A sorry state of affairs

Gordon’s “Sorry” looks and sounds like catch-up – for the good reason that this is precisely what it is. In my Sunday Telegraph column yesterday, I argued that the British polity had slipped backwards on the moral evolutionary path from a “guilt culture” (governed by moral conscience) to a “shame culture” (governed only by fear of discovery) – if you are interested in this all-important distinction, by the way, try Ruth Benedict’s classic work of anthropology, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword. Only disclosure, or the threat of disclosure, has forced our parliamentarians to promise reform. I am not saying that their forbears were all paragons of individual ethical conduct. But this lot need to be forced to reveal even the smallest slip-up. They are (let me say it again) a bunch of second-rate spivs.

Most popular

Ross Clark

What was Badenoch hoping to achieve with her attack on Farage?

All parties are guilty – but some are guiltier than others.