Much as I long for Zoe Williams to be right (Has the nation finally had enough of Tory scandals? 16 November), she may have underestimated the taste for a supposedly unappetising party. That is because the “sleaze” in the headlines is not just an expression of old-fashioned greed. It shares an origin in the ideologically driven, righteous acquisitiveness that is an article of faith for the average Tory voter. It is also a tendency that has for too long been dignified by the myth of meritocracy. Together these have spawned the belief that those with their snouts in the trough have probably earned the right to do so.
A surprisingly influential expression of this tendency spilled from an unlikely source in 1998, Labour’s Peter Mandelson, who was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”. The fact that his caveat “as long as they pay their taxes” tends to be forgotten indicates how well and how far this attitude resonated with those eager to justify their own avarice. It helped create a tipping point in public attitudes to excess, fuelling the rapacious materialism that was rampant until checked, briefly, by the financial crisis of 2007-08.
Thus, while the current scandal “hits the nation’s gag reflex”, arguably this may have less to do with what we’re being asked to swallow than simply the gargantuan size of the helpings. As soon as the Tories renounce their current grotesque excesses and revert to mere overindulgence, I fear the nation will again find them palatable. It has before.
Paul McGilchrist
Colchester, Essex
• The question is not for how many hours MPs work at outside organisations, it’s who they work for (Boris Johnson plan on ‘second jobs’ would hit fewer than 10 MPs, 187 November) Here in Brighton, we have two MPs, Caroline Lucas and Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who work with organisations concerned with the environment, climate change, the arms trade, Brexit, the Middle East, electoral reform and so on. Most of this work is unpaid. They bring this experience to parliament; that’s rather better for us all than the Tories’ much-vaunted “business experience” that has led us into a mire of sleaze and dodgy dealing.
David Sang
Brighton, East Sussex
• So far, the anger against sleaze has focused on income from consultancy, lobbying and contracts given to Tory donors. But can the Guardian also publish full lists of MPs and peers whose shareholdings mean that they stand to gain wealth from decisions made by this government? For instance, it would be illuminating to see full, updated lists of parliamentarians with investments in private health, the pharmaceutical industry and any other businesses benefiting from Covid-related contracts and the government’s privatisation agenda. And how about a full list of those investing in fossil fuel companies?
Lin Clark
Bristol
• MPs also employed elsewhere? Isn’t it now time to rationalise the timing of sittings of the House? Very simply, make it a proper 9 to 5 job. Open the doors at 8am and lock them out at 6pm. This would remove access to the subsidised restaurants and bars for privileged conversations out of hours, and to journalist-free offices, where second-job activity can go unnoticed by the public. Even better would be to adopt the regime of the House of Lords, where payment is dependent on attendance.
Anne Cruise
Swindon, Wiltshire
• Hands up MPs who run Girl Guide units, Scout troops, youth clubs and junior football teams, or organise charity collections in their neighbourhoods? These are the second jobs their constituents do.
Alan Doel
Bristol
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