How corrupt is Britain and will the government do anything about it?
Prem Sikka , 28 May 2021
The parliamentary debate was often framed by the minister and others around the narrative that Johnny Foreigner is corrupt and a threat to our values and global stability. The Minister said that 22 individuals from six countries have been sanctioned. No doubt, there are corrupt persons all around the world, but what about home grown corruption.
‘Serious corruption’ may be associated with bribery, misappropriation of property and much more. It is not defined in legislation, but its understanding is framed by seven policy priorities. One of these is that a practice is considered as ‘serious corruption’ if it ‘undermines a country’s democratic governance, the rule of law and human rights’.
The UK is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that human rights include the right to a standard of living for the health and well-being of people, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services. It also includes the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond a person’s control.
We need to ask ourselves, are democratic governance, the rule of law and our human rights under threat from practices which have institutionalised corruption in the UK?
Let us consider some evidence. For example, 83 of the UK’s richest 250 individuals have donated £62m to the Conservative Party. This gives them easy access to policymakers and subverts democratic processes to prioritise their interests. Rich individuals extract tax concessions from the government by sending a text message whilst the poor can’t even afford to buy water.
