It was a Monday evening in early 2004 when a group of Europhiles and Europhobes gathered for a Buckingham Palace dinner at the Duke of Edinburgh’s invitation. We were there to discuss the proposed treaty for a European constitution, just written and whose ratification across Europe was about to begin. I had been one of … Read more
It is in danger of becoming received wisdom that the Greensill affair is an example of “Tory sleaze” similar to that which polluted the party’s reputation in the late 1990s. They do not compare. I had a ringside seat for the seedy death throes of John Major’s government. The scandals of those years mainly involved … Read more
The recrudescence of corruption and sleaze in a Conservative government ought, traditionally, to be a sign of electoral problems ahead. This was the case in the dying days of the 13 years of Tory rule from 1951 to 1964, and towards the tail end of the Thatcher-Major governments of 1979-97 – 18 years! And here … Read more
Boris Johnson will lose the trust of former Labour voters who helped put him in Downing Street unless he tackles the burgeoning sleaze crisis now threatening to engulf his government and the Whitehall machine, a leading Tory says today. The warning from Sir Bernard Jenkin, chair of the powerful Commons liaison committee, is evidence of … Read more
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing mounting pressure over his private phone calls with David Cameron about the scandal-hit finance company Greensill Capital, amid claims that their discussions may have breached the ministerial code. Questions over the extent of Cameron’s lobbying of serving ministers ballooned last week, with seven inquiries now announced into various aspects of … Read more