Why Boris Johnson is out of touch over Tory sleaze – Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Jerry Diccox, Main Street, Darley.
Boris Johnson attended a hospital in Hexham rather than Parliament's emergency debate into sleaze on Monday.Boris Johnson attended a hospital in Hexham rather than Parliament's emergency debate into sleaze on Monday.
Boris Johnson attended a hospital in Hexham rather than Parliament's emergency debate into sleaze on Monday.

WITH the Tories engulfed (again) in accusations of sleaze, cronyism and corruption, it is timely to ask why this Government apparently has such a difficult time being honest and decent towards the public.

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I believe the problem is deeper than politics: the current crop of “leaders” are drawn from a pool of privileged spoilt boys and girls, brought up to believe that posh kids are always right and always entitled to get their way.

Boris Johnson attended a hospital in Hexham rather than Parliament's emergency debate into sleaze on Monday.Boris Johnson attended a hospital in Hexham rather than Parliament's emergency debate into sleaze on Monday.
Boris Johnson attended a hospital in Hexham rather than Parliament's emergency debate into sleaze on Monday.

This attitude is bred into them, hence they recognise no wrongdoing and express no contrition when caught out – witness Owen Paterson’s statement that he would “do the same again”. Bend the rules if necessary and when you get into a scrape your buddies will rally round to help: especially useful when one of your buddies is the Prime Minister.

This widespread, ugly attitude is arguably the product of a privileged upbringing and consequent disconnection from society – a world of boarding schools, nannies and parents brought up in the same way.

There is little or no common ground between the likes of Boris Johnson or any of the Cabinet and those thousands of “former red wall” voters who fell for their “Get Brexit Done” rhetoric in 2019.

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How, for example, can members of a remote, out of touch elite club understand the crippling impact of a £20 cut in Universal Credit when they spend more than that each week on subsidised G&Ts in the House of Commons bar?

Former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson is at the centre of a sleaze storm.Former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson is at the centre of a sleaze storm.
Former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson is at the centre of a sleaze storm.

From: Mike Baldwin, Raven Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield.

WHEN Sir John Major stated that Boris Johnson’s government was ‘‘politically corrupt’’, he wasn’t just referring to the attempt to change the rules in the shameful Owen Paterson affair.

The Government is proposing to reduce the opportunity for judicial review of any of their potentially illegal decisions; deter non-political organisations from campaigning for policies the Government dislikes; reduce the powers of the independent Electoral Commission; reduce the right to protest; and suppress voting by groups less likely to vote Tory.

Not a bad list for a right-wing dictator in a banana republic? Just like Sir John, we should call it out for what it is – corruption.

From: Harry Brown, Guiseley.

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TOTAL cowardice by Boris Johnson fleeing to a hospital in Hexham rather than addressing Parliament about the sleaze scandals now engulfing the Tory party.

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