The devils you know
Careful readers will be aware that this site primarily concerns itself with the activities of politicians and the media. Doing so can of course leave the way open to accusations of paranoia and conspiracy theorising. So we thought it might be interesting to share with you the findings of Transparency International’s 2013 survey into the public perception of corruption in the United Kingdom. (Part of a global poll.)
The only three bodies thought to be corrupt or extremely corrupt by a majority of the UK population were political parties, Parliament and the media, with the media coming off worst out of the three. (Next up, incidentally, were “business” with 49% and “public officials/civil servants” with 45%.)
Perception isn’t necessarily fact, of course. But at the very least, it’s not just us.
Kinda hard to disagree with this one. Also nice to see the media in there, of course not this independent news site, but this might show that people in the main are turning against the msm and that can only be a good thing. Politicians, well that speaks for it’self, esp at the Westmonster level. Political Parties, yes def agree with that one around the three tory parties. This has cheered me up today no end.
Bruce
It comes as no real surprise. Strangely, the media have raised the ‘doubts’ about Politics and MPs through their own exaggerated scare stories, and the MSM itself has demonstrated its abandonment of the truth over many years (so why people might believe the media, which they themselves think is corrupt is an interesting situation). But isn’t it also true that the levels of mistrust in these three institutions has been the case for many years?
I’m a wee bit disturbed that 34% or so don’t think political parties are corrupt, where have they been hiding?
Pleased that such a high percentage recognise media corruption though.
All very well & good but are the majority willing to do something about it?
Same old, same old.
All of these self-styled ‘mighty’ organisations eventually collect enough karmic debt to sink themselves.
The next newby replacement starts well then goes down the same road.
Intelligent human Life on Earth?
Robert Bryce, I’m sure they’ll let their feelings be known next year with a big YES
Interesting series of results on the website of TI’s website which allows people to be able to compare countries.
The horse shoe interactive thingy takes a wee bit of trial and error to work out how it works but
try comparing Denmark (can’t find Sweden on there) and the UK and the results are different by a country mile. Moreso concerning the belief that individual citizens can make a difference in reducing corruption.
having lived in Copenhagen off and on for 6 years I can confirm that I have never encountered any corruption, corporate, private, political or administrative.
I lived in a suburb of Copenhagen and used to take my dog for a walk around and into neighbouring suburbs and on one route had pass the house of the PM, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. His wife was a Primary school teacher in the local school and he didn’t have any heavies posted outside his largish house. He came out sometimes if you looked at him in his driveway and have a chat.
He had nice things to say about Scotland, every Dane knows that Scotland is not England and many can tell you are Scottish by the way you speak English (Taggart at work here).
I suppose he now has loads of security and bodyguards now he is the head of Nato.
Surprised the figures are so low with all that has gone on with expenses, hacking, bribes etc.,
HandandShrimp 11.00 am
That would be the 33% who get all their info from the BBC, and the Daily Rectum?
They should put politicians on a big register so people will know if one of them intends on moving into your street.
BTP
Good point, well presented
@ Tony Little
so why people might believe the media, which they themselves think is corrupt is an interesting situation
That’s cognitive dissonance, that is.
In Norway, just 5% of people think their government is run by a few big interests (all the Scandinavian nations are on the low end here).
In the UK, it’s 60%.
link to tinyurl.com
Yes, the devil you know. That’s what Scotland will get if it votes No next year.
link to heraldscotland.com
Doubts over Miliband as PM
ONLY one in five people think Ed Miliband will be Prime Minister in 2015, according to a poll.
The Labour leader has endured a bruising two weeks in Westminster when he has been repeatedly branded weak by Prime Minister David Cameron. He has also faced the Falkirk fiasco involving alleged union vote-rigging.
The Comres online poll shows only 22% expect the Labour leader to be PM after the next General Election and 57% do not see him as an election winner.
Vote No for another round of the Tories with a bit of UKIP to spice things up.
Expect to see more of Susan Boyle on the BBC as Susan Calman got extra gigs after her staunch defence of the Union.
And Scotsman giving prominence to dinosaur thinking from John Paul McHugh
link to scotsman.com
I hope all the “We’ll follow Scotland to the end of the eath” brigade but we’ve voting No see this and stop shouting at me because I’m voting Yes. They honestly can’t see that they are being lied to and believe all they read and hear. It’s of course, all fat Salmonds fault!! I do still laugh at the “what currency will we use” mantra on and on and on they go without a clue about what’s actually happening.
Cracking read in the Daily Rectum.
link to dailyrecord.co.uk
Politically, Anas Sarwar has become his own man. He is bright, telegenic, articulate and buzzing with energy and ideas for Labour and for Scotland.
Torcuil Crichton, on Anas Sarwar in the article link from Cauld Tattie. I can only imagine that wee Torquey must be a denizen of the same alternative universe that Magnus Gardham exists in.
Anas -Sharp suit, blunt brain.
How times have changed. I seem to remember TV media pundits about 15-20 years ago being very smug about the absence of corruption in UK life. Just shows what happen when the curtain begins to slip and everyone sees what’s behind.
The Daily Rectu’s piece on Anas Anwar smacks of a hastily cobbled together hagiography done in some pub last night or passed on from BT Central for diffusion with anyone’s byline as a response to the devastating effect of Sarwar Senior’s desire to become a foreigner again.
I can understand why some young cub reporters write tripe in order to earn a crust but Torquil Crichton’s writings have all the hallmarks of a fully paid up Labour fan with a word processor.
While I am at it, I see that the nonsense from Labour Foot Forward by John-Paul McHugh has been published verbatin in today’s Hootsman!
