Sleaze scandals are a problem that all parties have to tackle
WHAT a very predictable scandal the Chris Pincher row is.
Predictable to those who already knew that the former Conservative Deputy Chief Whip had been behaving improperly and yet gave him the job anyway.
Predictable for the campaigners in Westminster who have been dismayed by the continuing string of revelations in the Tory Party and elsewhere.
And predictable because it has prompted the same tired circus of debate.
The Tories cannot deny they have a problem in their ranks: the list of names of MPs who have resigned after behaviour far worse than Pincher’s is far too long.
But this is not just a Conservative problem. It’s Westminster’s — and anyone who claims otherwise is making it harder to change things.
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Can any of the parties crowing this week about another Tory sex pest really say they lead by example?
Has Labour, which jumped all over the Pincher revelations, really not got untouchable figures who seem to get away with things?
Does the SNP have a complaints process that others would want to imitate?
Do the Lib Dems show there is a better way of treating people?
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No. They all have the same habit of placing certain allegations in the “too difficult” box.
It’s too difficult to confront someone if they’re useful to the party because of their talent or experience.
The very system makes this stuff too difficult: the whips are supposed to corral MPs into difficult votes and also offer pastoral support and guidance.
This is a pungently rotten conflict of interest.
It also demands a skill set few whips have: the ability to twist a rebel’s arm while also bearing in mind that they are vulnerable, have a drink problem, or need a telling-off about the way they behave around juniors.
No party has bothered to change this so, until one of them does, it’s hard to take lectures from any.
It’s much easier to talk about the drinking culture in Westminster, or the long hours, or the time away from family.
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All of these are separate problems not excuses.
The party that really cares about this culture isn’t the one that points fingers at others but the one that stops treating things as too difficult and starts seeing them as too terrible to ignore.