The never ending fraying of faith in politicians…

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

All three main party leaders have been further implicated in the ongoing expenses abuses scandal, with new revelations today showing our political leaders apparently trying to outdo each other – as is always the case in politics – with their excessive and petty allowance claims even as the story unfolded earlier this year.

* Gordon Brown’s cleaning habit has now been revealed to have stretched to £700 of costs to the taxpayer every three months, while he also claimed for lawnmowing and service washes, whatever they are. Most damaging is that he claimed a massive £10,000 for utilities bills, council tax and service charges, as well as a round £500 for paint and painting at a “summer house”.

* David Cameron claimed nearly £1,200 for oil for his stove at his second home, on top of utility bills averaging £180 a month. He also claimed back £196 a month on Council Tax, while simultaneously receiving a 10% Council Tax reduction.

* Nick Clegg claimed £160 each month to cover the “garden maintenance” that kept his topiary kempt. Some of those expenses, thankfully, have already been agreed to be repaid.

And it’s not just the leaders; much of the cabinet and much of the shadow cabinet have been at it, too. Again, many of the offenses have been redacted.

In my first post on LabourList after taking it on, I wrote that “public trust in politicians of all parties is worryingly low, and disillusionment ultimately leads to disenfranchisement.” I said then that petty and false claims mean public disengagement in our democracy grows untempered, as “all involved are tarnished and voters simply give up on the political process”.

At that time, I was writing specifically about the tone of some political comment online, but my more general doubt about the of the functioning of our democracy was clear. This time, I feel less surprised, less angry than I did in the summer – which in itself may be sign that my expectations of our politics have been permanently lowered.

As this outrage continues, how much more abuse will it take before our current political leaders realise that the damage they speak of so often is entirely self-inflicted – and more harmful than they can possibly articulate?

Related posts:

1. The value of faith
2. We can’t be serious about equality if we aren’t committed to ending child poverty
3. It’s time to phase out faith schools
4. Faith and politics can and must mix
5. Could faith be the saviour of politics?