Clickbait or taking the proverbial?
Mohammed Sarwar MP Indicted
01/10/1998
Mohammed Sarwar, MP, and a co-accused Mumtaz Hussain, a Glasgow businessman, have today been indicted for trial in the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, 2 November, 1998.
Mr Sarwar is charged with fraud, attempting to pervert the course of justice and contravention of section 82(6) of the Representation of the People Act 1983. Mr Hussain is charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
link to scotland.gov.uk
Labour’s National Executive Committee and Mr Brown decided to suspend the MP for Glasgow Govan pending the outcome of police investigations into allegations that Mr Sarwar attempted to bribe a rival candidate during the election campaign.
However, in a surprise move, Labour is passing the results of its investigations to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Sir Gordon Downey.
Mr Sarwar has denied the allegations against him, insisting he will be cleared by the police inquiry.
The NEC suspension means that Mr Sarwar will no longer be able to sit on Labour’s Scottish Executive. If he is suspended by Mr Brown, he will not be able to attend PLP meetings, ask for assistance from PLP staff or sit on backbench committees. However, he will be expected to attend votes in the House of Commons.
link to bbc.co.uk
MP Mohammad Sarwar has been cleared of trying to bribe a rival candidate during the 1997 general election at the High Court in Edinburgh
The first charge against Mr Sarwar, elected for Labour in Glasgow Govan at the 1997 general election, alleged he paid £5,000 to Badar Islam, a fringe candidate, for a false statement saying that three other men were out to “destroy” the MP.
The second charge alleged that Mr Sarwar and Mr Hussain later pretended the payment was a loan, underwritten by a guarantee cheque issued to Mr Hussain.
The MP maintained that the payment to Mr Islam was a loan.
Two other charges of fraud against Mr Sarwar were dropped during the trial.
link to news.bbc.co.uk
The son of millionaire businessman and Labour MP Mohammed Sarwar has been convicted of an £850,000 money laundering scam.
Glasgow High Court heard that cash and carry managing director Athif Sarwar, 28, had handled thousands of pounds of money described as “criminal property”.
Father-of-two Sarwar, 28, of Lynebank Place, Mearnskirk, was found guilty of laundering various sums in 2003.
link to news.bbc.co.uk
Former MP Sarwar’s son cleared of £850,000 fraud
Son of Scotland’s first Muslim MP has had a his conviction for a £850,000 money laundering scam overturned by appeal judges.
Athif Sarwar, 32, was jailed for three years after being found guilty of using the family’s cash and carry business to conceal the proceeds of VAT frauds.
Appeal judges agreed there was a lack of evidence to link him to the crime.
link to bbc.co.uk
You can reach your own conclusions.
Ah Vincent
That brings us nicely back on topic and the percent of people who have confidence in the lack of corruption and in particular that of Justice.
Well engineered, and the strings are quite unseen.
Apart from the embarrassment caused to SLabour and Project Fear, I don’t really see how Mr. Sarwar Snr.’s return to Pakistan, has very much to do with our decision next year.
@ Bugger (the Panda)
Could end up highlighting just how restrictive the Hootsman is re. pro-independence comments?
CameronB
I didn’t stay there long enough to feel the need to post a comment never mind actually do so.
It is such a stupid tactic to reprint a completely debunked article, it is either clickbait or some secret line of SNP agents hidden inside the Hootsmon, taking to urine out the TU’s and the NO campaign.
Why interrupt the enemy when he is making a mistake.
Just read the tripe about Anus… BARF!
These results show that people arent the mugs that the politicians think they are, the masses know things are wrong, to a certain extent, but apathy seems to rule,to change things as for the politicians, they dont seem to give a damn unless its near re-election time, and even then their promises galore never materlise.
That Daily Sevco article is one of the worst things I’ve read in my life. What an utter embarrassment to Scottish journalism that Torcuil is.
@Doug Daniel
Aye, this is the worst tosh I’ve ever seen Torcuil write. He must have had big deep Friday evening swigs of Daily Ranger Kool-Aid before typing and copying & pasting that. I can only assume that the Mirror parent group have promised him a gig in his beloved London when the inevitable happens next year…
A bit late joining this and spurious connection perhaps, but I’d like to see some kind of expose on what’s going on in the Border Agency and British embassies/consulates and what kind of service they are providing for the extortionate costs of visas etc. I’m not claiming corruption as such but from my own experiences they are one government department that seems hard to touch. I know from working at CAB that phoning the border agency is an expensive business (well, in my particular cases, expensive for the Glasgow taxpayer as you have to wait on the premium rate phone 15 or 20 minutes). Expensive for the visas themselves too, of course quite rightly because a lot of foreign people are trying to come to our country to get free health treatment and steal local people’s jobs in minimum wage veg packaging warehouses and the like. When I worked abroad I knew quite a few folk who worked for the British embassy and I can say that although many of them were nice enough people, they all seemed to believe the sun would never set.
re Bugger (the Panda) – ‘Torquil Crichton’s writings have all the hallmarks of a fully paid up Labour fan with a word processor’
Not just writings with hallmarks – I can’t vouch for Crichton being a member of the Labour Party but it is highly likely. Nothing shakes his allegiance: he has been writing and broadcasting unfailingly pro-Labour political articles and analyses for at least 25 years, starting in Brian Wilson’s West Highland Free Press. His brother was the Western Isles Labour candidate at the last Holyrood election (link to whitehall1212.blogspot.co.uk). One nickname bestowed is ‘the Islington Gael’.
Double Plus Good
Thanks