light at a time when their image had been thought to have reached it's nadir. I refer to the treatment handed out to Nadine Dorries by David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions; the reasons behind what I believe to be a disgraceful and disrespectful display of manners; and George Osborne's unacceptable behaviour at the GQ magazine awards ceremony.

I have no comment on the question of abortion, nor that of Dorries' amendment as that is neither here or there in the context of this post. I have read suggestions that Cameron's answer to Dorries' question was deliberate and that it was due to his sense of humour - whether that is true or not is again neither here nor there. What is important is the fact that he failed to answer her question, an obligation he must surely have, coupled with the fact that he felt it necessary to apologise, according to the Mail-Online, by text message. The fact he did not feel able to apologise at the time speaks volumes of a superficial man who is happy to get a cheap laugh at the expense of a woman and one who, in relation to Cameron, is a subordinate. As an aside, I find it odd that Dorries having apparently accepted his apology then has an article in the print edition directly underneath the story about Cameron's texted apologies, but I digress.......

George Osborne, it seems to me, needs to take his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer and a Member of Parliament far more seriously than he does. Smutty jokes are not funny as they tend to show an adolescent schoolboy sense of humour and are not something one expects of a national politician. Not only does it show disrespect of his high office, it also shows a disrespect of himself.

The far more important matter requires a return to Nadine Dorries and the question (col: 354) she asked of David Cameron. It is a fact that the Liberal Democrats have constrained Cameron and the implementation of the manifesto on which he fought the last general election. Policies on the Health Service and the attempt to repatriate powers from the EU, to name but two, have been thwarted by Nick Clegg and his party. That Cameron took an easy and as I have said a cheap way out to avoid what was a serious question - and one that he could not answer without confirming what all believe to be true, namely that it is indeed the tail wagging the dog - illustrates that, as Hague confirmed only a day ago, his career matters more to him than any sense of duty towards the country he is supposed to serve and which he professes to love.

That our politicians are now reviled can no longer be in doubt as they continue to admirably demonstrate some of the reasons why.

Why Politicians cannot be trusted is

This!

Whilst a situation exists that allows a politician to lie to the electorate and yet remain in office, the one wish of his class - namely, that the public respect politicians - will never be achieved.

Only ten days prior to the general election Cameron was saying:

"We have absolutely no plans to raise VAT. Our first budget is all about recognising we need to get spending under control rather than putting up tax."

 Cameron cannot offer the defence that he did not know the true state of the economy as he was given access to the books prior to the election. If he, or his cohorts, did not examine them properly, or ask the right questions, that is not the fault of the electorate.

In the realms of fairness, it has to be said that Cameron did not just deceive the public on VAT, he also misled the electorate on the 're-call' question and on the matter of allowing local referenda. On the first, I do not remember any mention that the re-call of an MP would first depend on a court of his/her peers agreeing to said re-call; neither do I remember any mention that local referenda would not be binding on the local authority. Mind you, when he said that a hung parliament could be disastrous for the country, he was spot-on as just look at what has been imposed on us!

Not that Cameron is alone in the art of deceit - witness this leader in today's Daily Telegraph on the subject of MilibandE's condemnation of the VAT rise. As the editorial points out, Mandelson has confirmed, in his memoirs, that MilibandE was one of those who wished to increase VAT in November 2009 and March 2010. 'Our Ed' should remember that not all the public's memory is as short as his appears to be!

One only has to go to the site "they work for you" and research those supposedly Eurosceptic Conservative MPs who stood on a party manifesto of no further integration with the EU, coupled with the promise to repatriate powers, to find those that supported the introduction of the EU's External Action Service (EU Embassies) and the acceptance of the EIO (European Investigation Order). By their accepting the orders of their party whips, they acknowledge that their duty is to their party and not their constituents - and that is also deceit!

I can but repeat a previous assertion - that our democracy is not just in a mess, it is broken.What is even sadder is that the electorate appear not to even be aware that it has happened - either that, or they do know but don't care. When politicians are elected it is with the hope that they will 'do good', but it also means that they can 'do bad', eventually leading them to do whatever they want. This invariably results in the politicians sucking the life blood out of a country, both financially and socially, whilst not experiencing the effects themselves. In this respect I am reminded of a quotation by Frederic Bastiat:

"When plunder has become a way of life for a group of people living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time, a legal system that authorises it and a moral code that glorifies it."

One thing is certain and it is that this whole sorry mess will end in tears - but the tears that will be shed will not be those of the people!