Political scandals, once they gain sufficient momentum, evolve beyond the initial offence. Only a small number of people were in a position to profit from certain knowledge that Rishi Sunak intended to set 4 July as polling day. Justified outrage that some of them appear to have exploited that advantage – as first revealed by the Guardian – has mutated into generalised suspicion of any candidate who has placed a bet on election outcomes. The prospect of banning the practice, following the model already in place for professional sport, has been raised.
That would not be necessary if parliamentary candidates and party officials had reliable intuition regarding standards in public life. Even if there is no corrupt intent, gambling on an election in which you are participating demonstrates terrible judgment. Democracy is not a game. What may seem like a harmless flutter to someone close to the process can look irresponsible and grubby from afar. That risk is especially high in a climate of intensifying mistrust of the political process.
One reason that the gambling scandal has gained so much traction in the campaign is that it resonates with a wider sense of decay – the feeling that too many politicians’ primary focus is their own pocket. Responsibility for reversing that trend will, if opinion polls are right, soon fall on Labour. The legacy of Conservative misrule ranges from constitutional vandalism in the enactment of Brexit via cronyism in PPE procurement to Partygate and systematised mendacity. Reversing that legacy will be a slow process of demonstrating basic competence in the delivery of government. Economic recovery, a fairer distribution of the proceeds and restoring public services will do more than regulation when it comes to rehabilitating faith in politics.
But legal and institutional changes matter too. Sir Keir Starmer’s manifesto points in the right direction. Labour pledges a more robust enforcement of standards for serving politicians and those who leave public office, then seek to leverage their residual influence as lobbyists. Rules on political donations will be tightened.
There are also steps towards boosting participation. The voting age will be lowered to 16 and, as the Guardian has revealed, there is a plan for automatic enrolment on the electoral register. This mechanism, used in many European countries and planned for Senedd elections in Wales, removes a significant obstacle to voter turnout. Since about 7 million eligible voters are thought to be unregistered, easing their passage to the polling booth is a sensible step towards widening representation.
The opposite effect is achieved by cynical Conservative requirements for voters to show photo ID at polling stations, ostensibly to prevent fraud, although there is no evidence that appropriation of someone else’s vote is a problem. Here, Labour is more circumspect, pledging to change the rules, but not to scrap the requirement.
Regulation alone cannot fix a broken political culture. It is impossible to name and ban every behaviour that would bring the system into disrepute. Public confidence has been corroded over many years and it will only be repaired through a sustained display of integrity and transparency. It is too early to know whether Sir Keir can live up to his ambitious pledges on that score. For Mr Sunak, who once laughably promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability on every level”, it is far too late.