Political sleaze (UK politics)

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. This was revived in the late 1990s due to accounts of so-called "sleaze" by the Labour government.

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 rumours about the activities of the party treasurer Michael Ashcroft furthered this impression. At the same time, a series of revelations about the private lives of various Conservative politicians made the headlines.

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 long-standing extramarital affair with a fellow MP, Edwina Currie.

leaze in the Labour Party

Months after being returned to power in May 1997, the Labour party became the subject of allegations of 'sleaze'. Bernie Ecclestone was involved in controversy when it transpired he had given the Labour Party a £1 million donation – which raised eyebrows when the Labour government changed its policy to allow Formula One to continue being sponsored by tobacco manufacturers. The Labour Party subsequently returned the donation. [See Bernie Ecclestone article]

More controversies affecting the Labour Government such as David Blunkett's affair with Spectator editor Kimberly Fortier and financial scandals involving senior ministers and officials shifted the focus to sleaze within the Labour Party. There was some perception that sleaze may be endemic in British Politics as a whole.

In early 2006 the Labour government was embroiled in controversy; 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 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4810670.stm "Labour loans to be investigated"] , BBC, 15 March 2006] . See Cash for Peerages.

In November 2007, it emerged that more than £400,000 had been accepted by the Labour Party from one person through a series of third parties, causing the Electoral Commission to seek an explanation. [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7111838.stm "Concern over secret Labour donor"] , BBC, 25 November 2007] Peter Watt resigned as the General Secretary of the party the day after the story broke and was quoted as saying that he knew about the arrangement but had not appreciated that he had failed to comply with the reporting requirements. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7113255.stm "Labour boss quits over donations", BBC, 26 November 2007]

On 24 January 2008, Peter Hain resigned his two cabinet posts (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Secretary of State for Wales) after the Electoral Commission referred donations to his Deputy Leadership campaign to the police. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7206812.stm "Hain quits jobs 'to clear name' ", BBC, 24 January 2007]

References