Tory Sleaze and Scandals

3 Key excerpts on "Tory Sleaze and Scandals"

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  Shame and Modernity in Britain

  1890 to the Present

  • Anne-Marie Kilday, David S. Nash(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  KILDAY AND D.S. NASH course of the modern era. It does this firstly by defining the term ‘scandal’ before briefly looking at the history of sex scandals in British history to analyse why sexual indiscretions, in the British political arena in particular, have routinely attracted so much interest from the media, social commen- tators and the public. The chapter then includes a detailed examination of the Lord Lambton affair of 1973, when Antony Lambton (1922–2006), then a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, was forced to resign in shame following allegations of drug-taking and risqué behaviour with prostitutes. As well as offering a detailed examination of what trans- pired, a further section of the chapter will analyse how the shaming of Antony Lambton was regarded by various sections of the British populace both at the time and in the wake of his departure from public office. The chapter then concludes by considering the extent to which the twentieth- century sex scandal has become a contemporary form of charivari: a sham- ing ritual for modern Britain. THE SEX SCANDAL IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT In etymological terms, the word ‘scandal’ originates from early Greek derivatives which denote an obstacle or trap that results in a ‘moral stum- bling’ of some sort. 3 According to the sociologist Ari Adut, a scandal can be defined as ‘an episode of moral disturbance, marked by an interaction around an actual, apparent or alleged transgression that draws sustained and negative attention from a public’. 4 Although we need to acknowledge that what is deemed scandalous in one context may not be so in another, Professor John Thompson, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge, has established five characteristics typically associated with scandals which build on Adut’s basic definition. First, their occurrence or existence con- cerns the transgression of certain norms, moral codes or values and usually involves money, power and/or sex.

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  Political Scandal

  Power and Visability in the Media Age

  • John B. Thompson(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Polity

    (Publisher)

  It is tempting to respond to questions of this kind by suggesting that the British have a traditional squeamishness about sex, and hence are likely to respond censoriously to revelations of sexual transgressions by prominent public figures. There may be a fragment of truth in this suggestion, but it can easily be exaggerated and it is unlikely to provide a compelling explanation of why sex scandals feature so prominently in British political life. A much more important consideration is the fact that there exists a long and venerable tradition of sexual-political scandals in Britain, a tradition which has been nurtured and sustained by the press and which forms part of the political culture. Moreover, whereas in some countries (such as France) there are legally enforceable restrictions on the freedom of the press to report on aspects of private life, no such restrictions exist in Britain. (Today the Press Complaints Commission publishes a code of practice, but adherence to the code is voluntary.) Hence there are relatively few obstacles which lie in the way of editors, journalists and others who are determined to expose clandestine affairs.

  The tradition of sexual-political scandals in Britain stretches back to the nineteenth century and before, as we have seen. Throughout this history, sexual-political scandals have been interwoven with changes in moral codes and conventions governing sexuality, with conflicts over these codes and with changing forms of legal regulation; scandals have fed off these codes and conventions and have, in turn, contributed to their transformation. In the late nineteenth century, growing concerns over prostitution and homosexuality created a context in which scandals exposing the horrors of the prostitution trade – the dark underbelly of Victorian society – and scandals based on allegations of homosexuality could flourish. Moreover, the growing emphasis on the importance of the family and on marriage as a gateway to social respectability,3

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  The Political Costs of the 2009 British MPs' Expenses Scandal

  • J. VanHeerde-Hudson, J. VanHeerde-Hudson, Kenneth A. Loparo, Jennifer Van Heerde-Hudson(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  7 Tempests and Teacups: Politicians’ Reputations in the Wake of the Expenses Scandal

  Nicholas Allen and Sarah Birch

  This chapter examines the impact of the 2009 MPs’ expenses scandal on public attitudes towards politicians and politics. Drawing on data from a three-wave representative panel survey fielded between early 2009 and spring 2010, the chapter probes citizens’ evaluations of MPs. It reports the immediate response to the scandal before exploring its impact over the medium term. The chapter finds that, contrary to expectations, the scandal’s impact was surprisingly limited. If anything, respondents were less critical of politicians six months after the scandal than immediately before the media frenzy first broke. The chapter discusses various psychological and structural factors that may account for this finding and locates the public response to the scandal within the broader mood of disenchantment that currently pervades British politics.

  Introduction

  Claims of impropriety and wrongdoing involving politicians are an alltoo-common feature of British politics. Almost every month, it seems, brings fresh allegations in the pages of newspapers. Every such allegation constitutes a scandal of sorts, insofar as the reported behaviour involves a violation of widely held ethical norms and prompts a public expression of disapproval (Thompson 2000). However, the extent and intensity of public disapproval can vary enormously. In this respect, some allegations of misconduct are clearly more scandalous than others, either because of their individual significance or because they are seen to be part of a broader pattern of misconduct. Occasionally, the violation of ethical norms can appear endemic to an entire institution and may prompt an especially vocal expression of public disapproval. Such institutional scandals can bring virtually the whole of the political class into disrepute. They might be expected to leave a pronounced footprint in the collective memory.

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