Nice and sleazy does it

There’s a lot in the media at the moment about cronyism and the lack of transparency about the links between the British government and businesses. In the UK the media tend to use the term “sleaze” rather than “corruption”. The Oxford English Dictionary defines sleaze as immoral, sordid, or corrupt behaviour and the media tends not to make it clear which adjective applies. They make it seem like the things that are going on are distasteful rather than wrong.

Transparency International define corruption as “the abuse of power for private gain.” Many of the things being reported here in the UK seem to me to fall into that definition. Taking money from someone to refurbish your dwelling is a corrupt act whether you’re a local councillor on the planning committee or living in Downing Street. So is helping your friends to obtain government contracts with the (deniable-until-it-happens) expectation that the favour will be repaid in years to come with a non-executive directorship.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the UK is riddled with corruption. In Santiago, Chile a few years ago I met a man who said to me, “It’s OK, you can trust the police here. You won’t have to bribe them.” This is something that had never occurred to me. The fictitious Central Police in the BBC’s Line of Duty seems overrun with corrupt officers, but in real life, people in Britain don’t need to pay police officers to get their help. Nor do they need to pay “incentives” to lodge official papers or do any other business.

For this reason, the UK is perceived as one of the least corrupt countries. In the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index it was ranked as 11th with a score of 77 (out of a maximum of 100). In 2017 the UK was at its peak: 8th in the world with a score of 82 and is steadily falling from this. And back in 2010 the UK was 20th with a score of 73?

The 2010 score in part reflects the scandal about MPs’ expenses claims that came to light in 2009. I imagine the UK’s CPI score will fall again in the 2021 edition because of the current stories. Will it fall lower than the 2010 score. I think it could do unless something is done to fix what is wrong at the heart of the British government.

If you want to learn more about the CPI, you can see the summary of the results for 2020 here and watch the 2-minute explainer video here.