The Conservative party and government seem to be falling apart in front of our eyes. As his legislative programme becomes ever more vestigial, and his ratings plummet to new depths, Rishi Sunak’s future is now being counted in weeks. His would-be successors are openly jockeying for advantage in the next leadership contest, with Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt and Priti Patel all but declared as likely candidates.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Liz Truss is raising her standard of revolt yet again. Elsewhere, Boris Johnson fantasises about a recall to the colours too. Meanwhile, Tim Loughton’s recent decision not to stand again as a Conservative MP brought the list of prospective backbench retirees to 64 and counting. It is a list that arguably contains more Tory talent than the current cabinet.
Nothing, however, illuminates the fin de régime atmosphere surrounding the Sunak Tory party more than another steadily growing list. There have now been 18 Conservatives in this parliament who have had to resign the party whip, been suspended from it, or who have had it withdrawn altogether. MPs from other parties have lost their whips too, but the number of Conservative unpersons is by far the largest.
Some of these MPs have already left the House of Commons. Others will remain firmly in the parliamentary sin-bin until Mr Sunak finally calls the election, when most of them will be cast aside. Though some may be guilty of little more than irreconcilable disagreement over party policy, others are accused of inappropriate or unethical conduct, some of it very serious.
The Fylde MP Mark Menzies became the latest member of this group on Wednesday. The Times newspaper has accused him of misusing campaign funds and demanding thousands of pounds from an aide in what he called “a matter of life and death” to pay off “bad people” who had allegedly locked him in a flat. It also alleged that £14,000 given by donors for campaign activities was transferred to the MP’s bank account and used for his medical expenses. Mr Menzies denies the charges. But the whip was withdrawn from him on Wednesday evening while an investigation takes place.
Public interest in the Menzies case is not restricted to the financial allegations. It also concerns the lack of prompt action by the Conservative party. The Westminster chief whip, Simon Hart, was told about the allegations at the start of January. But Mr Hart only took action this week, just as the Times story was on the slipway. It is not clear whether the allegations have ever been referred to the police.
These delays, if confirmed, are concerning for a further reason. The case of William Wragg, another now whipless Conservative, highlighted the security danger from online honeytraps aimed at Westminster. The Menzies case involves different issues. But both sets of allegations are reminders of the ever-present threat that blackmail can pose to individual MPs and, through them, to the wider working of parliament.
Views may differ about whether the British political system has always been a prey to sleaze or whether this is a relatively modern problem. No one, though, can seriously dispute that trust in the institutions of public life, and those who work in them, has taken a beating in recent years. Restoring trust must be a serious priority. But it will not happen under a regime that is disintegrating as rapidly as the present one.
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