Putin would admire the manoeuvre of unmasked Conservatives

 

Public and political pressure rightly shamed the Conservatives to back-down in their shocking attempt to create a new MP’s standards regulator managed by the Conservatives. Putin would have been proud of such a manoeuvre.

There’s a common accusation against politicians in the UK – “one rule for you and another for the rest of us”. However, most in my experience are motivated for the public good and accept they must be held to a higher not a lower standard of behaviour.

The PM is notorious for overriding the Ministerial code and seeking to avoid scrutiny. Nor is he especially renowned for his honesty and integrity. So it was no surprise that Conservative MPs were whipped to save one of their own “cash for questions” MPs. They have unmasked themselves. That corrosive culture remains.