I hit the corruption theme in The National this morning:
As is my habit, the angle of approach in that article differs from what I use here.
What is also different is that I say this:
So, what do we do about it?
First, keep your eyes and ears open. Always ask who is benefitting from anything that looks in the slightest bit strange going on around you and how and why they might do what they are doing. Be suitably suspicious, in other words.
Second, ask questions. Use the powers we have to question the government, politicians, police, regulators and anyone else, at least to put them on notice that people are watching. That in itself might be enough to make a difference.
Third, get involved. If you don't like politics as it is, try to change it.
Fourth, use the power of your money to make a difference. Boycott those whose actions you do not like in the economy. Tell others why, using social media.
Fifth, campaign. Join political parties, if that is what you think is required. Do the same with NGOs, and then tell their leadership what you think. Or set up your own campaign.
I have done that several times, most notably with the Tax Justice Network and the Green New Deal. Both had a massive impact on the world in their heyday. Don't presume that it is not possible when I know it is.
Sixth, just talk about this. That way, you reinforce your own belief that there is something wrong and you are not going to accept it anymore, because why should we?
Corruption has happened in plain sight and most people never noticed. My suggestion is we should start noting it, and then shout about it, if only by asking questions, which is always safer than making specific accusations. If the world is to be a better place, we have to play our part in making it so.
No other paper would let me do this. It's worth subscribing to The National. It's just £20 for a year.
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Sometimes we don’t see corruption because it has become normalised and dressed up:
❌Donations to MPs are often given to get MPs to work on behalf of the donors.
❌Assets are often sold off way below their market value to privileged individuals (e.g. utility shares, enterprise zones)
❌Tax havens
❌Tax avoidance
❌Tax breaks for corporations (often following political donations)
❌Subsidies to the rich
❌Regulatory capture
❌Illegal Campaign Financing
❌Breaking international law
❌Interfering in other countries’ affairs
Corruption needs to be indentified, and individuals need to be prosecuted.
Hi Richard, I tried the link for the £20 subscription but that deal relates to spring 2024 so I think it’s expired.
Oh…
Just search the site. I think the offer is still on, but updated.
Good points.
Who benefits from the great replacement theory doing the rounds. This is really pernicious, and we should all call it out.
Corrosive Corruption is the cancer of democracy.
I’m not sure the £20 offer is available at the moment, the most recent page for it expired on 31st Jan. I am sure it will be back. Good article in today’s paper by the way.
Thanks….
A prime example of corruption in action: Palantir getting its hands on our NHS data despite us having a better domestically made alternative.
https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/12/palantir-is-ice/
I urge everyone to seek out and sign one of the many petitions calling on our government to take action against this company. Foxglove is trying to fight them. Zach Polanski has a petition on 38Degrees. Support them. A company with its record, as well as a leadership with such virulenty aborent views, who have done nothing but criticise our country, should not be allowed anywhere near power. It’s like the Hobbits hiring the Nazgul to protect them from Sauron.
Thanks
It’s a really good read and the puzzle section is an added bonus.
As for corruption, it is very much to the fore with the Andrew Mountbatten affair, provided the police proceed on the case.
It can do something that months of campaigns cannot: it can dominate the front pages of even the most biased newspapers for a very long time. This brings corruption into every news media, even to the point where we all get fed up with it.
To the dismay and anger of the right, which is where the money is(and hence the dodgy dealing), the topic can push a lot of the phony news items out of the public eye. It’s dreadful publicity for the hard right. The great hope is that corruption will bring an end to neoliberalism and it’s perverse effect on civilised society in the UK.