Political Sleaze (UK Politics)
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A number of political scandals in the 1980s and 1990s created the impression of what was described in the British press as "sleaze": a perception that the then Conservative government was associated with political corruption and hypocrisy.
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[edit] Conservative Party Cash controversies
In particular, the successful entrapment of Graham Riddick and David Tredinnick in the "cash for questions" scandal, the contemporaneous misconduct as a minister by Neil Hamilton (who lost a consequent libel action against The Guardian), and the convictions of former Cabinet member Jonathan Aitken and former party deputy chairman Jeffrey Archer for perjury in two separate cases leading to custodial sentences damaged the Conservatives' public reputation. Persistent unsubstantiated rumours about the activities of the party treasurer Michael Ashcroft did not help this impression. At the same time, a series of revelations about the private lives of various Conservative politicians grabbed the headlines, and both the media and the party's opponents made little attempt to clarify the distinction between financial conduct and private lives.
[edit] Back to Basics
John Major's Back to Basics campaign backfired because of media focus on its moral aspects, where they exposed "sleaze" within the Conservative Party and, most damagingly, within the Cabinet itself. A number of ministers were then revealed to have committed sexual indiscretions, and Major was forced by media pressure to dismiss them. In September 2002 it was revealed that, prior to his promotion to the cabinet, Major had himself had a longstanding extramarital affair with a fellow MP, Edwina Currie.
[edit] Labour Party
Out of Government and in a period of reform and introspection, 'sleaze' in political life is less and less associated with the Conservative Party.
A wave of controversies affecting the Labour Government such as David Blunkett's affair with Spectator editor Kimberly Fortier and financial scandals involving senior ministers and officials has shifted the focus to sleaze within the Labour Party. There is a perception that sleaze may be endemic in British Politics as a whole, though such a judgement has generally been made with no reference to the often higher levels of corruption and personal misconduct in other countries.
In early 2006 the Labour government was embroiled in further controversy. First, Tessa Jowell faced allegations involving the convoluted financial affairs of her husband.
In March 2006 it emerged that the Labour party had borrowed millions of pounds in 2005 to help fund their General Election campaign. While not illegal, on 15 March the Treasurer of the party, Jack Dromey stated publicly that he had neither knowledge of or involvement in these loans and had only become aware when he read about it in the newspapers. A story was running at the time that Dr Chai Patel and others had been recommended for Life peerages after lending the Labour party money. He called on the Electoral Commission to investigate the issue of political parties taking out loans from non-commercial sources[1].
