Sleaze Raises Its Ugly Head Again
What is it about dying governments? No sooner than the bloom is off the rose, the chancers, the wanderers, the sense of power that suggests to some that laws are for little people and not them, and those who 'just can't help themselves', ascribed to Peter Mandelson after his second fall from grace and before the Prime Minister awarded him his third job, give the government of the day a bad name.
For many years I've urged politicians in and out of office, in this country and others, not to over promise and under deliver, but instead to under promise and over deliver. Do they do it, do they hell. Get them on the Today Programme, or Any Questions?, and away they go, picking and choosing whatever they can recall that proves their superiority, trained to ignore the question and instead give back the rehearsed pat answer designed to deflect even the likes of John or Jim, Jeremy or the late and much missed Nick Clark, from their mission to expose the half truths and downright porkies.
Politicians wonder why turnout is down. When just 59% voted in 2001, down 12 points from the 71% in 1997, politicians were quick to blame the media and the pollsters, saying that it was no wonder fewer people voted, with the election a shoo in, ignoring that 1997 was as well, as was the case in 1979 and 1983, but then turnout stayed up in the 70s.
"Apathy rules" was the cry of some in 2005, yet we found that the percentage of people saying they thought it was an interesting election was up 10% from those saying that it was in 2001. "People just aren't interested in politics anymore", said many pundits and commentators, paying no attention to the findings from MORI polls going back to 1973 which showed that interest in politics hasn't changed between then and during the last election.
Satisfaction ratings drop the longer governments stay in power, until they are below even the core vote support of around 30% who can be counted on to support their chosen party in thick when it's easy, and thin when it isn't. These people still vote their loyalty, even when they are greatly dissatisfied with their party, as nearly 30% did vote Labour in 1983 and just over 30% voted Tory in 1979. Then satisfaction with the way the government was doing its job was in the teens in '83, and low 20s in '97. It is only at 23% today.
Interest in Politics
Q How interested would you say you are in politics?
| % Not particularly / at all interested | % Very / fairly interested | |
|---|---|---|
| June 1973 | -40%  |
 60% |
| March 1991 | -39% |
60% |
| April 1997 | -40% |
59% |
| May 2011 | -40% |
59% |
| April 2005 | -39% |
61% |
Base: c.2,000 British / UK adults 18+
Ipsos's latest survey for The Sun (Attitudes Towards Sleaze), conducted 9-11 February by telephone, shows an increase from 2001 in the proportion of the electorate thinking the current Labour Government under Tony Blair is 'more sleazy' than the previous Conservative Government under John Major.
A quarter of adults (24%) now believe Labour is sleazier, compared to 12% in 2001. One in seven (14%) think the current Labour government is less sleazy than Major's government was, a figure which has halved since January 2001 (30%). Half the public, depressingly, say they do not believe there is any difference between the two Governments. A pox on both your houses.
When asked whether they believe there would be less sleaze in a Labour government led by Gordon Brown or a Conservative government led by David Cameron, more than half (54%) of the public said that there would be no difference. Mr Brown came out very slightly ahead of Mr Cameron in terms of being 'less sleazy' (17% vs. 15%), but neither figure is a vote of real confidence; a similar proportion (15%) of the public said they 'don't know' which government would be less sleazy.
Sleaze and the Government
Q The previous Conservative Government under John Major was accused of sleaze. Do you think the current Labour Government is more or less sleazy than the previous Conservative Government, or is there no difference between the two?
Base: 968 British adults 18+ Source: Ipsos / The Sun
This article was first published as VoxPop in the Parliamentary Monitor, February 2007
