ANDREW SMITH
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Another week and another government scandal, this time about
‘cash for access’ to influential government officials including the Prime
Minister the Rt Hon David Cameron.
But this will not be a surprise to most people. Politics has
always been tarnished by stories of scandal and corruption, but with the
development of media technology these stories are coming faster and in more
depth than ever before. And this gives people the opportunity to scrutinise the
details more than ever and make their own judgement on the stories.
But what is particular worrying about this latest scandal is
not the fact that people donate to the Conservative Party, but just how much
influence they have had on the policies of Britain?
Government policies affect every person who lives in Britain
and the current coalition government was elected in a democratic election to
run this country for the people. However reading into this story it would
appear that having a vast bank account can get you access to the very people
who decide on policy and can even enable you to influence those policies.
So who is running the country? It would now appear that
whoever is elected the people have little or no influence on government policy
and the government will push through policies whether the people like it or
not. This I suspect would apply equally to any party in government. So the
government try and make the best possible policies for this country and run it
in the most democratic manner possible.
However this latest scandal now tests this last statement
very strongly. With recent policies heavily leaning towards business it does
beg the question just who is pulling the strings at No 10 Downing St and making
decisions that affect each and every one of us at some level or another.
In education, the NHS even the police force there had been
rumours that more and more private companies will be invited to tender their
services to run parts of these public services and being a private company they
will be in it to make profit first and foremost. But have the owners of these
companies been invited to dinner at No 10 to meet the Prime Minister and obtain
very valuable government contracts? Are these people going there to further
their own careers and fortunes at the expense of the British taxpayer?
It is now well known that Rupert Murdoch had considerable
influence on both New Labour and the coalition before the phone hacking scandal
came to light. Surely it is inconceivable to think that Murdoch was the only person
to have this access and influence? We can only assume that many others that the
public do not know about will have had the same access and influence that
Rupert Murdoch and Murdoch was only the tip of the iceberg.
This latest scandal is very worrying for all of us in
Britain. Not that a government has been found out because they nearly always
are, not that it is yet another scandal in a long line of scandals, but because
it raises the very important question of who really runs Britain? Who really wields
the power, who pulls the strings, who has the most influence over government
policy? It now appears it is not the general public if it ever was, but the
governments power and influence is now called into question as well.
Are the people who run Britain the ones elected to power or
the ones with the deepest pockets?
All comments and opinions in this blog are entirely my own.
Please feel free to add your own comments and ask questions.
Thank you for reading my blog J
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