Fraser Nelson on Political Scandal
One of this week’s Coffeehouse blogs by Fraser Nelson uncautiously mocks Bloomberg’s Top Ten Political Scandals in the U.S. The Spectator over the past fortnight has run the top fifty British scandals, and true to Nelson’s comments today, they just don’t compare with the grandeur, excess, immorality or illegality of ours. I guess as Brits we’re more self-deprecating as well; allowing ourselves to find humour and a strange sense of pride in our political mischief.
His column reminded me of a discussion I was having with friends when the Expenses scandal hit. All round public tax was being spent on things it perhaps shouldn’t have been - and naturally the left criticsed the excessive opulence in the Tories’ claims, but by the same token as Nelson’s blog today - at least they did it right. Lost were the claims for 40p chocolates, and 80p homewares; it was the Jacobean way of thinking and reward - if you’re going to do something wrong, do it right.
Perhaps its a sad state of affairs as a country, when we are reduced to priding ourselves in scandal, but the public love one, and so for that reason, thank god we live in Britain.
