Voters may feel the country is run by lotharios and knaves
COLUMNIST
THE Big Ben tower is almost completely obscured by scaffolding and there are regular warnings that the Palace of Westminster is crumbling.
Fear of falling gargoyles will not top the list of concerns of ministers as they pace around Whitehall, however.
They will wonder just how profound a storm is about to hit this country and what will be left in its wake.
Democracy depends on the public believing that the men and women in legislatures are fellow citizens who are there as their representatives. There has to be that sense of direct connection between the electors and the elected.
One of the most damaging aspects of the 2009 expenses scandal was that MPs seemed to exist in a universe where it was acceptable to behave in a way that looked to the rest of the country just plain wrong.
Less than a decade later, the sexual harassment revelations again suggest some people in the corridors of power live according to a different set of ethical and moral laws to everyone else.
There have long been concerns that British politics is dominated by a political elite, that going to the right school and university and having handy family connections will give you a much better chance of making it into Government.
Many voters over the decades have felt frustration about the influence of a self-perpetuating political class on the future of the country but this could be tolerated – even romanticised – if its members displayed evidence of administrative competence and a shared set of values with those they governed.
The electorate will despair, however, if they come to the conclusion that power in different parties and legislatures is the hands of knaves and lotharios.
The expenses scandal and outrage at the intelligence and planning failures that surrounded the invasion of Iraq did not trigger a revolution and the installation of brand new parties in Westminster. But historians of the future may look at this time and see a fraying of that bond between voters and the voted-in and a weakening of attachment to the Parliament in London.
The electorate in Scotland handed the pro-independence SNP a majority in the Edinburgh Parliament, a strong majority (albeit on a weak turnout) voted to give the Assembly law-making powers in 2011, and last year voters disregarded the desperate pleas of top politicians and backed Brexit.
If the investigations into sexual harassment expose a culture of selfish indulgence, recklessness and cruelty the already troubling divide between the people of this country of nations and their representatives could become a chasm.
Religious denominations have been devastated by sex abuse scandals. Good men and women who are trying to keep congregations alive will tell you how hard it is to rebuild trust.
Leaders in other branches of the establishment also have reason to worry about a crisis in public confidence.
It would be naive to think that harassment is only a problem in politics. People who are attracted to power often jump between finance, politics and the law; if there are staff who are scared to go to work in a democratic legislature, there are probably thousands more who face humiliation and intimidation in banks, chambers and businesses across Britain.
A wave of harassment scandals will confirm the suspicion that something is deeply rotten in the UK today. That sense of disgust will only deepen if the so-called “Paradise Papers” cements the view that the super-rich do not feel bound to contribute to society through the payment of taxes.
Citizens of this country have been remarkably tolerant of the very rich. Thousands of families every week like to pack sandwiches and explore the grounds of hulking mansions where aristocrats and wealthy merchants once held court.
But anger will stir if people feel worse off because of the actions of today’s rich elite.
Families have suffered the consequences of the financial crash and bank bail-outs through wage stagnation and austerity-constrained public services but there is no sense that those responsible were held to account.
As this month’s Budget looms on the horizon, campaigners and respected think tanks are warning that benefits cuts may plunge more people into poverty, with Wales particularly vulnerable. The fear is that families in which parents go out work but benefits play a vital role in making ends meet will be left poorer.
If this is the case, mothers and fathers will feel something close to dismay. They will say they are playing by the rules of the game, balancing the demands of their jobs and their caring responsibilities and yet are left worse off.
Theresa May interpreted the Brexit vote as a cry of frustration from millions of people who wanted her to build a country that works for everyone. But she is now scrambling to assure voters that Westminster is not a realm in which rogues run riot.
Across the UK, there is a hunger for the very Welsh value of chwarae teg, of fair play, to become a reality.
Fair play demands that neither women nor men are preyed upon in the workplace and are not bullied or patronised. It’s a principle of fair play that if people prosper in a society they put a proportionate share back into the common pot.
A society that values fair play will treasure the education system and ensure opportunities exist for everyone to develop the skills that this century’s economy demands. Professions and institutions that take fair play seriously will strive to ensure that their doors are opened to people from all parts of the UK.
It is also a crucial principle of fairness that those who are wronged can step forward in the confidence they will access justice.
Scandals unleash turbulence that can tear through even the most ancient institutions but such times are also opportunities for renewal and reform. The challenge is to build a better society than the one that is creaking today.