I posted this Tweet this morning:
Government corruption seems like a big deal to me. But I want to know how other people think. Would you mind answering some questions on your feelings about corruption in the thread that follows? Thanks if you feel able to do so.....
— Richard Murphy (@RichardJMurphy) April 14, 2021
The tweets that followed were planned in a mind map that looks like this:
I am afraid it is n ot possible to embed those questions here - because I do n ot know how to do so.
But if you would like to do so click on the Twitter thread, and follow it down. You will not be the first....
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Not sure my responses will surprise you, or matter …… but here goes.
Yes.
The PM – he sets the tone and others take his lead.
Yes – but it merely accelerated a trend already in place.
all of them
No – a rather poor job
Not sure. In an ideal world we should not have to rely on The Good Law project…. but in the real world we will always require outsiders to hold power to account. This used to be the press but, bar a few excellent exceptions, it fails to do this any more.
Other nations and local government have worsening corruption but (a) not all start from the same point (b) not all are heading downhill at the same pace (c) a fish rots from the head.
Yes, Labour should do more – on ethical grounds AND narrow political, tactical grounds. BUT Labour local government does not have much to be proud of in the corruption stakes.
No, my vote is already decided (give/take tactical voting)
Thanks
I think nearly 500 have now voted on line
sorry – don’t do Twitter
Fair enough – although this does not actually require you to do Twitter – just to use it on this occasion
I hope you will post the results on your blog please Richard as a lot of us don’t do antisocial media
I will be
“Do you think Covid has increased the risk of corruption” One view could be as follows.
The tories had to print money – there was no choice. Thus Covid demonstrated to them that this was both possible (printing money) and carried limited consequences (i.e. economically – & indeed no printing – no economy etc). The Tories also realised that the money so generated could be given to the favoured few under the guise of “emergency situation need to do something” etc etc. The take-away for the Tories was that Covid (and perhaps post-Covid – the consequences of Brexit) allowed them to print and gift money to those that matter/those they favour. The gifting of money to local govs that are tory dominated (and not to those that are labour dominated) is one such example, of many.
I would thus be inclined to put the word “political” in front of “corruption”. The end point of this process is: Scotland leaves the Union, Wales and the North becomes increasingly unhappy as money gifts from central gov increasingly cause regional disparities, these ultimately could cause not only Uk break up, but for England to tear itself to pieces.
Agreed
Mike, I think that’s correct. Shame so many of the electorate are too ignorant to see it, or maybe too cynical to care any more?
Richard, in answer to your questions, since I don’t do Twitter like Clive, my answers are:
1) Yes, emphatically.
2) The PM. A fish rots from the head down.
3) Yes
4) All of them should.
5) No
6) No
7) Yes
8) Local government, which is being corrupted by the Tory’s chucking of money at Tory councils, whilst leaving other areas to be starved of funding.
9) Yes, of course!
10) No, FPTP makes voting where I live pointless anyway. Maybe I can affect things in other ways (e.g contribute to the Good Law Project) but not by voting.
Most replies seem quite like yours
“10) No, FPTP makes voting where I live pointless anyway”
Perhaps the salient, and most dispiriting, underlying cause of all.
How can one seriously look an 18-year-old in the eye and tell them their vote counts, when quite clearly – in a lot of cases – it patently does not?
Stop. I think we need to stop just blaming the electorate for ‘their’ ignorance?
This is a Government of liars SOTD, and liars deliberately promote and practice the spread of ignorance in society by empathising with it’s worst prejudices in order to gain trust and then deliberately muddy the waters thereafter to disable any resolution other than keeping things as they are.
Even as I write there are people pumping lies into our society right now to disorientate. It’s called ‘Agnotology’ and it’s a word I think that we all need to get used to right quick.
As Grant Lee Buffalo sang in the 1990’s – ‘We’ve been lied to – now we’re fuzzy’.
I don’t want to sign up for Twitter I just view it via a browser. For what it’s worth my answers are as follows:
-There is overwhelming evidence of government corruption. But this is not new just more blatant.
-The Prime Minister is ultimately responsible.
-Covid 19 has provided cover for the extent of corruption now apparent.
-The government should be accountable to parliament and parliament should be able to hold it effectively to account.
-None of the organisation’s mentioned are effectively doing this.
-We shouldn’t have to rely on organisation’s other than those already mentioned to do this.
-The Good Law project is more than likely doing a better job than those mentioned already.
-Outside of Westminster the highest level of corruption is probably in Northern Ireland and centered around the DUP amongst others.
-Opposition parties should be making a great deal about corruption.
-Evidence of corruption would influence my vote at the next election.
Thanks!
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the executive (government) is having a great time doing its own thing and enriching themselves (indirectly) and their friends (directly). The government is putting placemen (and women) whenever the opportunity arises. Ofcom, BBC board, and now Channel 4 board. I suspect they have done much more on bodies we hear little about, but control a great deal of resources and, of course, money.
This is a rotten government, incompetent, uncaring and lucky. The number of death due to the disorganisation at the beginning of the pandemic is quickly forgotten by the vaccination success. What is more concerning is that Johnson and the Tories, who will take the vaccination glory, is their hidden agenda. They care about power. About permanent power. To achieve this, N.I. can go to hell and join with the Republic, and Scotland can have their independence referendum (“We are, after all, democrats, and if the Scots have voted for the SNP so strongly, how can we possibly prevent them from furthering their desire” -Tory press). We are left with England (becoming increasing Little England) forever voting Tory. I want to go back to France!
@John Lebrun
I fear you will scarcely find a refuge from corruption and the abuse of human rights in la Macronie
P.S. I agree with C Parry et al., but no twitterist I.
Since the Dominic Cummings extended eye test drive anything goes from Downing Street. The billions gone astray from crony PPE contracts, Housing ministers giving a nod and wink to housing development £50 million tax dodge and costing only £6.000 to Conservative Party funds, and now dodgy Dave in all his innocent glory grabbing the headlines.
Yes, PM, Yes, Parliament, No, No, Yes, Local Gov, Yes, Yes
[…] I mentioned yesterday, I put out a series of questions relating to corruption on Twitter over the last 24 hours. I […]
” Stop. I think we need to stop just blaming the electorate for ‘their’ ignorance?
This is a Government of liars SOTD, and liars deliberately promote and practice the spread of ignorance in society by empathising with it’s worst prejudices in order to gain trust and then deliberately muddy the waters thereafter to disable any resolution other than keeping things as they are.
Even as I write there are people pumping lies into our society right now to disorientate. It’s called ‘Agnotology’ and it’s a word I think that we all need to get used to right quick.”
I don’t know PSR. I find it really difficult to sympathise with some of the public when you see the utter rubbish they apparently believe. E.g People who voted to leave the EU complaining about the sudden loss of rights they had as EU citizens. Or this appalling government still being supported by over 40% of the electorate despite all the evidence of failure to tackle the pandemic properly. How the hell can you miss the £37 billion (yes, billion!!) thrown down the drain on a more or less useless Track and Trace system?
And how about people who knew Johnson was a liar, said so, and still voted Tory in 2019? If they couldn’t stomach Corbyn just don’t vote at all then. I take the point about Agnotology, but even so…….sometimes I wonder what the point of the universal franchise is when so many of the public are so abysmally badly informed, and seem content to remain so.
Truly depressing.
Richard – I missed responding to your Twitter survey but my answers would have been the same as the majority with the exception of Local Government. Ive no reason to believe that Local Govt is any worse (or better) than it has ever been.